Stories from the Horn #138

So many great stories again this week. New books, films, hotels, fake news, asylum seekers…

Last week I included an essay with these links (you can always follow me at Do Good Better for weekly essays). Did you enjoy that or would you prefer getting straight to the news?

I would love to know what would most serve readers - would you like to see essays in Stories from the Horn or are you happy with the list of links alone? Just hit reply and let me know.

Here’s a great set of living room furniture in Djibouti, come for tea:

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The highest grossing film this year in South Korea is a true story set in Somalia beating out Black Widow and Fast and Furious 9. This story is important for Americans, too, because it shows that the world is not just about Americans. The only news coming out of Afghanistan, for example, to the US public was about getting Americans out. What about the French, Koreans, Brazilians…that were left behind? What about other countries’ efforts to protect their people. I don’t like violent films and work hard to promote a picture of Somalia that isn’t just 1991, but still, this is an important story and film. Well, I haven’t seen it yet. But I imagine it is.

Cooking around the world and he is working on Djibouti this week.

Letters from Africa: Somali Cuisine and a Taste from Home (shared by Lauren, thank you!)

This is a fabulous article about an NGO in Minneapolis helping Somali women to garden again, even growing what they had once grown in Somalia.

Here is another fancy-pants hotel looking to open in 2024 in Djibouti. Yet again, I will believe it when I see it. I do wonder if the property they refer to is the location of the former US embassy (raise your hand if you know were that is and if your children bobbed for apples there or searched for Easter eggs there, back when civilians and diplomats spent time together). I also wonder if the workout facility here will be better than the Sheraton’s (rats, teensy teensy, kind of a joke) or the Keminski’s (pretty small and costs over $500/month for a single membership and you still have to pay to use the tennis courts and public pool).

American military personnel commemorate the Jewish holiday Sukkot at Camp Lemonier

Murmuration, a new book by Sid Balman, is featured on MPR news (Minneapolis Public Radio). The book is a novel covering Somalia, Texas, and Minnesota. I have not read it yet, it is part 2 of a trilogy. He wrote it with a Minnesota Somali.

The potentials for economic growth in the field of camel milk

Three Djiboutian footballers seek asylum in France. Two interesting side notes from this article. One: the Djiboutian National Stadium was deemed “unfit” to host football games. Two: the Djiboutian footballers were able to seek asylum in the Paris airpot because the team missed their flight to Morocco because they had improper documents and Covid tests. Raise your hand if you these things surprise you.

A Poem is a Powerful Tool, Somali women’s poetry and the “Oscars” competition of Somali poetry.

Fake news spreads faster than reality and last week rumors abounded that the President was sick, maybe even had passed away. Almost immediately the Prime Minister countered these rumors but they continued, without any basis in evidence or fact. Fact: the President is, and was last week even, alive and well and returned to Djibouti from a brief vacation in France.

The White House’s recent actions to sanction those involved in Ethiopia’s conflict, which is quietly leading to one of the worst humanitarian crises today.

Ethiopia’s response to the threats to sanction the country.

Exploring Somali culture through clothing. I love how this author writes about her mother’s diracs.

A beautiful post about Djibouti, lots of great photos and details.