The Somaliland vs Somalia complex is quite important for Somalilanders and anyone wishing to get on with them. The history of Somaliland (according to Somalilanders) goes like this:
1) British Somaliland becomes independent on 26 June 1960
2) Italian Somalia (southern Somalia, with Modagishu) becomes independent five days later on 1 July 1960
3) Somaliland suggests a union with the other Somali territories – Puntland and ex-Italian Somalia – to create a large, single Somalia where everyone can rejoice their Somaliness
4) Southern Somalia screws it all up, and the Mogadishu government bombs Hargeisa and other Somaliland cities during the early 1990s as Somaliland, realising its mistake as the pan-Somali rapture turns to poo, wants to become independent again
5) The international community, not keen on 'Balkanisation' (even though it's Balkanised; after all, they are shooting each other) support a single Somalia, and doesn't understand why Somaliland wants nothing to do with it *
This is the sort of thing that might make a Trivial Pursuit question card anywhere outside Somaliland however I picked up a copy of the local Somaliland Times (Saturday, July 4 2009; vol 8, issue 388), a weekly publication in English which ferrets out all the news stories relating to Somaliland that have featured on the world's newswires. It's eight pages of broadsheet and, in this particular edition, about half the paper is dedicated to a US Congressional hearing of the Subcommittee of Africa and Global Health on Somalia: Prospects for Lasting Peace and a Unified Response to Extremism and Terrorism. The chairman, one Donald Payne (Dem), is unhappy that Somaliland's representatives asked to have an independent hearing, after previously agreeing to be present, rather than sit with the people who previously tried to bomb them and "informed the Somaliland government that their request was unacceptable". He goes on to suggest that "if they [Somaliland] want to be isolated, they can be assured that I will do all I can to isolate them." Cue headlines: "US Congressman lashes out at Democratic Republic of Somaliland", "Mr. Donald Payne needs Somaliland History 101" and the editorial "Payne Boosts Terrorists In Somaliland, Ignores Threat Of US Domestic Terrorism & Piracy".
Touchy they can be.
The other important thing about Somaliland is the apparent contradiction regarding its internal security. A police guard is required to escort tourists between towns (except if going from between the Ethiopia border and Hargeisa). This is because in circa 2003 some westerners were shot by spiteful gunmen who had come from Mogadishu with the apparent desire to screw up Somaliland's peace. Since then the police guard for westerners has been required. Speak to any Somalilander on the street (and many of them do want to speak to foreigners) and they insist that Somaliland is a peaceful place with no guns and bullets. The Tourist Office stresses the same thing before, in their next breath, insisting (contrary to what the Somaliland Liaison Office in Addis Ababa said) that the police guard is still required for intercity travel. Basically that means that we could not get onto a bus and head off and see other towns as we had first anticipated and that the only way to travel outside of Hargiesa is to hire a car and a policeman.
But before I get ahead of myself a little about Hargeisa itself. It is one of those towns that is there but you can't understand why it's there: there is no river (although there is a riverbed with bores in it) and no apparent industry except a market (which mostly sells clothes and shoes) and money changing. The pleasure comes from the satisfaction of being there, in particular the novelty of being a tourist in a place where few tourists tread. We walk around and get frequent questions (usually "where are you from?") and, when we stop to talk, quite a lot of groupies who stop to listen. It was also notable that there were a lot of ex-pats also amongst the locals who stopped to talk to us: Somalilanders from Canada, Norway and Sweden, the UK and - surprise! - one from NZ. I was surprised at this and he offered his NZ driver's license as proof (he lived in Wellington, poor bugger). The UK delegation were there mainly due to school holidays. I met two young Canadian Somalilanders, one right after the other, both of whom came from the same part of Ottawa and both of whom were visiting Somaliland to see their ancestors' homeland.
We spent several days in Hargeisa just taking in the atmosphere, relaxing in restaurants and cafes and walking around. We also went to see the tourist office (actually the Department of Tourism and Archaeology) to ask about visiting Las Geel and to find bus information to going to Hargeisa. This is when the bombshell about guard and car hire hits. We talk about money: US$15 / day for the guard plus his food (not expensive), and get a quote for car hire. It's not cheap but the Director of Tourism puts us in contact with an American who's also enquired (or inquired, never can remember) about the same journey. We team up and plan to do the trip from Hargeisa via Las Geel to Berbera and back the next day. Approaching Las Geel we get a puncture. The driver has a spare and after five minutes we're on our way again. The last four kilometres to Las Geel involve leaving the tar-seal road and heading over a dirt track. We reach a small hut and get out: the small mountain behind is Las Geel and peppered with brilliant, well-preserved cave paintings - typically cows but also some people and knives. It's apparently a recent find (about 10 years ago, I think) and credit is due to a group of French archaeologists. Continuing to Berbera we're about 35km away when we get another puncture: no spare tyre this time but Fortune flirtaciously bats her eyelids at us: we're a few hundred metres from a small village with restaurant and hotel. The hotel owner is a kind guy (and an ex-pat from Norway) who offers to drive us to Berbera (with our policeman) - we can't stay with him because the rules say we have to be in a town by 1730. As our driver and car are still 35km away we are forced to zip to Berbera to stay overnight (leaving our driver and his deflated car where they were).
Berbera is a town that should be a lot more than it is: it's Somaliland's port town and it's seen better days. There are ships in the harbour although they tend to be listing with mid-ships below the waterline. The few ships that can operate are small fishing boats used by locals. Put simply it's ragged but it also "has character" and we enjoy what little time we have the next day to look around. We get stranded for a few minutes as our police escort leaves us at a cafe to get breakfast (we really couldn't go anywhere without him).
All in all it was a good time and very enjoyable but a little frustrating to be on a leash like that. The cost implications of hiring a car and policeman simply made visiting any other part of the country impossible for those with shallow pockets.
* Apparently Hillary Clinton has recently said that Somaliland should be recognised as a country. Somalilanders will be happy!
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