THE SHOCKING FALL AND RISE OF MOGADISHU : SOMALIA.

Описание: #mogadishu #somalia
The mere mention of Mogadishu, the Somali capital, conjures up disturbing images: pockmarked shells of roofless buildings. Or the sound of pickup trucks equipped with heavy machine guns and manned by khat-chewing militiamen who race through rubble-strewn streets amid makeshift camps of destitute families displaced by the chaos and carnage of a civil war that has been raging for decades.
Today a new Mogadishu is rising from Somalia’s turbulent past. From the time that Al-Shabaab militants pulled out of the city in August 2011, the Somali capital has been undergoing an economic renaissance. Bold infrastructure projects are reshaping the cityscape, providing state-of-the-art facilities for both residents and visitors. The skyline is changing, and the city is becoming a magnet for forward-thinking individuals and organizations.
A vibrant night life has returned to the streets of the city’s once-fashionable Shingaani district, and families and young couples have reclaimed Lido Beach as their weekend playground. A peace garden in the heart of Mogadishu boasts cafés, two football fields and park benches where Somalis can read local newspapers or exchange the latest political gossip.
Mogadishu is in recovery mode. The city is like a patient who was in a deep coma, and then suddenly he moves his fingers and opens his eyes. Now he is moving his limbs and unfolding his legs. With a newfound sense of stability, businesses are flourishing, and entrepreneurs are taking center stage. The city's strategic location on the coast is opening doors for trade, making it a hub of economic activity that's hard to ignore.
The outside world is beginning to notice. In a recent survey of the world’s fastest-growing cities with a population of at least 1 million, the US-based consulting firm Demographia ranked Mogadishu second, behind only the Indonesian city of Batam. Demographia estimated Mogadishu’s annual growth rate at 6.9%, fueled in large part by the return of growing numbers of diaspora Somalis who have come home to reconnect with their roots and explore investment opportunities following improvements in the security situation.
A stroll through some of its once-devastated districts reveals how much Mogadishu has changed. The central business district is once again a beehive of commercial activity. Some of the street scenes along the city’s main boulevard, Maka-Al-Mukarama, could match any in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania or Addis Ababa in Ethiopia.
I am genuinely surprised by the unrelenting spirit of Somali people. I look into the future and see a thriving Mogadishu that embodies the resilient spirit of its inhabitants. That is the city that the current generation of Somalis will hopefully bequeath to their children and grandchildren.