Despite all the country's problems, however, life is better here for ordinary people than in the rest of Somalia. Somalia is rated the fifth poorest country in the world, and for the past 12 years it has had no effective central government.
During the civil war, many of the country's educated elite simply left, and in the capital Mogadishu the warring clans continue to battle for turf and abduct anyone they believe can provide ransom money.
A UN security official, returning after a two year tour of duty in Mogadishu, said recently: "In this place, all hope is in vain."
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