Go with Henry: Hargeisa views

Saturday, 21 September 2002

Hargeisa views

Education specialist

HOPE Worldwide

Somaliland

February – August 2002

Background

During 2002, I was part of an International team of aid and relief workers who worked for an NGO, HOPE Worldwide, in Hargeisa, Somali-land. We were involved with educational and health care projects and partnered with other NGO's such as UNICEF, UNDP, and WHO.

Life in Somali-land was a lot less challenging than I imagined. One sees the news on CNN and BBC on countries like these of 'mortars flying around and burning buildings', which creates a certain expectation and anticipation. I felt reasonably safe and our living environment even allowed us certain luxuries.

We stayed in a compound which were guarded 24/7 by guards. We had a land cruiser with a Somali driver that drove us everywhere and acted as our translator. We did venture out on foot to walk to the nearby orphanage or take a quick jog, but it usually attracted a lot of unwanted attention.

Abdi Hakim, our driver took us out into the desert area on the outskirts of Hargeisa to do undisturbed exercising and jogging and some welcome privacy out in nature.

The HOPE team shared a house. We all had our own bedrooms, but bathrooms had to be shared. Municipal provided electricity in Hargeisa was limited to 2 hours per day, so we had a generator as a back-up, but had to use it sparsely. We had an Ethiopian cook, who cooked three highly enriched carbo-hydrated meals every day, so needless to say I picked up a lot of weight.

We were invited to many functions by our partners and friends at restaurants. The very colonial thing to do was to have a sunset picnic on top of Hargeisa hill on the outskirts of Hargeisa.

We played football with some of the Somali's at home during siesta times, as everything in Hargeisa closes between 12 pm and 4 pm, we were forced to take a siesta. The temperature during siesta was also very high, so it was a good idea not to be out and about in very conservative clothing. We did not have air conditioning in the house, which was challenging at times.

Mosquitoes were a big problem and we had to sleep under mosquito nets. A good place to hang out was on the roof of our house and at times we even took our sleeping bags and slept there. We had a great view of the neighborhood from the roof, which the high walls around our compound blocked us from.

The locals always treated us with respect and friendliness. The expat community consisting of other NGO workers formed a close-knit community and we received friendship, outreach, and support on a regular basis.

One’s experiences may almost be compared to the romanticized colonial experiences of the expatriates as portrayed in the film "Out of Africa". Very few people would ever get the opportunity to experience Somalia.

Hargeisa war memorial

About Hargeisa

Hargeisa (Somali: Hargeysa) is a city situated in the Woqooyi Galbeed region of the self-declared but internationally unrecognized Republic of Somali-land in the Horn of Africa. It is the capital and largest city of Somali-land.

The city succeeded Berbera as the capital of the British Somali-land protectorate in 1941. In 1960, the protectorate gained independence and united as scheduled days later with the Trust Territory of Somali-land (the former Italian Somali-land) to form the Somali Republic (Somalia) on July 1.

Hargeisa is situated in a valley in the Galgodon (Ogo) highlands and sits at an elevation of 1,334 m (Wikipedia).

About Somaliland

Somali-land, officially the Republic of Somali-land (Somali: Jamhuuriyadda Somaliland), is a self-declared state, internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia.

The government of the de facto state of Somali-land regards itself as the successor state to the former British Somali-land protectorate, which as the State of Somali-land united as scheduled on 1 July 1960 with the Trust Territory of Somali-land (the former Italian Somali-land) to form the Somali Republic.

Somali-land lies in north-western Somalia, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden, and is bordered by Somalia to the east, Djibouti to the northwest, and Ethiopia to the south and west.

Its claimed territory has an area of 137,600 square kilometres, with approximately 4 million residents. The capital and the largest city is Hargeisa, with a population of around 1,200,000 residents.

Exploring Hargeisa

Hargeisa street scenery

The War Memorial

The Hargeisa War Memorial is a monument in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland.

The memorial was set up to commemorate Somaliland's breakaway attempt in the 1980s and is a symbol of the struggle for the people of this province (Wikipedia).

The Hargeisa War Memorial

The airport

Entrance to Hargeisa airport

Chris, Kara, and Melinda at the airport, waiting for Kara's flight to the States

Hargeisa airport

Cockpit view - On one of my flights from Nairobi to Hargeisa

Hargeisa International airport
One of the EU sponsored jets that flew NGO staff, equipment and supplies back and forth from Nairobi

Commercial district

Dahab Shill Money exchange - Downtown Hargeisa

Downtown Hargeisa

Donkey car transport - Hargeisa

Goat on a sidewalk - Downtown Hargeisa

The Mansoor Hotel

Mansoor hotel - The only expat hotel in Hargeisa

Mansoor ' Sports center'

Local interaction

Posing with some Somali locals

Chris and I posing with Somali locals near downtown Hargeisa

Aerial views

Hargeisa hill

Chris with Edna Adan and other partners who took us out for a picnic on Hargeisa hill.
The view from here, especially at sunset was stunning and allowed for some time to gain
perspective and take a break from the usual surroundings.