Latest Mogadishu Pictures

[oba hiloowlow]

Good stuff bro keep it up

[nuune]

Thanks Daqane for the wonderful pictures, keep them coming, since you are there, we expect a thrilling thread from you on how Mogadishu is flourishing, business wise, security wise, is it easy to roam around without bodyguards, I have noticed many returnees are using their own security guards to watch them when they walk through the streets or even at social gatherings such as Liido, not everyone uses the security guys by the way, but some still want to have them for whatever reason that is there.

[oba hiloowlow]

Makka Al Mukaramma Road

 

 

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[oba hiloowlow]

 

With Somalia’s UN-backed government consolidating its hold over the capital, Mogadishu, and other areas from al-Qaeda-linked militants, many women are returning to help rebuild the country, reports the BBC’s Kate Forbes.

 

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this Air Africa flight to Mogadishu,” the Kenyan stewardess booms over the plane tannoy.

 

Absolutely no-one pays any attention, with passengers preferring to root through the overhead lockers or stand talking in the aisles.

 

The plane is full of familiar accents: British, Canadian and American. Open your eyes and you see it is packed with Somalis, mainly women, going to a “home” they barely know.

 

‘High-flying executives’

 

Ayan Yussuf, 18, is one of a group of women sitting together dressed alike in black floor-length abayas (cloaks) and hijabs (headscarves).

 

“Well, when in Rome, do as the Romans,” she says.

 

She admits it is not what she wears in Canada, where she lives.

 

She is coming to Somalia on holiday – her first visit to the country.

 

“I want to see what it’s like. One day, we might move back,” Ms Yussuf says.

 

Is she scared?

 

“Yes, definitely! I’ve got no idea what it’s going to be like.”

 

On first sight, not much has changed in Mogadishu since I was here in early 2012. It looks like a country in conflict, and security is still the first priority.

 

The airport is in a heavily fortified base that is home to the joint African Union (AU) and UN force known as Amisom.

 

Outside, pick-up trucks full of soldiers, armoured vehicles and teams of civilian guards wait to pass in and out. Across the road, a cafe sits behind an eight-foot wall of sandbags and barbed wire.

 

But the rest of Mogadishu is ablaze with bustle and renovation.

 

After a period of stability, Somalis are coming back by the plane-load.

 

“You can hardly get a seat,” one man tell us at Nairobi airport, on his way to Mogadishu.

 

‘Double life’

 

Among them are many women, who want to play their part in rebuilding a country that has been at war for more than 20 years.

 

Working in the PM’s officeWalking into an office not far from the airport, I spot some perfectly manicured nails tapping away at an expensive laptop.

 

Next to that lie a designer handbag and some serious-looking files.

 

Safia Yassin Farah is 34 and her desk is that of a high-flying executive anywhere in the world, except that the view from her office is of high walls, wire and armed guards.

 

She left the US to take up a post working with young people in Mogadishu, helping them obtain an education and skills.

 

“I’m here to stay. I’ve quit my job,” Ms Farah says, sounding thrilled and scared at the same time.

 

“I grew up in the US and got my degree at the University of New Hampshire. I had a job, a house, I had everything.”

 

She says she was motivated to return after hearing about the plight of Somali children caught up in violence, including being recruited by the al-Qaeda affiliate, al-Shabab, which has lost control of Mogadishu and other towns to Amisom and government forces but still controls many rural areas of southern and central Somalia.

 

“I could see this huge need for education for young people. They need chances, like kids have in the West,” Ms Farah adds.

 

http://newsomali.com/2013/01/28/somali-women-seek-a-brighter-future-in-mogadishu/

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'Mogadishu is like Manhattan': Somalis return home to accelerate progress

 

 

 

The sound of bullets that was once so common in the Somali capital of Mogadishu has been replaced by the noise of construction. New buildings and business are emerging from the carnage and lawlessness that pervaded the east African country for more than two decades.

 

Mursal Mak, a British-Somali property developer, left Somalia in 1987 and returned in 2009. For him, it has never been a better time to do business there. "I have seen a lot of changes from 2011 to now," he says. "Mogadishu is growing very fast. I was at the airport today for an hour and I saw six airlines, all of them commercial. There is also a traffic jam in the streets now; we can drive out late at night."

 

With so many people from the diaspora coming back, demand for properties and accommodation far exceeds supply, tripling rental prices in the prime areas of the city. "Retail estate is booming in Mogadishu," says Mak. "This evening I had a meeting with a client and he said: 'Mogadishu is becoming like Manhattan or central London; you are talking incredible prices when it comes to property.'

 

"When I came here in 2009, I leased a property with a value of over $600,000 (£370,000) for $300 a month, but now the property is being rented for $4,500 a month."

 

Although people are snapping up land and some have grand ambitions to develop, in many cases the land is unregistered or ownership cannot be proven. There have been cases of fraud and land being sold to multiple people. "Either you buy on trust, or from owners you knew before the war. But most people are willing to take a risk and buy on a discounted price of 50% because ownership cannot be proven," Mak says.

 

Mogadishu businessman Bashir Osman, owner of the Peace hotel, has bought a chunk of land in Jazira beach with the intention of building the first tourist resort in Mogadishu. Osman's hotel was one of the few operating in Somalia during the conflict; it was mostly occupied by people working in the humanitarian sector. To him, the idea of opening a tourist resort isn't so far-fetched; he has experience of hosting thrill-chasing foreigners, some of whom just turned up at the airport with no plans or onward arrangements.

 

"I picked up my first tourist in 2010," says Osman. "He was a Canadian man and had problems getting a visa. When he told the immigration authority he was a tourist, they told him he was either mad or a spy and tried to put him back on the plane. At that time it was still too dangerous to go outside and sightsee, so he mostly stayed inside the compound, but we made sure he had a good time. Now, when people come to Mogadishu and say they are tourists, the only question they [immigration] ask is how long do you want to stay?

 

"Last year, we had about 20 tourists. I took them to the old parts of the city, different beaches, Bakara market, historical places, and showed them the life of a Somali family. They were very interested."

 

Omar Osman is another Somali who chose to come back, after living in the US for more than 20 years. "Like everybody else [who came back], I felt there was an opportunity to make a difference. I grew up in Saudi Arabia. Initially, it was very tough for me here; I came in early 2012, before the new government, so we still could hear guns and shooting at that point, but so far things are good."

 

Osman and his business partner have set up a commercial bank, First Somali Bank. "We have a bank structure in place, it's operational for people to deposit and withdraw their money but we cannot provide loans and credit," he says. "We are waiting for the government to introduce laws and regulations before we can do that. Our goal is to function as a regular bank and to finance projects."

 

With funding from their bank, Osman and his partner have started an internet company, Somalia Wireless, to meet the growing demand for connectivity from the private sector. "When we first arrived in Mogadishu, internet penetration was less than 1%," says Osman. "Now we have coverage throughout the city, with the exception of some areas where connection is still patchy, but we are working on that. The hardest part of setting up the company was logistics. We had to ship huge equipment and get in engineers from Germany to set up. In the absence of proper governance, there are pros and cons: anybody can set up a business here but I think eventually the government will introduce regulations.

 

"We are trying to advocate the setting up of business to be as smooth as possible, because, ultimately, the growth of business will translate into job creation and prevent youngsters from being idle and walking into terrorism. Investing and making money is not the goal. The goal is to create jobs, do something to benefit the masses and make life better for every Somali.

 

"All of us who were in the diaspora are supporting families one way or another here in Somalia. If we can bring some of that support locally and get them to do something for themselves, to earn a proper living, there is nothing better than that."

[oba hiloowlow]

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[Daqane]

nuune;917612 wrote:

Thanks

Daqane

for the wonderful pictures, keep them coming, since you are there, we expect a thrilling thread from you on how Mogadishu is flourishing, business wise, security wise, is it easy to roam around without bodyguards, I have noticed many returnees are using their own security guards to watch them when they walk through the streets or even at social gatherings such as Liido, not everyone uses the security guys by the way, but some still want to have them for whatever reason that is there.

I think they notice it is a case of overkill after a while, never used a private guard although I sometimes have the name of the NGO I work with emblazoned on my Shirt...

 

[Daqane]

Al Fajr school

 

 

Shifa medical center

 

 

Ahmed Gurey school

 

[Daqane]

The pictures on the schools prompted me to share with you a 2010-2011 report on the education situation in Somalia

 

http://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/upload/Somalia/Somalia_Education_Report_2010_2011.pdf

 

It is very detailed and quite a read.

[oba hiloowlow]

Daqane bro i was just checking prices to the flight to xamar this summer,expensive as F, but its totally worth it.

[Daqane]

loool It must be a really profitable route, when are you planning to be there brother, and where will you be staying...

[oba hiloowlow]

Im planning to come around late June celebrate 1th of july in city plaza abaaba. I will probably stay at our House in Juungal or Marinaayada hotel Global area

[Daqane]

Inshallah wala iis heli doona