But I did go to Mogadishu, Somalia and survive to tell you about it. And in the process, I was struck by a flying object on a Somali beach. By the grace of Allah, it was a ball, not a bullet or shrapnel from a bomb. But I did see lots of bombed-out buildings and meet people who survived terror attacks, and I can tell you that getting struck out of nowhere by any flying object in Somalia is an exhilarating experienceβ¦.
I only spent two days in Mogadishu. But I saw a lot. And I also heard a lot and learned a lot from locals, and I want to relay that information to you.
This includes a scheme that Somalis are allegedly using to take advantage of European asylum and immigration policies. As advertised, Somalia is indeed a failed state. The city of Mogadishu lies in ruins from civil war and countless terror attacks. There is rubble everywhere, and once-significant buildings β like hotels, banks and the parliament β are completely destroyed.
Yet daily life goes on as usual for the Somalis living there. And if you hire the right tour agency , which will provide you a professional security detail, aka soldiers, it is actually quite a safe place to visit β even if you are a white man like me. Somalia has a couple of those. There were also pleasant surprises on this trip. In some ways Somalia is actually an anarchocapitalist oasis β not in the sense of Acapulco, Mexico, which plays host to an anarchist conference and a bunch of expats.
Rather, with no central government capable of screwing things up, Somalia has a thriving telecom industry. There are six competing telecom companies, which provide internet that is incredible by regional standards.
