Mogadishu’s Peace Garden attracts hundreds of families every weekend

Amid the chaos and insecurity related with the Somali capital for years. There is the other side of this city that the media never shows you – welcome to the Peace Garden or as they call it here Beerta Nabadda.

It’s a fun filled weekend here for these children in the Somali capital and to these happy parents- it is a dream come true. Hundreds come here every weekend and it’s not just the local residents. The Diaspora too are back some from as far as Australia.

“My Australian friends, welcome to Mogadishu. It’s very beautiful, that’s my message to the world, we want to change the narrative people have of Somalia,” said Basra Mohamed.

“We came here today to celebrate Friday -I’ve never made friends here but am going to make some today. All these people are nice and they are beautiful too,” said Najma Mohamed.

For more than two decades now these children didn’t have a playing ground let alone a peace garden and locals now say – the garden is a symbol that life is returning to normalcy here in Mogadishu

“The peace garden of Mogadishu has changed the capital in a great way for the first time in two decades families have a place to spend their weekend. The Peace garden has also transformed the city into a very beautiful place,” said Abdiwahab Hassan, a Mogadishu resident.

For the city’s young people this is the new hangout spot a photo opportunity for many and for these young men  – its selfie time and a chance to spend quality time with loved ones professional photographers too are here hoping to tell a different story Mukhtar Ahmed is one of them hoping to show the world that his city is rising

“I’m a photographer. I come here every weekend to take pictures of the beautiful places in Mogadishu – and to show the whole world that Mogadishu is rising and to show in pictures, the Somalia you never hear about,” said Mukhtar Ahmed Mohamed, a photographer.

An improvement in security has seen major development in the capital and Mukhtar hopes his photography can help change the narrative people had of Mogadishu from that of a ghost city and a failed state into a peaceful nation and a potential tourist destination.

CCTV