Once a vibrant and noisy place, the market at Waheen was Somaliland’s largest. The covered market and surrounding streets in the capital, Hargeisa, housed about 2,000 shops and stalls, selling fresh fruit and meat alongside tailors’ premises and tech support stores.
However, in a fire this month, at least 28 people were injured and hundreds of businesses were destroyed. It was “a massive calamity” for the city’s economic centre, says Hargeisa’s mayor, Abdikarim Ahmed Mooge.
With much of Waheen in ruins, many who worked there have been left devastated. Most are women. Amina Ali, a meat seller, says that although the flames have gone out, the damage continues: “Waheen is at the heart of everything in Hargeisa and now it’s all gone to waste.”
Ayaan Salaad Mohamed, who had a…
