Between Ethiopia and Somalia lies a small peaceful and so far officially unrecognized state, the republic of Somaliland.
Somalilandsun – When you think of Somalia, your mind probably conjures up images of a poverty-stricken, war-torn and lawless state – a place populated by pirates and bloodthirsty warlords, as seen in news bulletins. Somalia’s neighbor Ethiopia doesn’t fare all that much better, either, and to describe the region as troubled would be an understatement writes Yohani Kamarudin.
Yet between these two countries is a small and so far officially unrecognized state.
This is Somaliland
Somaliland, which is officially an autonomous region of Somalia, was the site of the Somalia’s first civilization. Moreover, the ancient inhabitants left behind 10,000-year-old cave paintings that are some of the oldest in Africa. Ancient Egyptians referred to the Horn of Africa – which includes Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea and Ethiopia – as the Land of Punt. The region was a rich trading partner with many desirable resources, among them fine woods, aromatic resins and gold.
“I think the most surprising thing about Somaliland is that it hasn’t been recognized as a country in its own right by the international community after all this time,” says photographer James Hopkirk, “The situation isn’t entirely rosy out there, but it’s had a democratically elected government, a working police force and military, [and] schools and hospitals for 20 years now, which is a lot more than can be said of Somalia to the south,” he explains.
Read Entire article, Somaliland: The East African Country That Isn’t
