This archive report was first published on 29 September 2019.
Published on September 29, 2019, by John Fox, a Managing Director of iDC.
As I traveled back from Mogadishu, I couldn't help but think about the differences between life in Africa and the UK. The immigration officer at JKIA's Terminal 2 looked at my passport and said, 'Mzee, at your age you shouldn't be going to Somalia like this. If you were a Kenyan, you would be resting comfortably at home.'
But I had just spent two of the previous three weeks in the UK, visiting five different places in the south of England. I didn't admit to the officer that I was indeed looking forward to a weekend sitting comfortably at home.
My experiences in Somalia were a far cry from the UK. I stayed at the Airport Hotel, a fine establishment with air-conditioned rooms and TVs with channels from all over the world. The hotel has two conference rooms and trellised spaces for smaller meetings. The manager, Julius Atieko, talked about the challenges of running a hotel in Somalia.
But one of the main attractions of the Airport Hotel is its relaxed atmosphere. Beyond the barricaded entry, there is a green Astroturf lawn and planted shrubs. Yes, there is also a signpost pointing the way to a bunker – a reminder that at the beginning of this year a few mortars were lobbed at MIA by Al-Shabab.
My experiences in Somalia and the UK made me think about why I chose to live in Africa. A young Ugandan woman I met at Bristol Airport asked me, 'I can't understand you at all. England is so beautiful and peaceful. The streets in the towns are clean. Drivers follow the rules on roads. Police don’t ask for bribes … Why on earth did you decide to live in Africa?'
I told her that many years ago when I was a young lecturer at Nottingham University and my professor asked, 'Would one of you young guys like to go to Kenya for a couple of years?' I put my hand up. And I have never regretted that decision.
