Football teams

People love soccer here. Every empty area is filled with teams on Fridays. I am surprised to see these teams with uniforms because most of them can not afford it (Some football leagues are sponsored by organization or The Minister of Sports and they are given uniforms and shoes to play). Sports are excellent ways of getting people from competing clans/groups to come together and compete in a 'non-violent' setting. It also builds character and gives youth something to do (there are very few activities for children/youth to get involved in).

Lack of Roads

Much of Somalia does not have adequate roads. Most road look like this, they are unpaved. But these roads are better then other roads in small towns where it is really bumpy. In this picture, the people and the cars are sharing this narrow road. The funny thing is that this is considered a major road. You often see very narrow roads where 3 cars want to pass at the same time. It is extremely funny scene. I don’t know how they do it but people here drive and they do it relatively safe.

Minimal age for smoking?

This kid insisted I take his picture while he was smoking. Many young men think smoking is cool and sadly so many of them smoke. I think that at least 70% of Somali men and boy smoke (don't quote me on this...it is just based on the number of people I am coming across). It worries me because there are no cancer treatment facilities here and if anyone has cancer, there is no way of diagnosing it as cancer. They just say that person died and it was their time. Somalia needs major public awareness campaign against smoking. 

Eagle

I think this is an Eagle. I was surprised to see so many different types of birds here. Some of them are really gorgeous, exotic and endangered. You don't expect such beautiful birds in dry place like here (I did not capture the other birds, but they were exotic and colourful)

Prayer time

This picture is of the crew stopping to prey their Salat (Ismalic prayer). Sometimes it feels like prayer is only for men. Many women do not pray here. It is strange how some of them are covered from head to toe including their face yet they do not perform their Salat. For men and boys, they are expected to be in the Masjid or Mosques when it is prayer time and it is frowned upon if they do not. Women and girls on the other hand, are not expected to go to the Masque and in many cases there is no way of knowing if they are praying or not. Majority of women/girls that I have so far came across do not pray. 
I am not judging, just find it interesting!

O water where art thou

Water is a scarce resource in Somalia. This scarcity is not caused by lack of water in the country but rather lack of human resources (as well as machinery). It does not take much to dig a well but in many parts of the country, ordinary citizens find it difficult in doing so because most of the land is rocky and need machines to drill. There are many concerned citizens and/or organizations that have been digging wells for anyone to use, free of charge. You just need some sort of bucket to carry it, as this woman is doing . 

Tupac is back?

Doesn't this guy somehow look a little like 2Pac (in person he really does resemble him). My friend suggested that he might be 2Pac hiding in Somalia (lol).

Nomads and drought

These people are ex-pastoralist. Majority of the population in Somalia are nomadic pastoralist.However there has been severe droughts in the 1990's that have wiped-out many livestock of the nomads thus resulting in the displacement of many pastoralists. Also this is the 5th year in a row where Somalia, and other parts of East Africa, is suffering from severe drought. I worry about the nomads in Somalia because their way of life is going to be extinct if this trend continues.

Weird Crab

This crab was ready to attack me. I came close to it because I thought it might be dead due to its pale complexion (the other craps I saw were livelier looking). My life was endangered that day-the nightmares it caused me are unspeakable (I am being dramatic, but it really came close to my messing up my face).

Poor goat didn't stand a chance and neither did my vegetarian ways

We bought this goat for about $85. I didn't like how we had to tie him to our pickup truck but I guess it doesn't matter since it was going to be eaten anyhow. Prior to coming to Somalia I was a vegetarian...well actually I ate seafood but I did not eat chicken or red meat for almost a decade. There isn't a political reason for it, I just do not like how we treat and feed the animals we raise for food in Canada. I thought I would still be a vegetarian (who occasionally eats seafood) while in Somalia but that notion was out of the door as soon as I got here. Meat is a major component of the diet here and vegetables are not readily accessible in many parts of the country.  

Dead Cat

A dead cat in the beaches of Bender Beyla. I wanted to bury it but was told it is not hygienic. Also we were in a short timeline to complete the tsunami scan of the communities affected by the 2014 Tsunami.

Tree=homes

These traditional Somali homes might seem ugly and simple to construct (which they really are). By looking at them you would think they are good for the environment. However, they are not because they require a lot of trees to build them. We do not have that many trees to spare but we have soooo many rocks and mountains made from rocks that people should build their homes from them(believe me when you come here you are going to get so sick of rocks. I don't think I could handle seeing any more rocks). Let's try to leave the little trees we have alone so that perhaps certain places in the country might become cooler and rain more often. I recognize that it is cheaper to build these traditional homes rather then homes made from rocks but these homes are not sustainable. I really do not know how we got this far making homes from tree which we do not have!

Hooray for the Highway

Welcome to the only highway in Somalia aka trans-Somalia Highway. I feel good that we at-least have some means of transportation. It is really the only way that different regions are able to exchange goods/services and get involved in trade. Otherwise many companies and economic activities would not exists today without this highway. 

Green

I get so happy to see green areas because most of northern Somalia is a semi-desert. However, you tend to see some areas that are very green such as this one.

Las Qoray

This picture was taken in Las Qoray. It is soo beautiful. I want to like living here. The water is so clear and it is so beautiful (I think I already said that). The only downside is that it is hod because it is by the red sea. 

Whey are you taking pictures of my camels?

Postural family coming to see why we were taking picture of their camels. People do not like us taking their pictures. I do not blame them, I would like like anyone taking my picture either.

Could it be RAIN???

Tornado! Actually it is not a tornado but more like rain clouds. I was sooo exited to see it because I though it might rain; rain is a BIG deal here. Fortunately it didn't rain in the area I was at but it did rain in a nearby village. Bummer!

Nice Wiring Job

The wiring system here is Horrible. Telephone companies are in fierce competition to have the most customers. Instead of working out some sort of plan or compromise, each company installs its own wires thus creating chaos in the streets. Did you know that if you are with one Telephone Company, you can not call the other. Most of the people I work with have Golis (popular company in Bosaso) and I have STG (Somali Telecom Group, very new to Bosaso but popular in other regions). This causes major inconvenience to all of us because I can't call them and they can not call me. I asked one guys who works in STG why this is happening and he told me that there is lack of trust between companies and because there is not strong government that could enforce things, they are able to get away with it and do what is in their best interest. This is great from a business point of view but stinks for the rest of us...time for someone to start a consumer protection agency.

Public Transportation

This is the Bosaso version of the TTC (lol). On a serious note, this is the public transit. It is a small bus and it gets passengers around the city. At first look they all look the same to me and I was wondering how people know which bus goes where. It then made sense to me because they all have a number after the letter BL and Bsomething. That is how you know which is which. I think that this is marvellous for people to achieve this because they are doing it without a government. I think it is great that these business men are organizing themselves and getting people where they need to be. The cost to ride this is 2,000s.Sh. (Or about 13 cents; 15,000s.Sh =$1US-the exchange rate is awful). I actually rode one of these and it was not that bad. I enjoyed it. I know I sound like a weirdo but everything fascinates.

High on life or drugs??

This goat is just wondering around the street. There are so many goats walking around. No one eats these goats because they eat everything they find on the street. In another word, they are sick and possibly carrying diseases. I ask if we could just humanly kill them or take them out of the city so they can be rehabilitated and I was told their owners would not approve. It doesn't make sense that you would not eat these goats but at the same time you wouldn't do anything to get rid off them or help them. Some of these goats are in a lot of pain. They eat everything and they become sick. They even cough like humans (very bizarre). The sad part is that many of these goats stay up during the night because they chew Jad (Mira). They eat the jad's roots that the people throw away after eating it thinking it is plants. Half of the time they walk around high. 

Shells

MY shells!! I collected them during my time here. The small ones are from Bosaso, the Red Sea and the big ones are from Bender Beyla, the Indian Ocean. They are so many shells here and there are sooooo beautiful. People here don't care for them because they are everywhere. They could make a business from selling these shells and turn them into jewelry. If only I had some money and time...hmmm

I hate these rocks

There are so many rocks in the cities. Here in this street (yes, these are our streets), you see so many rocks. I was shocked when I first came here and saw so many of them. I kept asking why people don't remove them. They all laughed at me because these rocks are precious to the owners because they are being used to build a house. I do not understand why they have to bring all of these rocks in the middle of the street months before the construction of the house starts. It is making the city look bad.

Lets play Soccer

This is a football stadium. The land is dedicated for teams to play football/soccer. When you first look at it, it is just an area filled with sand but when you take a closer look you see so much more. This stadium is a place where kids come every day between 4-6pm. It is place where youth (only male) could enjoy themselves in a recreation center—there are not many places that youth could go and “hang-out”. This is due to lack of funds to establish such recreation spaces where youth could enjoy them selves and be among other youth.

This is how some of the kids study

These kids are doing their homework in front of their house because their family can not afford to have electricity in the home. It is amazing to see how some of the students in Somalia are so eager for education. They are hungry for knowledge. It really makes you appreciate what you have. We Somalis in the Diaspora are so lucky yet many of us do not take advantage of the affordable education we have in the West. Being here really made me see the so many things that we take for granted. There are so many kids here who are maximizing the little opportunity they are able to attain. The picture is blurry, sorry!