Some in Mogadishu see international Somalia meet-up as hopeful sign, while others remain sceptical it will bring change.
By: Hamza Mohamed/Aljazeera
Somalilandsun – An international conference on Somalia attended by representatives from 50 countries and organisations was held in London on Tuesday.
Its aim was to garner support for the Somali government in its effort to rebuild the war-torn country, and prevent it from slipping back into lawlessness.
The conference, co-hosted by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and UK Prime Minister David Cameron, saw donors pledge some $130m in aid to Somalia.
But not all leaders from Somalia’s patchwork of self-governing regions attended. Here’s what residents of Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, thought about the conference and their country’s future:
Abdirahman Mohamed, 56, taxi driver
I listened t
o the conference on the radio and I think our country is coming back. A lot of pledges were made, which I think – if fulfilled – will bring us a lot of development and a big moral boost. For me, I’m hoping the government uses some of the money pledged to fix the city’s roads and recruit good police officers.
It was a good conference in general, in my opinion.
Habiba Ali, 60, meat seller
I haven’t heard about the conference. And honestly, I couldn’t care about a conference in London. Ask me about the price of meat and how much a goat costs in Mogadishu – that I know a lot about.
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