Somalia in Transition: Photographs by Dominic Nahr
Somalia in Transition: Photographs by Dominic Nahr
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The following photos were taken in June 2012 Women enter a hospital in Mogadishu, which has become more active since Al-Shabaab was pushed out of the city.Dominic Nahr—Magnum for TIME
Mogadishu is enjoying its longest sustained peace in 21 years of civil war. But don’t mistake that for a return to normality. As TIME contract photographer Dominic Nahr’s pictures reveal, when the tide of war rolled back off Somalia’s capital, it left behind one of the world’s strangest-looking cities. Every building shot-up, every road ruined—a tropical Dresden on the Horn of Africa standing testament to an extraordinary capacity for destruction. And yet, as the city recovers, that grey and dusty tableau of annihilation only accentuates the bright shoots of returning life: the red of a head scarf, the orange covers on a refugee shelter, the florescent turquoise of the sea.
No one knows what Mogadishu’s future will look like. No one even knows whether its peace will last. But already there is a lesson: even in the most ruined city in the world’s most failed state, life and color—and hope—endures.
Dominic Nahr, a TIME contract photographer, is represented by Magnum.
Alex Perry is TIME’s Africa bureau chief.
The following photos were taken in June 2012 Women enter a hospital in Mogadishu, which has become more active since Al-Shabaab was pushed out of the city. Dominic Nahr—Magnum for TIME
An old car navigates though damaged roads in Mogadishu.Dominic Nahr—Magnum for TIME
A young girl sweeps in front of her tent inside an overpopulated camp for internally displaced people in Mogadishu. Dominic Nahr—Magnum for TIME
Outside a family home in Mogadishu. Dominic Nahr—Magnum for TIME
Somali men prepare to pack a truck full of goods at the port in Mogadishu.Dominic Nahr—Magnum for TIMEA Somali man wearing an American flag shirt talks to a policeman inside a building at the port in Mogadishu.Dominic Nahr—Magnum for TIME
A Somali man jumps into the water at the port in Mogadishu.Dominic Nahr—Magnum for TIME
An African Union soldier walks around the compound of the Al-Uruba hotel.Dominic Nahr—Magnum for TIME
The Al-Uruba hotel was one of the main bases of Al-Shabaab and was taken by the AU. It is now almost empty as most troops have been positioned outside of Mogadishu.Dominic Nahr—Magnum for TIME
An African Union soldier stands on the top floor of the destroyed Al-Uruba hotel.Dominic Nahr—Magnum for TIME
Transitional Federal Government soldiers pass through Mogadishu.Dominic Nahr—Magnum for TIME
An African Union soldier, inside the stadium, covers up strategical battle plans that were used to take Afgoye from Al-Shabaab.Dominic Nahr—Magnum for TIME
A mini version of Afgoye that was used to plan and execute taking the town from Al-Shabaab.Dominic Nahr—Magnum for TIME
Burundian African Union soldiers hold a church service on the outskirts of Mogadishu. Dominic Nahr—Magnum for TIME
The freshly painted Somali monument at the famous K4 junction.Dominic Nahr—Magnum for TIME
Somalia's defense minister prepares for an interview. Dominic Nahr—Magnum for TIME
Transitional Federal Government forces drive past an AU convoy along the Afgoye-Mogadishu corridor.Dominic Nahr—Magnum for TIME
An African Union soldier in the Afgoye market where Somalis sell goods, including khat, which was previously banned under Al-Shabaab.Dominic Nahr—Magnum for TIME
A view from inside an African Union armored vehicle along the Mogadishu-Afgoye road in Afogye, where attacks from Al-Shabaab are frequent.Dominic Nahr—Magnum for TIME
Homes and businesses are destroyed along the Mogadishu-Afgoye road, where heavy fighting had taken place.Dominic Nahr—Magnum for TIME
African Union troops inside an armored personal carrier in Baidoa in the east of Somalia.Dominic Nahr—Magnum for TIME
An Ethiopian soldier points his weapon at a possible threat in Baidoa, which has been held by the Ethiopians and will be handed over to the African Union troops. Dominic Nahr—Magnum for TIME
