Mogadishu: The Capital City of a Forgotten Country

Somalia is a country that has been surviving against the odds for the past two decades. There has been no effective central government here since the fall of the military dictator, Siad Barre in 1991 which has left most of the country in a state of conflict and unrest, a situation that does not look like ending soon. During this time much of the country’s infrastructure and industries have either ground to a halt, or have been destroyed through the constant fighting, and unless there is some extraordinary turn of events, it looks like this situation will continue for the foreseeable future. For the past 18 years, the country has topped the failed states index. Despite all this chaos, life has managed to continue and there are even some signs of hope for the nation and its’ people if and when the violence abates.

The epicenter of all this chaos and destruction is the capital Mogadishu, once known as the white pearl of the Indian Ocean, and once one of the cleanest and safest cities in Africa. Nowadays Mogadishu is quite possibly the most dangerous city in the world. Fighting and shelling between government-backed forces and insurgent militias occurs daily. Infrastructure and hospitals are creaking and collapsing after 18 years of conflict and often cannot cope in times of heavy fighting. Most of the population has either fled to safer areas in the country, or overseas, and of those that remain, many have been displaced or been forced to move to safer parts of the city, only to have to flee again as boundaries and focal points of conflict have changed. Mogadishu is so dangerous that the UN has had to relocate its’ Somali offices to Nairobi in bordering Kenya for the most part. Since 1991 the humanitarian crises has steadily worsened.

There are signs of normalcy and normal life here, although in a hyper-real state; schools are open and running (most of them private enterprises), although quality of instruction varies greatly and there are no fixed curriculums, for example some schools teach in Latin script (the basis for written Somali) and others Arabic (as used in religious texts), while the best may offer both (literacy rates have dropped from some of the highest in Africa before the collapse of government, to some of the lowest). In Mogadishu, schools border residential homes, shops and even the frontlines of the combatants, meaning they can be extremely vulnerable to attack, especially due to wide and indiscriminate use of mortars, RPG’s and shelling in the fighting. Despite this, and due to the frequency of such attacks, normal activity is only interrupted for 15 minutes or so, per round of attacks.

In the streets, unrepaired since the ousting of Barre, minibuses, pedestrians, push-carts and jostle for space alongside battle wagons and soldiers of government-backed forces (inside areas they control) or militants carrying weapons or riding “technicals” (jeeps with guns and heavy weapons mounted to the back of them), around the areas they control. People try to carry on with their daily lives, but it is easy to see how quickly these people can turn into just another casualty of the harsh situation they all face. This is especially true of the long front line dividing the government-backed TFG and AMISOM troops from opposition fighters.

While jobs are very difficult to come by in the circumstances, there is still a surprising amount of entrepreneurial activities taking part in Mogadishu. Most services, such as electricity and water can still be found, run privately and only for those who can afford it. Market traders have proliferated as people try and sell what they can to earn what they need to survive (although lack of regulation has led to goods of dubious quality and even counterfeit and potentially dangerous medicines flooding the market), but the big success stories have been the money transfer and communication sectors which have thrived and provided reliable services despite the instability.

There are a number of private communication companies within Somalia and offer some of the cheapest rates and quickest connections in East Africa; to get a new landline installed takes just 3 days, as opposed to many months or more in Kenya and Ethiopia, while international calls made from mobile networks are also far cheaper in Somalia than is the norm elsewhere. Other possible shoots of hope come from education, which while lacking in terms of basic, universal coverage, have done well in terms of private Universities, Mogadishu University even being ranked in the top 75 Universities in Africa.

Mariam Moallim 30 years old is a student in her fifth semester at the Somali Institute of Management and Development (SIMAD). She lives in Waberi, a government controlled district in Mogadishu, whilst SIMAD is in the opposition-controlled district of Wardhigley. Life in the city is tough for women, especially those controlled by the opposition; they must wear long veils and heavy gowns of the same color and must sit in the rear when using buses or minibuses.

She said it is very difficult getting to school and travelling between the two warring groups as “When you come from the areas controlled by the opposition movements, the TFG forces want us to dress normally. They sometimes stop the buses and say to veiled women on the bus ‘are you the wives of the militants?’ and many more questions and that they are supporting the rivals.”

“Some days the road is closed due to confrontations between the two sides and crossfire; sometimes shelling may start as your bus is passing between the two groups, so you have to get out as fast as you can to find shelter in the closest building! Random or stray bullets are normal most days; it is a gamble to live such conditions.”

“I have to take two buses on my way to SIMAD and back daily. One morning I was on the bus, not wearing the clothing opposition groups require, when we were stopped at a checkpoint of the anti-government forces. They ordered me off the bus arrested me and took me to a narrow room, filled with salt (-the salt is used as a punishment as it dries out the skin and causes the interred discomfort). I spent 8 days there, which felt like much longer. Luckily I was able to notify my family when I was first arrested and they tried their best to free me as quickly as they could, although negotiations still took a long time. Since that time in jail I have had constant skin problems and I am planning to leave this country for somewhere safer. The reason I am still here is that this is my motherland and education here is relatively cheap- $170 per semester, which is less than $500 a year”!

While there is no denying the brutality, and futility of some of the conflict in Somalia, or the genuine humanitarian crises facing most of the population, the tenacity and resolve of many of those surviving must not be forgotten. These small signs should be highlighted, and opportunities to improve things should be seized, and through better education and opportunities, hopefully the future for Mogadishu, and for all of Somalia, can look as bright as it once did when this city was the white pearl of the Indian Ocean.

Abdullahi Hassan, Centre for Education Development