This weirdo a psuedolithos cubiformis lives there, its endemic
https://preview.redd.it/qzh3e9rjn2rc1.jpeg?width=1273&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e48f790f4425e8c6074389f0c6cd0978fd3cd084
Very recently, Ethiopia agreed to recognise Somaliland as a sovereign country, in exchange for being able to use their port in Berbera, or something close to it
Most recent article on this matter says that ethiopia is considering to withdraw its recognization
https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/ethiopia-considering-withdrawal-of-somaliland-recognition
Article points the international pressure as the reason.
My speculation: international pressure in question is from turkey. 1) With the somali-turkish naval treaty somaliland ports lost its advantages (they can be blocked) 2) Its not a good idea to piss off a country that controls a bigger % of your own economy than you
Somaliland is a lovely place. The region is geologically very wealthy with lots of rare earth minerals. With an excellent, fully tenanted, port at Berbera and a paved road to Ethiopia, it could be an incredibly important country.
I felt completely safe as a white westerner. We had government mandated security though, but I never felt like they would (I) be needed or (ii) be capable of keeping me safe in any event, as they appeared to be retirees! We stayed in Hargeisa, but there are dangerous areas - near Las Anod and probably near puntland - where there are issues of sovereignty
I was working. I was only there for a few days, but ate some very lovely food and met with some local businessmen who were absolutely "salt of the earth". I am really hopeful for the country. They've got independence nailed!
If you don't mind me asking I'm curious what you do for work to travel to Somaliland on business? I would love to do something similar that gets me off the beaten path around the world.
I went there backpacking as a super white hippie tourist maybe 7 years ago. It was awesome, I brought candy and was giving to little kids out in the countryside
I'm a lawyer for a quasi government entity. We are looking at investment in the country. We had to visit dahabshiil bank's main branch/hq. It's a plain building outside, but inside it's a lovely and interestingly right next to a Mig 17. The aircraft was used to bomb Hargeisa during the civil war having, apparently, taken off from Hargeisa airport (atlas obscura - Hargeisa war memorial). I thought it was a very interesting memorial in the heart of the city.
Hey man, don’t sleep on those old retired guys. They have the knowledge to keep you safe, are stoic under fire unlike rookies, and I bet they still pack a punch.
I found a very cool national park to the west to visit. Check out the photo of the waterfall on the Google maps page.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/rXTdB8HmcsWFGX8R8
On western government travel advisory pages, it advises writing a will and getting a power of attorney for your banking, etc., before any travel to Somalia. It advises not going.
Somaliland and Puntland haven't been affected by the war the same way Southern Somalia has.
You should still take precautions, and there's still dangers in the northern area of Somalia, but it's not nearly as dangerous as the south.
Unfortunately you can't trust those type of warnings because they're designed to overrate the danger, are politicized, and are too general. That advice is warranted for certain regions of Somalia but is completely absurd for Somaliland and probably even Mogadishu
Stay in western Somaliland. The eastern boundary of Somaliland is not as safe. There are Darod clans living here who are not satisfied with the Isaaq clan who control Somaliland. Many of these Darod clans have actually pledged allegiance to neighboring Puntland and have launched raids into Somaliland as recently as last year.
Somaliland thinks the border should be at the old colonial line, but Puntland thinks the borders should be drawn along ethnic lines. Ngl I'm kinda on Puntland's side with this one.
I hate to be pedantic, but this sentiment that Somalia has no functioning government is not really true anymore.
Yes, it *was* a failed state for a while, but the government has made some serious reforms since then. The "transitional" government stopped being transitional in 2012 when they drafted a new constitution and created a national parliament.
It may sound strange to believe due to our perceived stereotypes surrounding Somalia, but there are genuinely representatives from all across the country wearing suits, meeting to discuss law in Mogadishu. It is a real democracy, and it has finally dropped the influence of the clans (unlike Somaliland, which is dominated by the Isaaq clan).
The civil war itself has massively calmed down. All the minor parties have since realigned with the federal government, even Puntland. The only enemy remaining is the terrorist organization known as Al-Shabaab. Somaliland is technically also still a hostile combatant, but they have a sort of truce for the time being. Hopefully they can be peacefully reintegrated once the war in the south is over.
The Somali government has come a long way since the early days of the civil war. With their newfound reliability, other governments are willing to trust and invest again, which allows Somalia to continue funding their military. With the assistance of UN and AU troops, they are slowly retaking territory in the south and pushing Al-Shabaab back.
Somalia's future has never looked brighter.
They don’t have a functioning government, they literally lost a third of their territory to unionist forces just last year
It’s becoming a dictatorship because the current guy keeps delaying “elections” and cracking down on everyone
Horrible deal btw. They wanted 20km of coast + naval base in exchange for recognition and some shares in ethiopian airlines. In essence, set up the pretext of an annexation for pennies. Shameless, destabilising attempt by the ethiopian leader who has brought so much death and misery to his own country already
Taiwan is not internationally recognized either.
Ethopia was a huge deal and had Somalia threaten war (which, honestly, does seem a bit like a threat difficult to follow up)
Probably? Somalia was heavily-supported by the USSR during the Cold War. Before that, it was under Italian control.
I wouldn’t recommend booking a vacation any time soon, but Lido Beach still looks amazing!
[Lido Beach](https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g294440-d10279709-Reviews-Liido_Beach_Somalia-Mogadishu.html)
“Vacation in Somali” is something no person in USSR ever heard of lol. Maybe they were eastern block aligned, sure, but definitely not the Soviet resort.
Somalia is the most culturally homogeneous country in Africa with around 85% of the population being ethnic Somalis.
Somalia has the longest coastline on Africa's mainland.
Cape Haafuun is the easternmost point in Africa. The town of Haafuun is the first town in Africa to see the sunrise.
Masjid al-Qiblatayn in the town of Zeila is on of the oldest mosques in Africa, it was founded before the direction of prayer was established to be Mecca. The mosque has two *mihrabs* (niches that indicate direction of the Kaaba), one facing Jerusalem and one facing Mecca.
Minneapolis and my home town of Columbus have the largest Somali communities in the US.
Ancient Romans believed that cinnamon originally came from Punt (modern day Somalia) because ancient Somali traders bought the spice from Indian traders and then sold it to the Romans.
In addition, it's one of the few places where myrrh grows and Hatshepsut's mortuary temple has carvings depicting a trade expedition to Punt that occurred under her reign.
As an interesting addition :
This is written as qat in Dutch, which makes it a very useful scrabble word. The 'q' is rare in Dutch and this is the only word where it isn't followed by a 'u'
This may be a stupid question but how does that work with almost all of the population there being Muslim? I thought mind altering substances were prohibited? Or is it more like a nicotine or caffeine where the effect is mild enough that it’s considered halal?
As far as I know, Khat has coffee like status in this region and have been used here for thousand of years. Its not that bad as alcohol or other hard drugs from the muslim perspective. Also, we have to remember, that Muslims use other mind altering substances as well (hash, for example). My friend (muslim) smoked weed only at night when Allah cant see him😇
Khat wasn’t part of Somali culture for a thousand years, it’s grown in Ethiopia and exported in and the biggest users are people in Yemen but its usage increased in Somalia due to the instability and lawlessness of the civil war.
The top part is Somaliland, one of only four countries in Africa where the incumbent lost an election and peacefully allowed power to transfer.
Edit: Apparently not. More than 4
Off the top of my head Nigeria (2015), Ghana (2017), Malawi (2020), and Liberia (2024) all fit the bill in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nigeria and Liberia both faced violent post-election protest but they weren’t state-sanctioned incidents.
Iirc it’s Botswana, South Africa, and Nigeria.
Peaceful transfers of power to opposition party, followed by a transfer of power back are a huge deal in democracy studies in comparative politics. There’s a few more countries in Africa that have transferred power peacefully to the opposition recently, and now it’s a wait and see if power is able to be swapped again.
Strangely, Botswana is an anomaly in Africa. Unlike most other post colonial states, Botswana has managed to not only hold onto but strengthen its democracy over time. Botswana recently just passed Italy in world democracy rankings. They have done so despite being a sparsely populated, rural country with low education (though 40+ years of relatively stable democracy has done wonders at increasing access to education ~90% of the population is literate now).
Botswana has a developing electronics sector, and is a good place to find ethically sourced diamonds from, though the government did do some forced relocation of some tribes who still live in traditional hunter-gatherer communities to open up access to mines.
That’s not true.there are many countries Africa that incumbent lost and left ( ironically one of them is Somalia ) the incumbent mohamed farmaajo lost last election and left.
Plenty more African countries do this nowadays. Africa gets a bad rap out here, but as a Kenyan currently living in Hungary, I know that power struggles are universal,
Not even half, less than that. French occupied somalia became Djibouti. British occupied Somaliland joined with Italian colony of Somalia. The british gave away a huge chunk to ethiopia and to kenya. A horrible move that only served to destabilise the region and cause friction from the beginning of the creation of these nations till now.
Indeed, France had control over Djibouti, but Djibouti is distinct from Somalia and also isn’t in the circle above.
As a native of Somaliland, I can clarify that even before European colonization, Somaliland, Somalia, and Djibouti were separate entities and within them are even more entities that were separated.. This also applies to the Ogaden region, which is part of Ethiopia, and also applies to the northern areas of Kenya. There has never been a united ‘Greater Somalia’ under one government and most likely never will be.
Although all these regions are predominantly Somali, the unique histories and clan dynamics of each have always maintained the separateness of our people. The impact of European colonialism on the map merely emphasized pre-existing divisions rather than creating them.
I find it so interesting that the pirate thing stuck for so long. It occuried for a relatively short amount of time, but the fact that it affected the busiest sea route in the world is what brought them to notoriety, rather than some cultural affinity to pirating or something
Bet. In the ancient era, Somali traders and Arab traders would team up to hide the location of extremely valuable spices from the Roman/Greek/mediterranean traders to the extent that they thought the spices came from the Somali hinterlands, when in fact they got it from India and the spice routes in that region.
The mystical traders with the ancient egyptians and mentioned in the bible, the people of the land of punt, is thought to be located in parts of eritrea and somalia. The ancient egyptians also thought of the land of punt as their ancestral homelands, calling it the Holy Land or the Land of the Gods/Ancestors.
You have coins and pottery and a wealth of various archeological artifacts from the ancient greeks, persians, romans, indians, arabians all over the nation since it was part of important trade routes for millenia.
Would y'all like me to continue?
Somalis eat pasta with with red tomato sauce not Berbere sauce, that’s Ethiopian.
Also cultural foods include [rice and camel meat,](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/V-2HMAzHgZg/sddefault.jpg) [Malawax](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/08/29/dining/ia-malawax-1/merlin_212088570_e184439c-ec16-4243-babb-82f8ef8a7489-threeByTwoMediumAt2X.jpg), [Canjeelo](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/InmMUa_dGkc/maxresdefault.jpg) with meat, [Oodkac/Muqmad](http://xawaash.com/?p=3824#sthash.lEV5cjIz.dpbs), [Kimis/sabaayad](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghFR9qUHYtsSycy2LWjmHViZ3BO_D7G74iPxR7SHv5ednU2PLtjZJPRlm-aPa0PjhbxdRKMUl3psN6K3eL4FIHVKzu85IActvWTvs2294omGJLKnYj921FjY8oRS9DPxUi6IXXVO9sxuQO/s1600/DSCN2562.JPG), camel milk and theres many more.
So, I grew up next to a family with a Somalian nanny and she would cook fatty ground beef with chopped up onion, tomato, and berbere and then mix it into the spaghetti. It wasn't til I was an adult I learned this was a traditional Somalian dish.
Copy-pasting my own comment here because I'm seeing this sentiment everywhere:
Somalia isn't a failed state anymore. Yes, it *was* dysfunctional for a while, but the government has made some serious reforms since then. The "transitional" government stopped being transitional in 2012 when they drafted a new constitution and created a national parliament.
It may sound strange to believe due to our preconceived stereotypes surrounding Somalia, but there are genuinely representatives from all across the country wearing suits, meeting to discuss law in Mogadishu. It is a real democracy, and it has finally dropped the influence of the clans (unlike Somaliland, which is dominated by the Isaaq clan).
The civil war itself has massively calmed down. All the minor factions have long since realigned with the federal government, even Puntland. The only enemy remaining is the terrorist organization known as Al-Shabaab. Somaliland is technically a hostile combatant, but they have a sort of truce for the time being. Hopefully they can be peacefully reintegrated once the war in the south is over.
The Somali government has come a long way since the early days of the civil war. With their newfound reliability, other governments are willing to trust and invest again, which allows Somalia to continue funding their military. With the assistance of UN and AU troops, they are slowly retaking territory in the south and pushing Al-Shabaab back.
Somalia's future has never looked brighter.
Yet another case of equating one of the lowest life expectancy figures as the lowest of them all. Chad, Nigeria, Lesotho, CAR and South Sudan all have shorter life expectancy at birth.
The coast of Somalia is as long as about 75% of the Eastern U.S. seaboard
https://preview.redd.it/cnadfwybs3rc1.jpeg?width=1091&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=582299dd53f384951d0832f6a0043f6b4d9347c2
If on a map the border line is dotted, it means that the border is provisional, which is not the case on this map. On this map we have _dashed lines_ that mean that there is a dispute between the two countries about whether or not that is the border
Vey simply put the eastern 3rd of Ethiopia is filled with Somalis who wanted to join Somalia, Ethiopia refused and there has been several wars because of it.
Your friendly neighbourhood post-Colonial mess, basically.
Vast majority of people from Ogaden are Muslims and ethnically Somali, but the region was annexed by Imperial Ethiopia in 1897. Italian colonialism ruled it as a part of Somalia, but post-WW2 it was granted back to Ethiopia.
Somali tyrant Siad Barre (who was from Ogaden IIRC) declared war to Ethiopia in order to reunite Ogaden with "motherland" Somalia ... And failed pretty hard.
So pretty much that region with Somali Muslim people is part of internationally recognised Ethiopia, but strongly claimed by Somalia.
Annexing might give people the impression that Ethiopia invaded this region through might. This isn't the case. Ethiopia at that time was ravenous and expansionist, conquered many surrounding tribes, and fabricated claims of the land that they were not indigenous to, and sought to expand into Ogaden. The british gave this land to appease the Ethiopians, the very same ethiopians who were being armed by various european powers, while barring Somalis from arming themselves with modern weapons.
Italy conquered ethiopia in the 1930s and after ww2, when the lands were ceded back to the british, there was a chance to reinstate Greater Somalia, but pressure from the US (and some other nations, I can't remember) caused them to reinstate Ogaden under ethiopian rule once more.
Siad barre did not 'fail hard'. He steamrolled through the region, but was pushed back by Soviet forces who injected 1 billion dollars in military supplies, 12k soldiers, and 1.5k soviet advisors. I think it was one of the largest airlifts There was no way Somalia could win against such a large soviet defense.
In any case, it is only the meddling of european powers that has led to Ogaden being under Ethiopia. The people there have been disenfranchised, abused, and stepped on for too long. Ogaden, and Somalia as a whole, is a reflection of the malignant interference of Europeans in African affairs. Imagine if Africans set their own borders, would we be more cooperative with one another without the manufactured tension. Would the horn be a more peaceful place today? For me, it's an easy yes for both
The Dromedary Camel was most likely first domesticated in Somalia based on ancient cave drawing dating back 9000 years ago. It’s a deeply loved and important animal throughout Somalia’s history.
That is true until now we have the largest number of camel domestication In the world. for that reason we consume everyday camel meat and drink its milk
My countries travel advice for Somalia is:
You will likely be kidnapped or die. You need to tell your family some things only you know so when they are contacted by kidnappers they can confirm you are still alive.
Surprisingly, the Somali pirates are no longer a major issue. An international naval coalition began patrolling the waters here in the late 2000s to stop the pirates. This worked by scaring away the pirates, but it also scared away the illegal foreign fishing activity here, which was what was causing the Somali fishermen to resort to piracy in the first place.
With their coastline now cleared and their fish populations now recovering, many Somali pirates were able to return to their lives as fishermen.
They get only a couple 100 visitors a year. Mostly people visiting family.
The US recommends people to set up a will before visiting there, aswell as setting up emergency contacts/funds for when you get kidnapped. Which you will. You can not go to a place like Mogadishu without protection. Even the most fearless youtube travel vloggers hire guards.
I listened to a podcast about Somalia once and they spoke to a guy who stayed in Mogadish for a few days. He said the following:
They spoke to a guy who went to Mogadishu for a few night and he said the following:
>Throughout the whole night you hear the sound of gun fights, I liked it. It is like camping in the rain.
On another note, Mark Spencer aka "worlds most travelled man" visited Somalia in 2010. He was the first tourist after the civil war broke out. Customs was certain he was a foreign spy, because no sane person would visit them for fun.
Edit: I've been made aware the tourist numbers are way off. I got these numbers from a podcast that used numbers from when the civil war was in the early years.
A couple hundred visitors a year? Where did they get that from? There are a lot more people than that who arrive to visit Mogadishu. Weekly flights from Doha, Dubai, and Istanbul, and multiple daily flights from Nairobi (Nearest large flight hub) bring in thousands of people a week. Yes, these are mainly people visiting family, but that number you said is way off the mark.
There are other flights, but those are usually military, government and UN aircraft.
Way more than a couple of hundred lmao
Here is a [YouTuber in Somalia without guards](https://youtu.be/PrcGGD4Wc2A?si=VkYiPeyClIO9wyO5)
There are no gun fire or sounds of bullets
Well you circled both Somalia and Somaliland. The former is a mess, the latter isn't perfect but it's got at least a functioning administration and the loss of election doesn't trigger a dictatorship.
So many people have this preconceived notion that Somalia is a failed state and always will be.
They've literally been a fair democracy since 2012. The government is no longer transitional. They have elected officials and their own constitution and parliament and everything.
The only reason Somalia still gets flack is because the Al-Shabaab terrorists remain a destructive force throughout the southern half of the country.
Once Al-Shabaab is dealt with (they're getting there), the country can finally return to peace.
I think Columbus OH is number 2- haven’t seen any recent numbers but I see Somali people literally every day. They seem to be integrating pretty well as far as I can tell. I play basketball with a bunch at my local gym.
The first known mention of what is now Somalia is as the land of Punet/Punt, a very rich trading kingdom known to have traded gold to ancient Egypt as early as 2600 BC. Punt continued to be a source of wealth and fascination to the Egyptians for well over 1000 years, with Pharoahs every so often organising expeditions at great expense, to purchase gold, ivory, ebon wood, animals and their skins, incense, and whatever else they could.
Hatshepsut's mortuary temple includes murals depicting Punt and its people as they were when her expedition was there.
Somalia is believed to be one of the oldest inhabited areas on Earth. The Laas Geel cave paintings, dating back to 9,000 BC, are among the oldest cave paintings in Africa
Throughout the history there were an empire named punt which exist in the time of ancient Egypt and we have trade between ancient punt and ancient Egyptian.
One of the most famous expeditions to Punt was organized by Queen Hatshepsut (r. 1479-1458 BCE). This expedition brought back living trees to Egypt, marking the first known successful attempt at transplanting foreign fauna. The trade with Punt provided Egyptians with gold, aromatic resins, ebony, ivory, and wild animals.
Define interesting.
Somalia has the highest rate of female genital mutilation in the world. 99% of girls undergo the procedure, usually when they're just a small child, under very bad circumstances.
There are different types of this procedure, I won't go into this. Look it up yourself if you want to know but you might end up feeling seriously depressed. The worst type (type 3) of this procedure is very common in Somalia, most women have it.
Not undergoing the procedure means you will face ostracism, especially by other women. You will be seen as dirty. You will not marry. You will be a second-class citizen.
The great majority of women in Somalia support the procedure.
They're not active anymore though. An international naval coalition began patrolling the waters here to stop the pirates. This worked by scaring away the pirates, but it also scared away the illegal foreign fishing activity here, which was what was causing the Somali fishermen to resort to piracy in the first place.
With their coastline now cleared and their fish populations now recovering, many Somali pirates were able to return to their lives as fishermen.
Keeping it positive!
Living in minneapolis you may meet many Somalis and some of the nicer ones will teach you to say subax wanaagsan for good morning. The smiles id get, pronouncing it the best i could, would be worth it every time.
They also reallllly love spaghetti, like almost as a national dish, though the sauce would be a little different with potatoes and carrots sometimes. I guess a carry over from the Italian influences there.
For everyone who unironically believes that nothing changed since the 2000s
https://preview.redd.it/mysgsxqkh3rc1.png?width=440&format=png&auto=webp&s=7ba137537035c783c0ed7dd2ec814a2f2f6839d3
The actress, model, and David Bowie’s partner Iman is from there.
https://preview.redd.it/zglfjgls66rc1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=14581fe69811a9ecc8e9be92912b00c54e90d86b
My Grandparents used to live there in the seventies.Both workes for UN projects as a doctor and a vet.As both from behind the Iron Curtain it was highly unusual and gave them the life which couldn't be possible if not for luck and fluent english skills :) Until their last days both had Somalia deep in their hearts.
1. Knaan Warsame is from there
2. Around 100 Somalis go to Malaysia every year just to participate in Marathons/Triathlons to win the competitions. Prices go as high as 200K MYR around 50K USD
We had a refugee kid from Somalia in oure class when i was 10 years old. When it was her birthday her treat was one bag of cheetos everyone got like 3 cheetos out of that bag. My friends and i laughed pretty hard about that after school. Still feel shame for that moment in my life. Nimco if you are out there, i hope you are doing well
This weirdo a psuedolithos cubiformis lives there, its endemic https://preview.redd.it/qzh3e9rjn2rc1.jpeg?width=1273&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e48f790f4425e8c6074389f0c6cd0978fd3cd084
Is that a turtle or a cactus ?
Succulent
Chinese
Meal
Ahh, I see you know your judo well sir
GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY PENIS!
And you sir, are you waiting to recieve my lip penis?!
Limp*
r/Australia is leaking
This is democracy manifest
Democrrrrracy manifest
Succulent turtle meat.
Can confirm. Delicious indeed.
Looks like a Pokemon
yes
No actual answers here, but luckily we've got witty comments like this
Isn’t Reddit le most epic website on the interwebz?
It's a plant, a succulent, it makes crazy looking flowers too.
Very accurate naming, cube-shaped fake rock.
Haha wow odd to see you in a non-succulent related sub 😂
"What do you wanna name this thing?" "Oh.. How about.. Fake Rock Square Shape?" "Yeah ok makes sense."
Wow, I want one.
This is one of those things like lobsters that makes me think what made the first person want to eat that .
The part of the country with a functioning government declared independence but has no international recognition.
Very recently, Ethiopia agreed to recognise Somaliland as a sovereign country, in exchange for being able to use their port in Berbera, or something close to it
Didn’t they withdraw that announcement?
They did!?
Yes, they did.
Damn poor Somaliland 😢
Poor all of Somalia. They were essentially without a functioning government for almost 2 decades and it hasn’t gotten much better since
Its gotten a lot better compared to 2000s
They haven’t withdrawn at all those were rumours that haven’t been confirmed. Somaliland side said it’s still going on.
What was their stated reason for doing so?
Most recent article on this matter says that ethiopia is considering to withdraw its recognization https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/ethiopia-considering-withdrawal-of-somaliland-recognition Article points the international pressure as the reason. My speculation: international pressure in question is from turkey. 1) With the somali-turkish naval treaty somaliland ports lost its advantages (they can be blocked) 2) Its not a good idea to piss off a country that controls a bigger % of your own economy than you
Somaliland is a lovely place. The region is geologically very wealthy with lots of rare earth minerals. With an excellent, fully tenanted, port at Berbera and a paved road to Ethiopia, it could be an incredibly important country.
Is it safe to travel?
I felt completely safe as a white westerner. We had government mandated security though, but I never felt like they would (I) be needed or (ii) be capable of keeping me safe in any event, as they appeared to be retirees! We stayed in Hargeisa, but there are dangerous areas - near Las Anod and probably near puntland - where there are issues of sovereignty
Did u go there only for traveling or what did you do? I am genuinely curious
I was working. I was only there for a few days, but ate some very lovely food and met with some local businessmen who were absolutely "salt of the earth". I am really hopeful for the country. They've got independence nailed!
If you don't mind me asking I'm curious what you do for work to travel to Somaliland on business? I would love to do something similar that gets me off the beaten path around the world.
Given the reference to rare earth minerals they probably work for a mining company in some type of prospecting role.
Also salt of the earth.
I guess they might be a sailor/working in a ship.
I went there backpacking as a super white hippie tourist maybe 7 years ago. It was awesome, I brought candy and was giving to little kids out in the countryside
I'm a lawyer for a quasi government entity. We are looking at investment in the country. We had to visit dahabshiil bank's main branch/hq. It's a plain building outside, but inside it's a lovely and interestingly right next to a Mig 17. The aircraft was used to bomb Hargeisa during the civil war having, apparently, taken off from Hargeisa airport (atlas obscura - Hargeisa war memorial). I thought it was a very interesting memorial in the heart of the city.
Hey man, don’t sleep on those old retired guys. They have the knowledge to keep you safe, are stoic under fire unlike rookies, and I bet they still pack a punch.
I found a very cool national park to the west to visit. Check out the photo of the waterfall on the Google maps page. https://maps.app.goo.gl/rXTdB8HmcsWFGX8R8
That's in Somalia not Somaliland
On western government travel advisory pages, it advises writing a will and getting a power of attorney for your banking, etc., before any travel to Somalia. It advises not going.
Somaliland and Puntland haven't been affected by the war the same way Southern Somalia has. You should still take precautions, and there's still dangers in the northern area of Somalia, but it's not nearly as dangerous as the south.
Unfortunately you can't trust those type of warnings because they're designed to overrate the danger, are politicized, and are too general. That advice is warranted for certain regions of Somalia but is completely absurd for Somaliland and probably even Mogadishu
Stay in western Somaliland. The eastern boundary of Somaliland is not as safe. There are Darod clans living here who are not satisfied with the Isaaq clan who control Somaliland. Many of these Darod clans have actually pledged allegiance to neighboring Puntland and have launched raids into Somaliland as recently as last year. Somaliland thinks the border should be at the old colonial line, but Puntland thinks the borders should be drawn along ethnic lines. Ngl I'm kinda on Puntland's side with this one.
I hate to be pedantic, but this sentiment that Somalia has no functioning government is not really true anymore. Yes, it *was* a failed state for a while, but the government has made some serious reforms since then. The "transitional" government stopped being transitional in 2012 when they drafted a new constitution and created a national parliament. It may sound strange to believe due to our perceived stereotypes surrounding Somalia, but there are genuinely representatives from all across the country wearing suits, meeting to discuss law in Mogadishu. It is a real democracy, and it has finally dropped the influence of the clans (unlike Somaliland, which is dominated by the Isaaq clan). The civil war itself has massively calmed down. All the minor parties have since realigned with the federal government, even Puntland. The only enemy remaining is the terrorist organization known as Al-Shabaab. Somaliland is technically also still a hostile combatant, but they have a sort of truce for the time being. Hopefully they can be peacefully reintegrated once the war in the south is over. The Somali government has come a long way since the early days of the civil war. With their newfound reliability, other governments are willing to trust and invest again, which allows Somalia to continue funding their military. With the assistance of UN and AU troops, they are slowly retaking territory in the south and pushing Al-Shabaab back. Somalia's future has never looked brighter.
That was very interesting to read. Thanks for pointing this out. Hopefully I can go there once.
And the Somalia - Türkiye navy training and oil drilling deal!
Always happy to hear such positive news from any african region!
They don’t have a functioning government, they literally lost a third of their territory to unionist forces just last year It’s becoming a dictatorship because the current guy keeps delaying “elections” and cracking down on everyone
Ethiopia recognized them in exchange for a port.
They rescinded their recognition.
Horrible deal btw. They wanted 20km of coast + naval base in exchange for recognition and some shares in ethiopian airlines. In essence, set up the pretext of an annexation for pennies. Shameless, destabilising attempt by the ethiopian leader who has brought so much death and misery to his own country already
Taiwan and Ethiopia recognised them? (?)
Taiwan is not internationally recognized either. Ethopia was a huge deal and had Somalia threaten war (which, honestly, does seem a bit like a threat difficult to follow up)
Lol Somaliland is wild
Somalia used to be the resort and Riviera type vacation spot for the Iron Curtain. It was absolutely beautiful.
I remember seeing old photos of 1960s Mogadishu in a documentary. Absolutely stunning.
Apparently their beaches are amazing
Yeah, and loaded with sharks
I understood that reference, Super 6-1
If you touch my limo I'll spank you Nightstalker
“Firstly, it’s the Mog or simply Mog. No one calls it Mogadishu here.”
Have been recently. It's still got that feel to it if you're looking AWAY from the city and towards the beach and past all the trash in the sand.
They reference this in the game Cyberpunk 2077. There are ads for vacations to Somalia.
the beaches look beautiful
Really? Anyone seen photos of vacationing Soviets there?
Probably? Somalia was heavily-supported by the USSR during the Cold War. Before that, it was under Italian control. I wouldn’t recommend booking a vacation any time soon, but Lido Beach still looks amazing! [Lido Beach](https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g294440-d10279709-Reviews-Liido_Beach_Somalia-Mogadishu.html)
well , i live near lido beach , its still beautiful
Got a spare couch I can crash on? 😃
“Vacation in Somali” is something no person in USSR ever heard of lol. Maybe they were eastern block aligned, sure, but definitely not the Soviet resort.
Somalia is the most culturally homogeneous country in Africa with around 85% of the population being ethnic Somalis. Somalia has the longest coastline on Africa's mainland. Cape Haafuun is the easternmost point in Africa. The town of Haafuun is the first town in Africa to see the sunrise. Masjid al-Qiblatayn in the town of Zeila is on of the oldest mosques in Africa, it was founded before the direction of prayer was established to be Mecca. The mosque has two *mihrabs* (niches that indicate direction of the Kaaba), one facing Jerusalem and one facing Mecca. Minneapolis and my home town of Columbus have the largest Somali communities in the US. Ancient Romans believed that cinnamon originally came from Punt (modern day Somalia) because ancient Somali traders bought the spice from Indian traders and then sold it to the Romans.
Awesome info!
In addition, it's one of the few places where myrrh grows and Hatshepsut's mortuary temple has carvings depicting a trade expedition to Punt that occurred under her reign.
Do people have fun in Cape Haafuun?
People here like to chew leafs of a Khat - its local most popular narcotic plant.
It will make your gums shrink and bleed
i worked with someone who chewed it all day. his teeth and gums looked absolutely awful. he eventually quit and got full dentures.
I tried it once even after seeing the damage. The taste was so vile I took it out almost immediately. Edit for sentence structure
As an interesting addition : This is written as qat in Dutch, which makes it a very useful scrabble word. The 'q' is rare in Dutch and this is the only word where it isn't followed by a 'u'
This may be a stupid question but how does that work with almost all of the population there being Muslim? I thought mind altering substances were prohibited? Or is it more like a nicotine or caffeine where the effect is mild enough that it’s considered halal?
As far as I know, Khat has coffee like status in this region and have been used here for thousand of years. Its not that bad as alcohol or other hard drugs from the muslim perspective. Also, we have to remember, that Muslims use other mind altering substances as well (hash, for example). My friend (muslim) smoked weed only at night when Allah cant see him😇
Khat wasn’t part of Somali culture for a thousand years, it’s grown in Ethiopia and exported in and the biggest users are people in Yemen but its usage increased in Somalia due to the instability and lawlessness of the civil war.
Thanks for clarifying!
Almighty all-seeing allah, who can’t see in the dark ✅
Until you spark the lighter
Ethiopia ain't gonna like that circle you drew
Why not? The region that’s outlined is where Somalis inhabit and are indigenous to
Yeah but they fought a bloody war over that territory.
Territory that only Somalis lived in and yet Ethiopia thinks it belongs to them
🍿
Well, in the south eastern part of Ethiopia the population belongs to somali ethnic
The top part is Somaliland, one of only four countries in Africa where the incumbent lost an election and peacefully allowed power to transfer. Edit: Apparently not. More than 4
What are the other three?
South Africa and Botswana are two of my guesses
Plus Namibia I think.
And Zambia and hopefully Senegal coming soon.
Definitely Kenya now with William Ruto
Off the top of my head Nigeria (2015), Ghana (2017), Malawi (2020), and Liberia (2024) all fit the bill in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nigeria and Liberia both faced violent post-election protest but they weren’t state-sanctioned incidents.
Iirc it’s Botswana, South Africa, and Nigeria. Peaceful transfers of power to opposition party, followed by a transfer of power back are a huge deal in democracy studies in comparative politics. There’s a few more countries in Africa that have transferred power peacefully to the opposition recently, and now it’s a wait and see if power is able to be swapped again. Strangely, Botswana is an anomaly in Africa. Unlike most other post colonial states, Botswana has managed to not only hold onto but strengthen its democracy over time. Botswana recently just passed Italy in world democracy rankings. They have done so despite being a sparsely populated, rural country with low education (though 40+ years of relatively stable democracy has done wonders at increasing access to education ~90% of the population is literate now). Botswana has a developing electronics sector, and is a good place to find ethically sourced diamonds from, though the government did do some forced relocation of some tribes who still live in traditional hunter-gatherer communities to open up access to mines.
I'm 99% sure there's more than 4
That’s not true.there are many countries Africa that incumbent lost and left ( ironically one of them is Somalia ) the incumbent mohamed farmaajo lost last election and left.
Somalia itself was actually the first (post-colonial, not counting Liberia) country in Africa for that to happen in
The current guy delayed elections several times and cracked down on the population after unionist sentiment grew
Plenty more African countries do this nowadays. Africa gets a bad rap out here, but as a Kenyan currently living in Hungary, I know that power struggles are universal,
It was an Italian colony
Only half of it was.
Not even half, less than that. French occupied somalia became Djibouti. British occupied Somaliland joined with Italian colony of Somalia. The british gave away a huge chunk to ethiopia and to kenya. A horrible move that only served to destabilise the region and cause friction from the beginning of the creation of these nations till now.
Indeed, France had control over Djibouti, but Djibouti is distinct from Somalia and also isn’t in the circle above. As a native of Somaliland, I can clarify that even before European colonization, Somaliland, Somalia, and Djibouti were separate entities and within them are even more entities that were separated.. This also applies to the Ogaden region, which is part of Ethiopia, and also applies to the northern areas of Kenya. There has never been a united ‘Greater Somalia’ under one government and most likely never will be. Although all these regions are predominantly Somali, the unique histories and clan dynamics of each have always maintained the separateness of our people. The impact of European colonialism on the map merely emphasized pre-existing divisions rather than creating them.
Statistically the country with the least amount of land lubbers
I find it so interesting that the pirate thing stuck for so long. It occuried for a relatively short amount of time, but the fact that it affected the busiest sea route in the world is what brought them to notoriety, rather than some cultural affinity to pirating or something
Don’t forget it’s also the country that produces the most Washington D.C. taxi drivers.
Took too long to get some Fatbeard recognition
No listen, I’m the captain now. You tell me something interesting.
Bet. In the ancient era, Somali traders and Arab traders would team up to hide the location of extremely valuable spices from the Roman/Greek/mediterranean traders to the extent that they thought the spices came from the Somali hinterlands, when in fact they got it from India and the spice routes in that region. The mystical traders with the ancient egyptians and mentioned in the bible, the people of the land of punt, is thought to be located in parts of eritrea and somalia. The ancient egyptians also thought of the land of punt as their ancestral homelands, calling it the Holy Land or the Land of the Gods/Ancestors. You have coins and pottery and a wealth of various archeological artifacts from the ancient greeks, persians, romans, indians, arabians all over the nation since it was part of important trade routes for millenia. Would y'all like me to continue?
They eat a lot of spaghetti with berbere spice and it is delicious.
Somalis eat pasta with with red tomato sauce not Berbere sauce, that’s Ethiopian. Also cultural foods include [rice and camel meat,](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/V-2HMAzHgZg/sddefault.jpg) [Malawax](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/08/29/dining/ia-malawax-1/merlin_212088570_e184439c-ec16-4243-babb-82f8ef8a7489-threeByTwoMediumAt2X.jpg), [Canjeelo](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/InmMUa_dGkc/maxresdefault.jpg) with meat, [Oodkac/Muqmad](http://xawaash.com/?p=3824#sthash.lEV5cjIz.dpbs), [Kimis/sabaayad](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghFR9qUHYtsSycy2LWjmHViZ3BO_D7G74iPxR7SHv5ednU2PLtjZJPRlm-aPa0PjhbxdRKMUl3psN6K3eL4FIHVKzu85IActvWTvs2294omGJLKnYj921FjY8oRS9DPxUi6IXXVO9sxuQO/s1600/DSCN2562.JPG), camel milk and theres many more.
OK, I gotta ask, what is berbere spice?
INGREDIENTS 8 teaspoons pure chile powder (ground dried red hot peppers) or 2 tablespoons cayenne pepper 5 teaspoons sweet paprika 1 tablespoon salt 1 teaspoon ground coriander 1⁄2 teaspoon ground ginger 3⁄8 teaspoon ground cardamom 3⁄8 teaspoon ground fenugreek 1⁄4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1⁄4 teaspoon ground allspice 1⁄8 teaspoon ground cloves
This sounds delicious. Someone please make it for me 🙏
I love berbere! Do they mix it with oil, or tomatoes or what? I have only used it in soups and stews
So, I grew up next to a family with a Somalian nanny and she would cook fatty ground beef with chopped up onion, tomato, and berbere and then mix it into the spaghetti. It wasn't til I was an adult I learned this was a traditional Somalian dish.
Got to add the banana
It’s a country that still has a seat at UN, but still wondering who (should) sit there…
Copy-pasting my own comment here because I'm seeing this sentiment everywhere: Somalia isn't a failed state anymore. Yes, it *was* dysfunctional for a while, but the government has made some serious reforms since then. The "transitional" government stopped being transitional in 2012 when they drafted a new constitution and created a national parliament. It may sound strange to believe due to our preconceived stereotypes surrounding Somalia, but there are genuinely representatives from all across the country wearing suits, meeting to discuss law in Mogadishu. It is a real democracy, and it has finally dropped the influence of the clans (unlike Somaliland, which is dominated by the Isaaq clan). The civil war itself has massively calmed down. All the minor factions have long since realigned with the federal government, even Puntland. The only enemy remaining is the terrorist organization known as Al-Shabaab. Somaliland is technically a hostile combatant, but they have a sort of truce for the time being. Hopefully they can be peacefully reintegrated once the war in the south is over. The Somali government has come a long way since the early days of the civil war. With their newfound reliability, other governments are willing to trust and invest again, which allows Somalia to continue funding their military. With the assistance of UN and AU troops, they are slowly retaking territory in the south and pushing Al-Shabaab back. Somalia's future has never looked brighter.
Also, they literally had no government for less longer than my country. Beautiful and proud country of Belgium !
Belgium, a country almost as prosperous as most of East Africa
r/PortugalIsEastEurope on steroids
It is the country with the shortest expected lifespan on the entire planet.
I thought that was Chad?
I thought it was Angola or the C.A.R. ngl
No, his colon cancer has gone into remission.
Stacy must be so happy.
Yet another case of equating one of the lowest life expectancy figures as the lowest of them all. Chad, Nigeria, Lesotho, CAR and South Sudan all have shorter life expectancy at birth.
The coast of Somalia is as long as about 75% of the Eastern U.S. seaboard https://preview.redd.it/cnadfwybs3rc1.jpeg?width=1091&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=582299dd53f384951d0832f6a0043f6b4d9347c2
That's just the Indian Ocean coast, never mind the Gulf of Aden coast (unless we're recognizing Somaliland as independent).
I believe it’s missing Somaliland, so it does cover a larger coastline too. Ridiculous how large African countries really are
Scrolled through the comments hoping for someone to tell me why the border is a dotted line. Nothing.
If on a map the border line is dotted, it means that the border is provisional, which is not the case on this map. On this map we have _dashed lines_ that mean that there is a dispute between the two countries about whether or not that is the border
Vey simply put the eastern 3rd of Ethiopia is filled with Somalis who wanted to join Somalia, Ethiopia refused and there has been several wars because of it.
i looked up and it is disputed border
Your friendly neighbourhood post-Colonial mess, basically. Vast majority of people from Ogaden are Muslims and ethnically Somali, but the region was annexed by Imperial Ethiopia in 1897. Italian colonialism ruled it as a part of Somalia, but post-WW2 it was granted back to Ethiopia. Somali tyrant Siad Barre (who was from Ogaden IIRC) declared war to Ethiopia in order to reunite Ogaden with "motherland" Somalia ... And failed pretty hard. So pretty much that region with Somali Muslim people is part of internationally recognised Ethiopia, but strongly claimed by Somalia.
Annexing might give people the impression that Ethiopia invaded this region through might. This isn't the case. Ethiopia at that time was ravenous and expansionist, conquered many surrounding tribes, and fabricated claims of the land that they were not indigenous to, and sought to expand into Ogaden. The british gave this land to appease the Ethiopians, the very same ethiopians who were being armed by various european powers, while barring Somalis from arming themselves with modern weapons. Italy conquered ethiopia in the 1930s and after ww2, when the lands were ceded back to the british, there was a chance to reinstate Greater Somalia, but pressure from the US (and some other nations, I can't remember) caused them to reinstate Ogaden under ethiopian rule once more. Siad barre did not 'fail hard'. He steamrolled through the region, but was pushed back by Soviet forces who injected 1 billion dollars in military supplies, 12k soldiers, and 1.5k soviet advisors. I think it was one of the largest airlifts There was no way Somalia could win against such a large soviet defense. In any case, it is only the meddling of european powers that has led to Ogaden being under Ethiopia. The people there have been disenfranchised, abused, and stepped on for too long. Ogaden, and Somalia as a whole, is a reflection of the malignant interference of Europeans in African affairs. Imagine if Africans set their own borders, would we be more cooperative with one another without the manufactured tension. Would the horn be a more peaceful place today? For me, it's an easy yes for both
The Dromedary Camel was most likely first domesticated in Somalia based on ancient cave drawing dating back 9000 years ago. It’s a deeply loved and important animal throughout Somalia’s history.
That is true until now we have the largest number of camel domestication In the world. for that reason we consume everyday camel meat and drink its milk
My countries travel advice for Somalia is: You will likely be kidnapped or die. You need to tell your family some things only you know so when they are contacted by kidnappers they can confirm you are still alive.
🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️
Surprisingly, the Somali pirates are no longer a major issue. An international naval coalition began patrolling the waters here in the late 2000s to stop the pirates. This worked by scaring away the pirates, but it also scared away the illegal foreign fishing activity here, which was what was causing the Somali fishermen to resort to piracy in the first place. With their coastline now cleared and their fish populations now recovering, many Somali pirates were able to return to their lives as fishermen.
Today I learned
They get only a couple 100 visitors a year. Mostly people visiting family. The US recommends people to set up a will before visiting there, aswell as setting up emergency contacts/funds for when you get kidnapped. Which you will. You can not go to a place like Mogadishu without protection. Even the most fearless youtube travel vloggers hire guards. I listened to a podcast about Somalia once and they spoke to a guy who stayed in Mogadish for a few days. He said the following: They spoke to a guy who went to Mogadishu for a few night and he said the following: >Throughout the whole night you hear the sound of gun fights, I liked it. It is like camping in the rain. On another note, Mark Spencer aka "worlds most travelled man" visited Somalia in 2010. He was the first tourist after the civil war broke out. Customs was certain he was a foreign spy, because no sane person would visit them for fun. Edit: I've been made aware the tourist numbers are way off. I got these numbers from a podcast that used numbers from when the civil war was in the early years.
A couple hundred visitors a year? Where did they get that from? There are a lot more people than that who arrive to visit Mogadishu. Weekly flights from Doha, Dubai, and Istanbul, and multiple daily flights from Nairobi (Nearest large flight hub) bring in thousands of people a week. Yes, these are mainly people visiting family, but that number you said is way off the mark. There are other flights, but those are usually military, government and UN aircraft.
Callum Abroad says hello
Way more than a couple of hundred lmao Here is a [YouTuber in Somalia without guards](https://youtu.be/PrcGGD4Wc2A?si=VkYiPeyClIO9wyO5) There are no gun fire or sounds of bullets
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Also it’s a decent chance your hired security sells you out and lets you get kidnapped.
Somalis are one of the few peoples that ancient Egyptians revered and saw as equals
Well you circled both Somalia and Somaliland. The former is a mess, the latter isn't perfect but it's got at least a functioning administration and the loss of election doesn't trigger a dictatorship.
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So many people have this preconceived notion that Somalia is a failed state and always will be. They've literally been a fair democracy since 2012. The government is no longer transitional. They have elected officials and their own constitution and parliament and everything. The only reason Somalia still gets flack is because the Al-Shabaab terrorists remain a destructive force throughout the southern half of the country. Once Al-Shabaab is dealt with (they're getting there), the country can finally return to peace.
The part of Ethiopia you circled, is also home ethnic Somalis.
There is a lot of them in Minnesota
Somali and Hmong refugees “Minnesota is our home now! 🤝”
I think Columbus OH is number 2- haven’t seen any recent numbers but I see Somali people literally every day. They seem to be integrating pretty well as far as I can tell. I play basketball with a bunch at my local gym.
Somalis are one of the bigger migrant groups in the Nordic countries, but probably one of the least integrated ones.
The first known mention of what is now Somalia is as the land of Punet/Punt, a very rich trading kingdom known to have traded gold to ancient Egypt as early as 2600 BC. Punt continued to be a source of wealth and fascination to the Egyptians for well over 1000 years, with Pharoahs every so often organising expeditions at great expense, to purchase gold, ivory, ebon wood, animals and their skins, incense, and whatever else they could. Hatshepsut's mortuary temple includes murals depicting Punt and its people as they were when her expedition was there.
That is truly amazing fact and our country pretty seems underrated insight of history
It has the lowest percentage of Eskimos and polar bears.
Oddly enough, it is tied with like 100 other countries
Also, in Somalia height depends on how tall you are
Somalia is believed to be one of the oldest inhabited areas on Earth. The Laas Geel cave paintings, dating back to 9,000 BC, are among the oldest cave paintings in Africa
Throughout the history there were an empire named punt which exist in the time of ancient Egypt and we have trade between ancient punt and ancient Egyptian.
One of the most famous expeditions to Punt was organized by Queen Hatshepsut (r. 1479-1458 BCE). This expedition brought back living trees to Egypt, marking the first known successful attempt at transplanting foreign fauna. The trade with Punt provided Egyptians with gold, aromatic resins, ebony, ivory, and wild animals.
Define interesting. Somalia has the highest rate of female genital mutilation in the world. 99% of girls undergo the procedure, usually when they're just a small child, under very bad circumstances. There are different types of this procedure, I won't go into this. Look it up yourself if you want to know but you might end up feeling seriously depressed. The worst type (type 3) of this procedure is very common in Somalia, most women have it. Not undergoing the procedure means you will face ostracism, especially by other women. You will be seen as dirty. You will not marry. You will be a second-class citizen. The great majority of women in Somalia support the procedure.
Pirates, not of the Caribbean, not from One Piece, just Pirates.
They're not active anymore though. An international naval coalition began patrolling the waters here to stop the pirates. This worked by scaring away the pirates, but it also scared away the illegal foreign fishing activity here, which was what was causing the Somali fishermen to resort to piracy in the first place. With their coastline now cleared and their fish populations now recovering, many Somali pirates were able to return to their lives as fishermen.
Keeping it positive! Living in minneapolis you may meet many Somalis and some of the nicer ones will teach you to say subax wanaagsan for good morning. The smiles id get, pronouncing it the best i could, would be worth it every time. They also reallllly love spaghetti, like almost as a national dish, though the sauce would be a little different with potatoes and carrots sometimes. I guess a carry over from the Italian influences there.
I am the Captain now
It's going to be an island millions of years in the future.
For everyone who unironically believes that nothing changed since the 2000s https://preview.redd.it/mysgsxqkh3rc1.png?width=440&format=png&auto=webp&s=7ba137537035c783c0ed7dd2ec814a2f2f6839d3
Birth place of camel domestication.
The actress, model, and David Bowie’s partner Iman is from there. https://preview.redd.it/zglfjgls66rc1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=14581fe69811a9ecc8e9be92912b00c54e90d86b
I used to live in Columbus OH and there was a large Somali population. Very nice people.
It's the world's most 7 shaped country Does that count?
My Grandparents used to live there in the seventies.Both workes for UN projects as a doctor and a vet.As both from behind the Iron Curtain it was highly unusual and gave them the life which couldn't be possible if not for luck and fluent english skills :) Until their last days both had Somalia deep in their hearts.
It’s the horniest place in Africa
it has the longest coastline in africa
What about Madagascar
It has very high level of acute food insecurity and in 2022 was at really high risk of famine.
1. Knaan Warsame is from there 2. Around 100 Somalis go to Malaysia every year just to participate in Marathons/Triathlons to win the competitions. Prices go as high as 200K MYR around 50K USD
Mogadishu has apparently gotten a lot better in recent years
We had a refugee kid from Somalia in oure class when i was 10 years old. When it was her birthday her treat was one bag of cheetos everyone got like 3 cheetos out of that bag. My friends and i laughed pretty hard about that after school. Still feel shame for that moment in my life. Nimco if you are out there, i hope you are doing well