MOGADISHU: In a city long defined by conflict, Somalia ‘s capital of Mogadishu now echoes with the crash of pins at the country’s first modern bowling alley.
It’s the latest sign of revival in the once-thriving Indian Ocean port shaped by 35 years of civil war and militant bombings. Millions of people were forced to flee what became one of the world’s most dangerous cities. Those who remained avoided public spaces as the Al-Qaeda-linked group Al-Shabab waged an insurgency against the Somali state.
In recent years, improved security measures against Al-Shabab, an expanded government presence and growing private investment have allowed daily life to re-emerge. Cafes line newly reopened streets, beaches draw evening crowds and traffic congestion, once unimaginable, now clogs key intersections.
The Feynuus Bowling Center opened last year and draws many locals and Somalis returning from the diaspora, who bring investment and business ideas after years of sending billions of dollars in remittances from abroad.
On a recent evening, young Somalis gathered in groups, laughing and filming each other on their phones while music played. Many from the diaspora are visiting Mogadishu for the first time in years, or the first time ever.
“I couldn’t believe Mogadishu has this place,” said Hudoon Abdi, a Somali-Canadian on holiday, as she prepared to take her turn to bowl.
“I’m enjoying it. Mogadishu is actually safe,” she said, urging others to visit.
Mogadishu remains vulnerable to militant attacks, however, with security measures like checkpoints and heavily guarded zones part of daily life. Non-Somalis remain largely confined to a compound at the international airport.
But residents say the ability to gather for recreation signals an important psychological shift. Such venues provide a welcoming environment for a younger generation eager for safe spaces to socialize.
Abukar Hajji returned from the United Kingdom on holiday after many years away and found the difference between what he imagined and what he experienced eye-opening.
“When I was flying from the UK, I believed it was a scary place, like a war-torn country,” he said. “Everyone told me, ‘Good luck,’ but when I came and saw it with my own eyes, I didn’t want to leave.”
Sadaq Abdurahman, the manager of the bowling center, said the idea for the business emerged from a growing demand among young people for recreational facilities.
“It has created employment opportunities for at least 40 youths,” he said.
According to the Somali National Bureau of Statistics, Somalia’s unemployment rate stands at 21.4 percent.
The bowling alley has private security guards, bag checks and surveillance cameras, reflecting the precautions common at public venues in Mogadishu.
Urban planners and economists say businesses like the bowling alley signal a broader shift in Mogadishu’s recovery, as private sector growth increasingly complements international aid and government-led rebuilding efforts.
Ahmed Khadar Abdi Jama, a lecturer in economics at the University of Somalia, said innovative businesses are responding to the needs of diaspora returnees and the growing middle class, “which in turn adds to the expected increase in Somalia’s GDP.”
Outside the bowling alley, traffic hummed and neon signs flickered, other reminders of Mogadishu’s fragile transformation.
Somalia welcomes its first bowling alley as the middle class and diaspora returnees grow
https://arab.news/j7z4s
Somalia welcomes its first bowling alley as the middle class and diaspora returnees grow
- Cafes line newly reopened streets, beaches draw evening crowds and traffic congestion, once unimaginable, now clogs key intersections
Youth voters take center stage in Bangladesh election after student-led regime change
- About 45% of Bangladeshis eligible to vote in Thursday’s election are aged 18-33
- Election follows 18 months of reforms after the end of Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule
DHAKA: When he goes to the polls on Thursday, Atikur Rahman Toha will vote for the first time, believing that this election can bring democratic change to Bangladesh.
A philosophy student at Dhaka University, Toha was already eligible to vote in the 2024 poll but, like many others, he opted out.
“I didn’t feel motivated to even go to vote,” he said. “That was a truly one-sided election. The election system was fully corrupted. That’s why I felt demotivated. But this time I am truly excited to exercise my voting rights for the first time.”
The January 2024 vote was widely criticized by both domestic and international observers and marred by a crackdown on the opposition and allegations of voter fraud.
But the victory of the Awami League of ex-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was short-lived, as a few months later the government was ousted by a student-led uprising, which ended the 15-year rule of Bangladesh’s longest-serving leader.
The interim administration, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, took control in August 2024 and prepared a series of reforms to restructure the country’s political and institutional framework and organize the upcoming vote.
About 127.7 million Bangladeshis are eligible to cast their ballots, according to Election Commission data, with nearly a third of them, or 40.4 million, aged 18-29. Another 16.9 million are 30-33, making it a youth–dominated poll, with the voters hopeful the outcome will help continue the momentum of the 2024 student-led uprising.
“We haven’t yet fully transitioned into a democratic process. And there is no fully stable situation in the country,” Toha said. “After the election we truly hope that the situation will change.”
For Rawnak Jahan Rakamoni, also a Dhaka University student, who is graduating in information science, voting this time meant that her voice would count.
“We are feeling that we are heard, we will be heard, our opinion will matter,” she said.
“I think it is a very important moment for our country, because after many years of controversial elections, people are finally getting a chance to exercise their voting rights and people are hoping that this election will be more meaningful and credible. This should be a fair election.”
But despite the much wider representation than before, the upcoming vote will not be entirely inclusive in the absence of the Awami League, which still retains a significant foothold.
The Election Commission last year barred Hasina’s party from contesting the next national elections, after the government banned Awami League’s activities citing national security threats and a war crimes investigation against the party’s top leadership.
The UN Human Rights Office has estimated that between July 15 and Aug. 5, 2024 the former government and its security and intelligence apparatus, together with “violent elements” linked to the Awami League, “engaged systematically in serious human rights violations and abuses in a coordinated effort to suppress the protest movement.”
It estimated that at least 1,400 people were killed during the protests, with the majority shot dead from military rifles.
Rezwan Ahmed Rifat, a law student, wanted the new government to “ensure justice for the victims of the July (uprising), enforced disappearances, and other forms of torture” carried out by the previous regime.
The two main parties out of the 51 contesting Thursday’s vote are the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Jamaat-e-Islami. Jamaat, which in 2013 was banned from political participation by Hasina’s government, heads an 11-party alliance, including the National Citizen Party formed by student leaders from the 2024 movement.
“I see this election as a turning point of our country’s democratic journey … It’s not just a normal election,” said Falguni Ahmed, a psychology student who will head to the polls convinced that no matter who wins, it will result in the “democratic accountability” of the next government.
Ahmed added: “People are not voting only for their leaders; they are also voting for the restoration of democratic credibility. That’s why this election is very different.”
