'Little Mogadishu': 2nd home for Somalis in S. Africa

By Hassan Isilow

JOHANNESBURG

Owners hurry to close their shops as the Muslim call for prayer emanates from different mosques in the area while women clad in long garb walk their children home from Islamic schools.

Welcome to Mayfair, a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa's largest city.

Locals have nicknamed the area "little Mogadishu" because of its large Somali population.

A stroll down the streets of Mayfair will make you feel as though you were in downtown Mogadishu.

"When I arrived here in 1995, there were very few Somalis – probably less than 200," Mohamed Odeh, a Mayfair-based Somali businessman, told The Anadolu Agency.

Odeh fled his homeland due to the violent civil war that broke out there in 1991.

He travelled by road, together with several other Somalis, crossing several national borders. After weeks of travel, they finally arrived in Johannesburg.

Odeh recalled that the few Somalis who had lived in Mayfair at the time had welcomed – and in some cases hosted – the new arrivals.

"They opened their homes to us," he recalled gratefully.

At the time, Odeh said, local business was foundering, with only one shopping center in Fordsburg, which is close to Mayfair.

But since the subsequent Somali influx, he noted, business in Mayfair had started to boom, with patrons coming from different parts of the city to shop.

Somali refugees own several businesses in the area, ranging from textile shops and supermarkets to restaurants offering traditional cuisine from the Horn of Africa.

Located less than ten minutes from Johannesburg's Central Business District, Mayfair now boasts two shopping centers built by Somali refugees who sell a range of imported and locally-manufactured products at relatively cheap prices.

"There are about 6,000 Somali nationals living here in Mayfair," Amir Sheikh, chairman of the Somali Community Board of South Africa (SCOB), told AA.

He said the number of Somalis in Mayfair used to be higher, but had since declined because some had returned home due to the relative stability Somalia is currently experiencing.

According to SCOB, there are about 70,000 Somalis living in South Africa who are mainly involved in the retail business sector.

Cape Town has the largest Somali population, followed by Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth.

"Our current figures are just estimates, because some Somalis leave the country while others arrive," SCOB Secretary-General Abdirizak Ali Osman told AA.

Second home

The influx of Somali and other migrants into Mayfair has led to an increase in rental prices for both residential and retail space.

"Homes in Mayfair that are rented to local South Africans are much cheaper compared to similar homes rented to foreigners," said Sheikh.

When property owners hear a foreign accent, he said, they tend to charge more than they would a fellow South African.

But many Somalis have bought property in Mayfair, which they frequently rent out to their countrymen.

Some also own fleets of trucks that transport merchandise to other cities where Somalis own businesses.

The community has also built a mosque and several Islamic schools to teach children how to recite the Quran, the Muslim holy book.

"Mayfair is much safer for me than Somalia," Ali Yere, a Somali refugee who has lived in South Africa for nearly two years, told AA.

"It has given me hope and a second chance in life," he added.

Yere said he had found peace and a "home away from home" in Mayfair.

"Even without a job, one can still survive here because people help each other," he said. "We treat each other as family."

Omar Ali Bantu, secretary-general of the local Somali Youth Association, says he is in South Africa to stay.

"I have already established myself here. I cannot return to Somalia," he told AA. "Many [Somali] youths have received formal education here."

Bantu, a 29-year-old father of one, says Somalis in South Africa are more united than those in Somalia who remain divided along clan lines.

But despite the brotherhood shown among Somalis in Mayfair, he – like many other Somalis – remains concerned about the rising xenophobia faced by many African migrants in South African townships.

Last month, more than 1,000 shops – owned by immigrants from Somalia, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and elsewhere – were looted across the Gauteng province in what observers described as "xenophobic" attacks.

The incident began in the Soweto Township after a foreign shopkeeper allegedly killed a local teenager.

-Khat-

South Africans who live among the Somali refugee community praise their honest business dealings, but dislike the way they park their vehicles in a disorderly manner, often in the middle of the road.

Another challenge has to do with the chewing of Khat, a natural stimulant that is popular in East Africa, the Horn of Africa and in Yemen.

Although Khat is technically illegal in South Africa, it has been openly sold on the streets of Mayfair for years.

Sometimes police raid places where Khat is sold, but – only hours later – the dealers are usually back in business.

"What can I do? I have no job and Khat pays me well," one dealer told AA on condition of anonymity.

He said the proceeds from Khat sales allowed him to feed his family. 

It's not uncommon to see Somali men happily chewing Khat in Mayfair and in other cities where Somalis reside.

The Somali elders committee, which helps resolve disputes among members of the community, has recently been trying to raise awareness among Somali youth about the dangers of chewing the leafy stimulant.

"Many families have been broken or affected as a result of chewing Khat," committee chairperson Mahmud Amir Hiraabe told AA.

Highly addictive, Khat is believed to have a stimulant effect similar to that of amphetamines.

"We're afraid our teenagers will start chewing this Khat, which is sold freely," one concerned parent, preferring anonymity, told AA.