PHOTO-ESSAY: Mogadishu’s Best kept Secret
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first installment of a new weekly photo-essay series we have put together to share with our readers. Somalia is presently undergoing an extraordinary economic and political development as the terrorist group Al Shabab is pushed from key urban centers and Somalis return from all over the world to rebuild their nation. This new weekly photo-essay series will tell this new chapter of Somalia.
Our first feature deals with the Jazeera Fishing community. Located about 30-minutes’ drive from Mogadishu, Jazeera is a tourist destination and a land of remarkable beauty and natural splendor. But this picturesque land hides a tragic past. It was in Jazeera that in 1989, the communist regime rounded up more than 50 civilians from their homes in Mogadishu and marched them to their death. The Jazeera Massacres were one of the first and most painful episodes in Somalia’s decades long civil war.
Today Jazeera is a thriving fishing community. Life here depends on the vast oceans that surround our country. Despite being close to Mogadishu, Jazeera has not seen any of the vast development and aid that has been pouring into Mogadishu in the past many years. Fishing and salt production are the economic bedrocks of this region as it has been for generations.
Nestled between the vast Indian Ocean and majestic sand dunes, Jazeera occupies a picturesque setting
A Mosque’s minaret occupies a commanding view of the expansive land surrounding Jazeera.
Jazeera’s Fishing Community.
The homes of Jazeera.
A small piece of island outside Jazeera’s Coast is the burial ground of a popular local Islamic Scholar.
Jazeera as seen from a fishing boat.
Local Fishermen. As a result of a widespread multinational illegal fishing and harassment from foreign fishing trawlers, Jazeera’s Fishermen are forced to sail deep into the sea to sustain their families and community.
Two young friends stroll around Jazeera’s streets.
Locals dry their laundry out in the sun like they have done for generations.
Nestled between the vast Indian Ocean and majestic sand dunes, Jazeera occupies a picturesque setting.
Alongside Fishing, Salt Production is the economic mainstay of Jazeera.
Nestled between the vast Indian Ocean and majestic sand dunes, Jazeera occupies a picturesque setting.
