Stories from the Horn #149

March 8, 2022

Happy International Women’s Day! The theme for 2022 is #breakthebias, read more about it here.

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Last week my friend was pulled over as she was parking. The police officer said she was speeding. She was going about 10km per hour (6 mph) because like I said, she was parking. Then he said she was getting a ticket because she didn’t own the car. She pulled out her paperwork and showed him that in fact she does own the car because she owns the car. Then he said she was getting a ticket because she wasn’t wearing her seatbelt. She was actually wearing the seatbelt. He said come with me. She went with him to the police station and paid a fine of over $120 for not wearing the seatbelt that she was wearing.

This is a bit like the time a friend was pulled over for not stopping at the stop sign where there was no stop sign but where there used to be a stop sign. Or the time I was pulled over for driving down a street instead of the parallel street - which was filled with water that would have reached the windows of my car because it had rained and there is no good drainage and refrigerators and taxis bobbed around in the river/street.

This picture captures the complexity of driving here. If you drove through, there is a high probability of getting pulled over for a ticket. But if you stop there is a high probability of being rear-ended. And who the heck slows?!

Rahim @Rahimpro

Yes ! No ! Maybe ! 😆 #Djibouti #PoliceNationale

Lovely.

Abdul Wahab Youssouf 🇩🇯 🇨🇦 @Abdulwahab_you

I painted this Artwork in 2015 during the summer exhibition, it reflects our cultures Horn of Africa, for centuries people learned the Quran with wood and ink made from crushed charcoal.#Djibouti, #Somalia #Ethiopia

Somalis join the exodus from Ukraine

Alan Ibrahim @Dhambaalka

Congratulations to #Somalia embassies in #Berlin, #Belgrade and #Brussels to have evacuated #Somalis, including I heard some from #Djibouti and the other #Somali regions of the Horn of #Africa from #Ukraine. This is the pinacle of the essence of the #Somali republic.

Somali-American running Star Abdi Bile is also a world class mentor

Somalia says four European countries are helping evacuate Somalis from Ukraine

Ethiopian churches ask for help feeding cattle and people during drought

The Somali general fighting al-Shabaab and the patriarchy

The US conducts a missile attack in Somalia, the first since August

Refuge for Whale Sharks (the article is in French and the pictures are stunning)

The rise of female circumcision in Somaliland during Covid

The Ethiopian community in Djibouti is preparing to build a community school

How did Warsan Shire respond when Beyonce reached out about using her poetry?

Have a lovely week.