ABSTRACT
A different set of ties formed in Mogadishu's residential neighborhoods, which were purportedly not clan-based, although it was widely remarked that members of certain clans did favor certain villages. These residential ties were, in a sense, ties of convenience, since it was only pragmatic for people to try to get on well with their neighbors. As one Somali anthropologist described it, qaaraan is assistance. The qaaraan-giving group is often the same group that also pays dia. As with many forms of informal assistance in Africa, qaaraan ultimately was little more than a substitute for the government's inability to respond to need or provide people with a safety net. "Allah will provide" was the subterfuge used by people of all walks of life in Mogadishu to explain where money beyond salaries came from, even though it could really only have originated with either relatives or friends, and usually only after having been solicited.
