Category Archives: somalia
Go and help the Muslims – and get a bit of sun, too
Strange things happen in Mogadishu airport. Day 1 and a British national suspected of al-Qaeda ties is detained. Porn, suspicious substances and traditional Arab dress in his luggage. I hotfoot it down to the police station to discover a black … Continue reading
Seizing Power – Somalia’s alternative energy sector holds huge potential..
One of the first things visitors to Mogadishu notice is the charcoal trade visible along the roads of the city. Long convoys of heavily loaded charcoal trucks move through Mogadishu virtually every day, carrying huge loads of the country’s most … Continue reading
Loud and Clear..Somalia’s telecom industry is booming!
Somalia is currently in the midst of a telecommunications boom driven by private investors, who have created a mass market with the cheapest calling rates in Africa. Private investors have put an estimated $194 million into Somalia’s telecommunications sector over … Continue reading
Cash Flow – How Diaspora money is fueling economic growth in Somalia..
Decades of internal strife have left Somalia with collapsed central state institutions, faltering social and economic infrastructure and massive internal and external migration. But at the same time the traditional Somali spirit of entrepreneurship remains strong, and the private sector … Continue reading
Mogadishu..recent pictures..
Mogadishu, capital of Somalia, the so-called ‘failed state’, continues to function, despite the efforts of extremist groups such as Al-Shebab and Hizbul Islam. Life continues, under terrible circumstances where civilians are caught in the cross fire between AS/HI and the … Continue reading
Failed states & US policy in the Middle East..
In the May-June 2010 issue of influential magazine Foreign Affairs, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates states wrote: “In the decades to come, the most lethal threats to the United States’ safety and security are likely to emanate from states that … Continue reading
AMISOM education initiative takes off in Somalia..
Student enrollment is rapidly outpacing expectations at an AMISOM pilot school project meant to encourage parents of Jazeera village in southern Mogadishu to bring their children for free primary education. Initially just nine students signed up for the program. Within … Continue reading
First Person: a former child soldier recalls a young life in arms.
Nearly two years ago al-Shabab fighters colluded with a Quranic teacher to kidnap 20 children from the Fagah area of north Mogadishu and conscripted the youths. One of the children captured and forced to fight by the militant group was … Continue reading
AMISOM’s medical aid eases Somali suffering..
With virtually no public services available in Mogadishu, one of AMISOM’s most important tasks has been to ease the suffering of the population through humanitarian assistance. Every day around 800 ailing Somalis seek medical assistance from the two outpatient field … Continue reading
