Chaos in Eastleigh

[SomaliPhilosopher]

Mayhem in Eastleigh AKA "Little Mogadishu", a Nairobi suburb in Kenya with a Somali population in the hundreds of thousands, a large sum of which are Somali refugees.

 

Eastleigh, besides its prestige as an economic center, is notorious for police harassment and extortion. On a nightly basis, the Nairobi police roam the streets of Eastleigh in search of Somalis, also known as walking $$$. Regardless of whether you have the proper paperwork it is pay up or choose your new title, a "gang member", "terrorist", "illegal immigrant", your pick.

 

To the economic security fanatics, Eastleigh is a place of pirate money and illegal businesses. To the national security fanatics, Eastleigh is a breeding ground for terrorist. To the exiled Somali, Eastleigh is refuge from the never ending war in Somalia.

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Monday night, a bomb occurred in this Nairobi suburb killing 6 and injuring much more. What has followed is a McCarthy style raid where 1000+, mostly Somalis, have been arrested since Monday night. Mothers and students all are fair game. Expect to be roughed up and expect to pay up if you want to get out. Houses are being broken into, pedestrians are being rounded up like cattle, women are sexually harassed.

 

 

Today, bombs were found near a residential area in Eastleigh, which were detonated by the police. Also, two grenades were found in a couple's home in Eastleigh.

 

Interior Minister Ole Lenku, last week issued a directive ordering all urban refugees to return to the camps immediately, as the issue of refugees and insecurity in Kenya have been made to be one. An identical directive was made in 2012 which was declared unconstitutional by Kenya. Massive relocation hardly materializes, but what often does is an increase in police raids and harassment which serves to enrich the police and drive away the Somali refugees. A win win for all, except for the residents of Eastleigh

 

 

 

read @Moyusef feed for a live deception of his encounter tonight with nairobi police

[xabad]

its abundantly clear now the corrupt kenyan security apparatus is behind this grenade attacks. they are fooling no one.

[SomaliPhilosopher]

^^ Thats indeed the talk of the town. Even BBC Somali interviewed a guy who was at the scene of the crime and he said the attackers were non-Somalis.

[xabad]

<cite>

@SomaliPhilosopher

said:</cite>

^^ Thats indeed the talk of the town. Even BBC Somali interviewed a guy who was at the scene of the crime and he said the attackers were non-Somalis.

 

SP game dirty ah ayaa socda sxb, somali community is being victimized for crimes they haven't committed. the police come every night to eastleigh to extort somalis. they come from as far away as embakassi to take part in this lucrative robbery. very sad runti.

[SomaliPhilosopher]

Military deployment in this Nairobi suburb. Cant enter or leave without being stopped. Stores r closed. Houses are being searched. Ppl r staying indoors. Meanwhile, Somali President Hassan Sheikh is hugging Uhuru in Nairobi.

 

 

 

 

[OdaySomali]

They should've invested in their own cities and towns, instead of using all their money and effort to build another man's land. Waa ayaan darro inay Soomaali Kenya guryo ka iibsadaan. Why not invest in Boosaaso, Hargeisa, Garowe, Boorama, Sheikh, Qardho, Burao, Berbera, Erigaabo etc. Those places are 100x safer than Nairobi and its their own land, their own people.

 

If you are going to put your money into Africa, you may as well invest in your own country.

 

Recalling my own experience in Hargeisa & a few other places:

 

Thank god the flight to Hargeisa would take only 30-45 min [from Djibouti].As soon as I stepped outside the plane I was met by a delightfully cool breeze of wind which instantaniously made the entire journey worthwhile. Walking towards the building of the ‘airport’, I basked in the cool breeze of Hargeisa and enjoyed every step. What pleasant and welcoming weather that city has.

 

I was awoken by adhaan early in the morning and already Hargeisa was in full swing. As awoke on the rock-hard double bed I quickly remembered where I was. I could hear the loud noises of the city outside; donkeys braying as they carry water between the areas of the city, driver honking the horns of their cars as they navigate the narrow but packed “roads”, traders and their customers haggling, children playing and shouting and mosques giving sermons through their unregulated speakers. This city is one that is buzzing and lively with people and activities. I pulled myself out of bed and started to make my way to the on-suite bathroom.

 

A little while later we ordered breakfast and it was brought to our room. We called the car that we had pre-arranged and ventured into the city. The hotel was buzzing with returnees from the diaspora and I hear various European languages as well as Arabic being spoken right, left and centre. We made our way to the downtown. Looking out the window the city was definitely better seen during the day.

 

It was a pleasure to be only in the midst of my Somali people. Walk down Somali streets. sitting on a porch watching Somali children playing peacefully in the street. Praying in one of the many, many mosques. being awoken every morning by the sounds of call to prayer. Watching people every evening congegrate in cafes and open space for mass-maxaadiros. One of the best things was that every morning, long before the subax prayer, you would see countless of people going to work… whether their stalls, stores, offices – women forming a large part of them – people working for their irsaaqad and using the Somali entrepreneurial spirit. I even had a favourite entrepreneur. She was this old lady who converted dollars at a local suuq with her very modest stall – I never went anywhere else to have my money changed. I was also immensely proud of the many wonderful children that I saw – full of ambition, determination and work-ethic. In terms of business, do Somali shop-owners know customer service and a half! you walk into a store and they will bring you a seat, a cold drink – especially they target qurbo-joog ladies – adamant to have you purchase from them. Lastly I was expecting the infamous “dhaqancelis” shouts… these I never experienced, everyone was very welcoming, very friendly – no one would say a word to you or even look at your twice as you went about your business.

 

I realised that I would only ever have one home and that is dhulka hooyo. It is up to us to be the catalyst that out land and people require. We need to contribute tangible improvements and change. We need to remember that as humble as we may think of ourselves, we are in effect the ‘elite’, the most affluent, most educated, most travelled etc. We are capable of improving the situation on the ground because all the place needs is a reversal of the brain-drain. And rather than investing in and building another man's land, we really ought to and should invest in and build our own land and our own people.

 

The youth

 

I took a keen interest in the youth while I was there and I saw a number of things. There was good and bad. I saw that the vast part of the total population is youth. Our population is a very young one where there are probably more children than middle aged or older people.

 

I saw an ambitious, aware and inquisitive youth more cultured, educated and aware than the Somali youths of past generations. A very large number of these youths have gone to school and are literate, they regularly use computers and the internet through internet cafe’s and a very large number of the youth now have mobile phones – enabled by cheap phones imported from China.

 

In addition to schools, those who can afford it go to extra night lessons in English, Maths, Arabic, quranic classes etc. But many cannot afford education or health. These youth are very bright, inquisitive and full of life – they have never seen conflict and only know the times of peace.

 

Community spirit

 

Somalis are good neighbours, they really are. The community spirit is stong and lively – people eat together, watch eachother children, do shopping for eachother etc. It was heart warming to see young kinds playing footbal on the streets in peace and hanging around in their groups without hassling anybody on the street as you might see in Western countries. On one occasion there was a scuffle between two young kids on the street and an elderly woman who was walking past intervened, pulled them apart and told them to stop fighting. They listened to her and she gave them a good smack too. The community spirit is stil alive.

 

I saw that the people are very peaceful and friendly. No one will start trouble with you, call you “dhaqan celis” or even stop and stare at you (for the most part). Only Oromos will beg and hassle you. Everyone else goes on with their business and treats you as just another Somali (well if you speak good Somali anyway, if not you might have a different experience). And dont bother trying to “fit in” or wear clothes that make you look like a local, they will spot you from a mile away

 

The landscapes

 

Without a doubt the most impressive landscapes are the mountainous landscapes of the sheikh area. As I drove up the winding road and reached the peak of Sheikh, I was met with a pleasant cool breeze and green vegetation surrounding me. I could see in hills and the peak-forms of the mountainous landscape disappearing into the distance. Far below, I looked out on the the valleys that sat at the bottom of the mountains and stretched out, turning into many directions. There is a good opportunity to replant trees in the highlands and to encourage reforestation. It is not yet too late.

 

At home in Burco

 

Burco appeared to have a very high number of mosques. Most of the mosques are very small neighbourhood mosques the size of an average house. But this very very convenient. It means that you can wake up early in morning for Farj, roll out of bed and do weyso/wudu, and go the mosque (house) at the bottom of your street to pray and be back within 15minutes. Walahi it made prayer so much easier and, dare I say, enjoyable. I really enjoyed praying in the mosques of Burco. They were clean, had great locations and I enjoyed the messages of the imams – who it seemed, have the attentive ear of many followers. The mosques had a sense of purity, peacefulness and simplicity about them in that they did not appear to have been materialised with excessive decorations and glistening interior decor. Instead, they were quiet places where you could relish in your prayer.

 

I may have been a “qurbojoog” and have not looked like or dressed like the “locals”, but I never got that message or feeling from anyone. Nobody looked at me twice, said anything asked me anything. I think as returnee qurbojoogs we go back with a very defensive mentality. And this is precisely because there is such a disparity between our perception of the place and the reality. We go back with a very defensive mentality, prepared to be hassled, to be shouted at and namecalled (shouts of dhaqan-celis), to be questioned about our accent, to be asked what out clan (sub-clan) is and be hassled, attacked or discriminated for it. Non of that is a reality. As I sat there with everyone else, having done my wudu and waiting for the prayer to start, it was in a strange and unexpected way, quite an emotional experience. I felt very comfortable, very much at ease and very much at home. That was the case as I walked through the neighbourhoods – not knowing where I was – through the streets, allyways and side-streets, as I walked through the markets, sat in internet-cafes, sat in the busses – I was not, not once, in any way, hassled or attacked, or discrimitated, or questioned. I was merrily waltzing along, with fanny-pack, cap and bottle of mineral water in-hand. I got a few ‘looks’ but that is all they were. You can say that I had an epiphany of sorts. I felt like I was in my homeland, albeit impoverished and underdeveloped, and I was welcome and like inayna cidina iga xigin.

[SomaliPhilosopher]

Oday, you must take into consideration the demographics of Eastleigh. Many of the Somalis in Eastleigh are from Mogadishu and South, an environment where investment is not the most wise. The Woqooyi Somalis r practically Kenyan and have little ties to Hargeisa, berbera and the other cities you mentioned. they were born in Kenya, there parents were born Kenya...

 

 

[SomaliPhilosopher]

 

 

 

[OdaySomali]

<cite>

@SomaliPhilosopher

said:</cite>

Oday, you must take into consideration the demographics of Eastleigh. Many of the Somalis in Eastleigh are from Mogadishu and South, an environment where investment is not the most wise. The Woqooyi Somalis r practically Kenyan and have little ties to Hargeisa, berbera and the other cities you mentioned. they were born in Kenya, there parents were born Kenya...

 

I don't see what your point is? Are you insinuating that because they are from Mogadishu and the South they cannot live or invest in Boosaaso, Hargeisa, Garowe, Boorama, Sheikh, Qardho, Burao, Berbera, Erigaabo etc.? My experience from having visited those places actually tells me otherwise. There are plenty of people from Mogadishu and the South in many of those cities already. For example, many of the storeowners in the city centres of Hargeisa and Burao are actually from the south (from Beledweyne to Mogadishu). You have to bear in mind that before the war many Mogadishans owned houses in Hargeisa and other cities in the north and they still own those houses and live in them (unlike Mogadishu in Hargeisa houses were reclaimed by their owners fairly quickly i.e. mid 90's). There are also thousands of IDP from the Southern regions in those cities. If you are suggesting that they cannot feel at home in northern Somali cities, I am surprised that you think they can or will feel at home in gaalo Kenyan cities and refugee camps?

 

Like I said:

 

I think as returnee qurbojoogs we go back with a very defensive mentality. And this is precisely because there is such a disparity between our perception of the place and the reality. We go back with a very defensive mentality, prepared to be hassled, to be shouted at and namecalled (shouts of dhaqan-celis), to be questioned about our accent, to be asked what out clan (sub-clan) is and be hassled, attacked or discriminated for it. Non of that is a reality. That was the case as I walked through the neighbourhoods – not knowing where I was – through the streets, allyways and side-streets, as I walked through the markets, sat in internet-cafes, sat in the busses – I was not, not once, in any way, hassled or attacked, or discrimitated, or questioned.

[SomaliPhilosopher]

<cite>

@OdaySomali

said:</cite>

I don't see what your point is? Are you insinuating that because they are from Mogadishu and the South they cannot live or invest in Boosaaso, Hargeisa, Garowe, Boorama, Sheikh, Qardho, Burao, Berbera, Erigaabo etc.? My experience from having visited those places actually tells me otherwise. There are plenty of people from Mogadishu and the South in many of those cities already. For example, many of the storeowners in the city centres of Hargeisa and Burao are actually from the south (from Beledweyne to Mogadishu). You have to bear in mind that before the war many Mogadishans owned houses in Hargeisa and other cities in the north and they still own those houses and live in them (unlike Mogadishu in Hargeisa houses were reclaimed by their owners fairly quickly i.e. mid 90's).

There are also thousands of IDP from the Southern regions in those cities.

If you are suggesting that they cannot feel at home in northern Somali cities, I am surprised that you think they can or will feel at home in gaalo Kenyan cities and refugee camps?

 

Like I said:

 

there are many dynamics to this in terms of the Somali refugee and local politics of the places you mention... The fact that you compare IDPs to living in Nairobi demonstrates your level of understanding on this issue, which I don't have the energy to engage with at the moment.

[SomaliPhilosopher]

500 arrested today in massive daytime swoop by 6100 police and soldiers

 

 

[OdaySomali]

It's time for Somalis to get the hell out of there. Honestly, what are they waiting for... Garissa & Wagalla massacres No. 2? It is unbelievable that they put up with the kind of treatment they experience at the hands of these Kenyans. They should take their money, take their investments and put it into Somali cities and lands.

 

 

And all the Somali diaspora going on "holiday" to Kenya and who are buying houses in Kenya and investing in businesses there also should invest in their own land instead of building another man's land who then beats them up, robs their belongings, locks them up without reason, rapes the women etc.

[xabad]

<cite>

@OdaySomali

said:</cite>

It's time for Somalis to get the hell out of there. Honestly, what are they waiting for... Garissa & Wagalla massacres No. 2? It is unbelievable that they put up with the kind of treatment they experience at the hands of these Kenyans. They should take their money, take their investments and put it into Somali cities and lands.

 

 

And all the Somali diaspora going on "holiday" to Kenya and who are buying houses in Kenya and investing in businesses there also should invest in their own land instead of building another man's land who then beats them up, robs their belongings, locks them up without reason, rapes the women etc.

 

Somalis it seems have bottomless pockets, they pay up promptly each time, time after time. every somali person nabbed is being released for no less than USD 200. imagine that, how rich are kenyan officers after these looting spree is over. they are literally minting money.

 

But you're right odaysomali this time is different, its getting ridiculous. as I've said before this increasingly looks like a preplanned program being carried out. somalis have to fundamentally rethink kenya. i heard from a jaajus guy that western countries are planning a CAR part deux in this country. who knows ? its conspiracy but i am very receptive to such ideas these days.

 

ultimately we are our own worst enemies. we've killed and chased each other for stupid clan BS, when that was not enough we turned to religion to continue this mindless fratricide and destruction our country.

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

Poor Somali kenyans ilaahay bay leeyihin

[SomaliPhilosopher]

<cite>

@Xaaji Xunjuf

said:</cite>

Poor Somali kenyans ilaahay bay leeyihin

 

Ameen.

 

 

Somalis have now taken their protest to social media with trying to get #Kasaraniconcentrationcamp to trend on Twitter.