Stories from the Horn #150
March 22, 2022
If you have read my writing for any time at all, you will know I don’t shy away from talking about sexual harassment.
Over the last month several serious incidents occurred to women I deeply care about.
I sit on the board of an organization here and a fellow board member, a Djiboutian friend, urged me to tell her about what happened. When I did, she was horrified. The very next day she and two other women went to the main police station where the women shared their stories.
The police officers reacted with shock and anger and took immediate action. Over the next few days they posted walking and driving patrols in certain neighborhoods and public transportation was watched closely.
I am quite impressed with their response and it has made a noticeable difference. I am also deeply grateful to my friend who stepped in and insisted on going directly to the top authorities, impossible without her presence.
Being foreign can bring an increased sense of vulnerability but it also brings a profound gratitude for the people who welcome, shelter, look out for, and serve us. I am continually in awe of the wonderful people who have come into my life and who have helped me live well here.
If you are foreign, may you have these kinds of welcoming, helping, sheltering friends. And if you are not foreign, may you provide this kind of welcome to someone who is.
On to the news:
Djibouti
For everyone in Djibouti looking for a lovely cafe atmosphere, check out the new Camel Cafe (great name, right?!) in Heron, on the corner across from Longchamps restaurant.
Djibouti hosted an agricultural fair and it was lovely
Djibouti confirms plans to privatize the telecom sector
Djibouti shows signs of economic recovery post Covid
Yemeni fishermen risk everything to feed their families
Talks to open Djibouti’s khat market stall in Kenya
The Gravedigger’s Wife film showed in Djibouti and it was excellent. The theater was so crowded people had to sit on the steps.
Djiboutian takes the bronze in Africa Open Judo tournament
Somalia/Somaliland
Mogadishu opens the first horse riding stable in recent history
Livestock are dying in droves in Somalia, humans are next. Update on the drought.
Meet the women of SOS children’s village in Somalia
10 facts about Miss World Somalia
Somaliland’s leader makes a pitch for autonomy in Washington
US troops “commuting” to Somalia is risky and inefficient
Ethiopia
Eritrea and Ethiopia’s presidents Isaias Afewerki and Abiy Ahmed through the prism of the Ukraine conflict
Who killed three doctors without borders staff in the Tigray region of Ethiopia?
Diaspora
Deqa Dhalac becomes first Somali American mayor in Maine, USA
“Fear has no place in our society,” says Muslim leader after a car slams into a building, USA
*in sharing a link I am only sharing a link. I am not endorsing something, I’m not saying I agree or disagree with the contents of the article, I am making no political statement by what I include or don’t include.