Somaliland

Tuesday

Jonathan Foreman

Britain must recognise Somaliland

From our UK edition

Somalia has been a byword for failed statehood and violence for so long that the calm of Somaliland, its neighbour to the north-east, feels almost miraculous. In contrast to Mogadishu, the bustling streets of Hargeisa, Somaliland’s capital, aren’t patrolled by grim-faced soldiers. Government offices aren’t huddled behind blast walls and protected by foreign troops. You can wander into a restaurant and enjoy camel steaks (a national speciality) without worrying about al-Shabaab terrorists. It is a former British colony which, for 30 years after independence, was joined to what had been Italian Somaliland.

Tuesday

Juan P. Villasmil

Ilhan Omar and the battle of the Somali translators

Who knew there were so many fluent Somali speakers in Washington? Talking to a crowd of Somali émigrés in Minneapolis over the weekend, progressive representative Ilhan Omar dived into African politics in her mother tongue, lambasting Somaliland, an unrecognized state that declared independence from Somalia in 1991, as well as regional actors that she claims are infringing on Somali sovereignty. A subtitled video was then widely shared on X Sunday, appearing to contain usage of the "blood and soil" nationalistic rhetoric that would trigger a response from other progressives. “Somalia is for Somalia only (a genocidal mantra) as over 45 percent of Somalia’s population are not even ethnic Somalis,” the translation indicated. That video was shared by Rhoda J.

ilhan omar somali

Sunday

James Jeffrey

The tragic loss of Somaliland’s epic Waaheen market

From our UK edition

On the eve of Ramadan at the start of this month, the epic Waaheen market at the centre of Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, caught fire. The flames engulfed the entire market and took 12 hours to put out. There were no fatalities—it was Friday, the holy day of prayer for Muslims, and the market was closed—but the market no longer exists. Around 5,000 small businesses were impacted, with damages estimated at $2 billion so far. For a country that legally speaking doesn’t exist in the eyes of the rest of the world—despite Somaliland existing independently of Somali for over 25 years—it’s a big financial hit for this former British protectorate that scrapes by on a tiny GDP.