Blogging Somalia's Untold Stories with One Blog at a Time

Traveling to South Africa was adventurous trip to a country I had no information other than the xenophobic stories i often see on media outlets. But my ten days stay in South Africa has changed my perception and gave me an utterly different image of the most beautiful country in the continent, a country that hosted most prestigious tournament in the world, the World Cup 2010! Before departing from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, I had to make sure I was booked with a window seat since my flight was departing around 5pm because i didn’t wanted to miss that awesome sunset over 35,000 ft above earth while heading to the last tip of the continent. Thanks to South African Airways who conveniently confirmed my window seat two days before my departure. After flying close to four and half hours, the flight announcement said “Ladies and gentleman welcome to O.R Tambo International Airport.” I asked one of the South African passengers who was sitting next to me. “Excuse me...

Most of us take mobility for granted because we either don’t know how it feels to be physically challenged or we are not aware that an increasing number of disabled people have difficulty with activities that are part of our daily life. Life can be tough and traumatic for those whom disability strikes in early childhood, especially in a war-torn country like Somalia, and a catastrophe for those who cannot cope with such an eventuality. Featured in this article are stories of three extraordinary, physically challenged young men who, despite the unbearable difficulties, managed to achieve their dreams. Each one of them has different and unique story to tell. During their convocation ceremony, their photos went viral on social media and because of that they received messages of congratulations and solidarity from Somalis around the world. I decided to meet them in person and write their stories in their own words. Like many other people affected by the civil war in Somalia, ...

A field trip with UNICEF and the European Union on the joint urban water project It was not until I travelled to Boroma and Tog Wajaale that I realized just how much I had taken for granted one of the most basic yet most valuable resources in life – water. As a UNICEF Voices of Youth blogging intern, I had the privilege of travelling with a team from UNICEF and the European Union to see how their joint project on urban water delivery is coming along. The destination, Boroma and Tog Wajaale, are two of the biggest urban centres in Somaliland. On our way to Borama, we passed small villages and made stops to talk to residents. One of them was a young boy who hadn’t washed himself for a week because there wasn’t enough water go around. He was covered in dust. Then there was a young girl, her small frame dwarfed by the jerrycan on her back. Also a mother, who spends 6 to 9 hours a day fetching water, carrying 30 to 40 liters of water on her head. When I asked one villager abou...

When a suicide bomber detonated huge truck at Mogadishu’s busiest junction (Zoobe) on 14 th October afternoon, no one expected that more than 500 bodies would have laid on the ground lifeless nor we would have imagined that this would be Somalia’s deadliest single attack or the world’s worst terror attack in modern history. It has been two and half months since that day and there has not been a single day that has passed where I haven’t thought about writing something regarding the tragedy, perhaps I didn’t have the exact words to describe what happened. Every time I open my laptop and try to type the words something clogs and takes me back to the day of the event and I had to stop it there. However,  Sixty eight days later I decided to write a piece to describe the accounts of what happened and pay tribute to the fallen victims and to everyone else who may have been directly or indirectly affected by that tragedy.    The Day's Beauty was Shuttered It was ...

We live in a country were the rights of ordinary citizens are denied, disrespected and sometimes brutally violated. For those who would be angry for what I am about to say you need to read the following Article 21 in our constitution which says “Every person lawfully residing within the territory of the Federal Republic of Somalia has the right to freedom of movement, freedom to choose their residence, and freedom to leave the country.” As civilians living and working in Mogadishu, too many obstacles are placed upon us, we face difficulties in our own city, we sometimes feel like we are foreigners in our own country when you look at the way the security forces mistreat us, the one who were supposed to protect us. In Mogadishu, We, the civilians, are banned from using certain streets and roads not because we are threats or because we are foreigners but simply because we don’t have government Identity Card (ID). Is it possible that the 3 million people living in Mogadishu ha...

Prior my departure from Mogadishu, I asked my Moroccan-Canadian colleague to give me an information about Morocco. Unfortunately, she didn’t knew much about her country of origin since she was born and bred in Montreal,  Canada. My trip was too short, only one week and it was not for vacation. It was for work purpose. However, I was excited and eagerly wanted to have a better sightseeing of one of the top tourist destinations in the continent. My flight departed from Mogadishu around 9am with Turkish Airlines (the only international carrier that’s currently offering flights to Mogadishu). It was the longest flight I have ever had. 15 hours plus 7 hours of transit at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport. I rated the TK flight with 5 stars though! The service, the food, the lounge in Istanbul were excellent and beyond my expectation. Around 17:30 Istanbul time, we landed at Ataturk International Airport. I enjoyed those transit hours at the airport as I walked around from gat...

The year 2007 was perhaps the harshest time to the millions of Somalis particularly those in Mogadishu who were already suffering from 16 years of unremitting chaos resulted by the civil war. In that year, the humanitarian crisis in Somalia has reached on a scale which was not seen since the early 1990s. For those of you, who might not remember the context and the crisis in the country at that time, let me give you a glimpse overview. In late 2006, the Ethiopian troops invaded Somalia under the pretext of protecting its own borders from the growing Islamic movements in Somalia, among them Islamic Courts Union (ICU) who controlled the capital city and much of the southern coastal parts of the country. The outbreak of the battel begun on 20 th December 2006 in Baidoa, the fourth largest town in Somalia located about 243km West Mogadishu. On 29 th December after series of deadly fighting the Ethiopian troops together with security forces of the transitional federal government ma...