But once the cold war ended the money dried up. What followed made many donor nations wary of getting involved in Somalia again. Gangs steal power lines, telephone cables and streetlights. Last week, like vultures picking at the bones of a dead animal, men dug up the pipelines at the old oil refinery, carrying them away to sell. Electricity now comes from small generators, water from household tanks if you are rich or donkey-drawn carts if you are poor.
Most people survive on money remitted by relatives abroad.
The destruction is not only physical. The whole concept of a state has been distorted. At the airport, militiamen charge landing fees and sell exit visas. Mohamed plucks a rusty M-16 assault rifle from the safe. This is my protection.