"Mogadishu, Somalia" a Mogadishu Travel Page by hankcheng

Driving along the road, I realized there is not one building without damage from decades of conflict; most of the buildings are destroyed or inhabitable through out the city. Buildings or land, whether it is destroyed or intact, is guarded by whoever claims that property.

On the streets, everything you don't see back home is happening here: Garbage pile up against both side of the street; sand blew from the desert mixed with the trash, some streets even has sand completely covered; Wild animals such as goats, cows and donkeys share streets with people; without traffic law (or any law), people drive on which ever side of the street their soul desire.

While not everyone carry a weapon on the street, there are still a good number of people carry AK47s on their shoulder. Without law and order, Somalis often settle their dispute violently. Fighting is their way of living.

As for myself, my life was in the hands of my guide. During my stay, the ten gunmen, each carrying an AK47 shadowed everywhere I went. Without their protection, I would've been kidnapped within a minute or two. Average four to five UN staff was kidnapped and held for ransom each year in Mogadishu. That's why the United Nation banned its staff from traveling to Mogadishu for security reason.