Little Mogadishu
Friday, June 17, 2011
Author:Tobin Jones
Tobin Jones is a photographer of English and American descent. Much of his life, however, has been spent living on the African continent, which he now largely considers home. Born in Botswana in 1986, Tobin spent most of his childhood growing up in Malawi and Kenya. Tobin first got into photography during a gap year that he spent in Fiji before going to university. He continued to pursue photography as a hobby while at university in Canada. In 2009 Tobin graduated from McGill University, with a major in International Development, as well as minors in Economics and Political Science. Soon after graduating he decided, however, to return to Kenya in order to pursue a career in photography. With his experience on the African continent and in International Development, Tobin hopes to use his photography to capture stories on the continent that might otherwise be overlooked. Namely, this will entail subjects that have to do with African society’s entrance into the modern world and the inevitable clash that it so often creates.
Introduction
Eastleigh, a small neighborhood in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, is a place both renowned for its shopping and feared for its connection to pirates and terrorism. The area gets its reputation, in a large part, from the huge Somali population that inhabits it. With a population of about 100,000, almost all are Somali; most having fled there after civil war ripped their country apart in the early 1990s. This makes Eastleigh one of the largest gatherings of Somalis, outside of Somalia itself, in the world.
Eastleigh is perhaps most known for the recent criticism it has received, regarding its reputation as a safe haven for pirates and breeding ground for Al-Shabab terrorists. Kenya’s reasonably stable economy and corrupt legal system has, at least in the past, allowed pirates to launder their money by building shopping malls and apartment complexes in the area. This has coincided with a rise in fundamentalist Islam, fuelled by increasingly frustrated refugees unable to work and therefore easily swayed by radical ideologies being espoused in the neighborhood.
Despite its connections to pirates and terrorism, though, Eastleigh is almost equally well known for its vibrant economy. As a shopping destination Eastleigh boasts some of the lowest prices in Nairobi. Businessmen come from all over East Africa, and even further afield, to take advantage of this. It is also reputed to be a place where you can buy anything from clothes, electronics, and gold to guns and body parts. As a result of its success as a shopping Mecca, Eastleigh’s residents have had an enormous amount of financial success in recent years. This has only been marred by the government’s reluctance to invest in the neighborhood’s infrastructure, most likely a result of the political problems between the two groups. As a result, this has caused small islands of wealth to emerge within a cityscape of terrible roads, intermittent electricity, and poor sanitation.
Due to its two radically different sides, Eastleigh represents different things to different people. To some a haven for pirates and breeding ground of terrorists, while for others a vibrant community of refugees that have succeeded in turning their neighborhoods into one of Nairobi’s busiest shopping areas. Only time will tell which one Eastleigh will ultimately be known for.
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/ Nairobi, Kenya
Eastleigh, with a population of approximately 100,000, represents one of the largest gatherings of Somalis outside of the country itself.
Photograph by Tobin Jones / © Tobin Jones. All Rights Reserved.
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/ Nairobi, Kenya
Despite the huge amounts of taxes generated by business owners in Eatleigh, little is reinvested in infrastructure by the government, making Eastleigh's road's some of the worst in Nairobi.
Photograph by Tobin Jones / © Tobin Jones. All Rights Reserved.
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/ Nairobi, Kenya
Traders, lured by cheap prices, come from as far away as Uganda, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to buy their goods in Eastleigh.
Photograph by Tobin Jones / © Tobin Jones. All Rights Reserved.
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/ Nairobi, Kenya
Though many in Eastleigh wear only traditional garments, this does not stop shop keepers from selling more modern styles to those that want them.
Photograph by Tobin Jones / © Tobin Jones. All Rights Reserved.
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/ Nairobi, Kenya
Islam and conservative values are still of paramount importance to many in Eastleigh, especially the elderly.
Photograph by Tobin Jones / © Tobin Jones. All Rights Reserved.
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/ Nairobi, Kenya
A man preaches Islam in the streets. Recent allegations have cited Eastleigh as a bastian for extremist al-shabab militants, who pose a threat to security in Kenya.
Photograph by Tobin Jones / © Tobin Jones. All Rights Reserved.
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/ Nairobi, Kenya
The majority of women in Eastleigh still wear the Burqa, a garment that has come under increasing scrutiny in Western countries.
Photograph by Tobin Jones / © Tobin Jones. All Rights Reserved.
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/ Nairobi, Kenya
Eastleigh represents a melting pot of many cultures. Here a somali man smokes a Sheesha pipe, an influence from the Middle East.
Photograph by Tobin Jones / © Tobin Jones. All Rights Reserved.
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/ Nairobi, Kenya
Camel is a popular meat for many of the residents in Eastleigh.
Photograph by Tobin Jones / © Tobin Jones. All Rights Reserved.
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/ Nairobi, Kenya
A butcher waits for customers at his shop in Eastleigh.
Photograph by Tobin Jones / © Tobin Jones. All Rights Reserved.
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/ Nairobi, Kenya
Two men operate a grinding machine in a smoky house to create the ingredients for muufo baraawe, a type of Somali bread.
Photograph by Tobin Jones / © Tobin Jones. All Rights Reserved.
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/ Nairobi, Kenya
Housing in Eastleigh is becoming increasingly scarce as more and more Somalis move there each year.
Photograph by Tobin Jones / © Tobin Jones. All Rights Reserved.
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/ Nairobi, Kenya
Men stand outside of a bus terminal, linking refugee camps in the north-east of Kenya with Nairobi.
Photograph by Tobin Jones / © Tobin Jones. All Rights Reserved.
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/ Nairobi, Kenya
Years of civil war in Somalia have caused almost an entire generation to loose out on an education. Here, two women attend classes specifically set up for those that missed out on an education earlier in life.
Photograph by Tobin Jones / © Tobin Jones. All Rights Reserved.
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/ Nairobi, Kenya
During the rainy season the streets of Eastleigh flood due to poor infrastructure. The merchants of Eastleigh recently won a court case allowing them to discontinue paying taxes until the government begins to provide the area with basic infrastructure.
Photograph by Tobin Jones / © Tobin Jones. All Rights Reserved.
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/ Nairobi, Kenya
Eastleigh has come under a huge property boom in recent years. Some attribute this to pirate money, one estimate accounting 65% of new buildings in the area to this.
Photograph by Tobin Jones / © Tobin Jones. All Rights Reserved.
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/ Nairobi, Kenya
Two Kenyan workers finish up for the day at one of Eastleigh's many building sites.
Photograph by Tobin Jones / © Tobin Jones. All Rights Reserved.
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/ Nairobi, Kenya
In the last few decades Eastleigh has gone from a predominantly Kenyan neighborhood to an almost entirely Somali one. Those Kenyans left often operate at the fringes of the economy.
Photograph by Tobin Jones / © Tobin Jones. All Rights Reserved.
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/ Nairobi, Kenya
Two boys play football outside of their home in an alleyway.
Photograph by Tobin Jones / © Tobin Jones. All Rights Reserved.
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/ Nairobi, Kenya
Like so many other Africans, Somalis share an equally strong passion for football.
Photograph by Tobin Jones / © Tobin Jones. All Rights Reserved.
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/ Nairobi, Kenya
Many older Somali men use henna as a way to conceal white hairs.
Photograph by Tobin Jones / © Tobin Jones. All Rights Reserved.
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/ Nairobi, Kenya
A schoolgirl, dressed in her school uniform, shares a laugh with friends on the streets of Eastleigh.
Photograph by Tobin Jones / © Tobin Jones. All Rights Reserved.
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Displaying 0 Comments
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Added Fri, Jul 30, 2010 - 12:04 am by TL Bradley
Congrats on the feature. This is wonderful.
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Added Fri, Jul 16, 2010 - 09:28 am by Victor Acquah
One of the goals of African Lens is to serve as a platform of advocacy - for stories that need to be told. This is one of them. Hopefully, this story will generate enough interest to spur more action / help towards the street kids here.
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Added Fri, Jul 02, 2010 - 04:17 am by Thomas
What a beautiful report story !! Congratulation for your job.
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Added Tue, Jun 15, 2010 - 01:02 pm by Marcello
This is an awesome Photo story! Thanks for sharing it, currently only watched the photos, but definitely wanna read it!
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