Aid & relief worker for HOPE Worldwide
Working & living in Hargeisa
February - August 2002
During 2002, I was part of an International team of aid and relief workers who worked for an NGO, HOPE Worldwide, in Hargeisa, Somaliland. We were involved with educational and health care projects and partnered with other NGO's such as UNICEF, UNDP, and WHO.
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| The Hargeisa War Memorial |
Life in Somaliland 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. 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 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.
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| View of Hargeisa from the roof of the Maternity hospital |
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).
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| Goat on a Hargeisa downtown street sidewalk |
About Somali-land
Somaliland, 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.
Somaliland 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 kilometers, with approximately 4 million residents. The capital and the largest city is Hargeisa, with a population of around 1,200,000 residents.
History
In 1988, the Siad Barre regime launched a crackdown against the Hargeisa-based Somali National Movement (SNM) and other militant groups, which were among the events that led to the Somali Civil War. The conflict left the country's economic and military infrastructure severely damaged. Following the collapse of Barre's government in early 1991, local authorities, led by the SNM, unilaterally declared independence from Somalia on 18 May of the same year and reinstated the borders of the former short-lived independent State of Somali-land.
Current status
Since then, the territory has been governed by democratically elected governments that seek international recognition as the Government of the Republic of Somali-land. The central government maintains informal ties with some foreign governments, who have sent delegations to Hargeisa. Ethiopia also maintains a trade office in the region. However, Somaliland's self-proclaimed independence remains unrecognized by any country or international organization. It is a member of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, an advocacy group whose members consist of indigenous peoples, minorities, and unrecognized or occupied territories (Wikipedia).
Hope Worldwide compound
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| Abdi Hakim, our driver with Suaad, our secretary |
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| Melinda with Somali guests we invited over for lunch |
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| Posing with Matthew and Chris in traditional Somali male wear |
Hargeisa scenery
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| Hargeisa street scenery |
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).
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| The Hargeisa War Memorial |
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| The Hargeisa War Memorial |
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| The Hargeisa War Memorial |
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| Entrance to Hargeisa airport |
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| Chris, Kara, and Melinda at the airport, waiting for Kara's flight to the States |
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| Hargeisa airport |
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| Hargeisa neighborhood |
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| Dahab Shill Money exchange - Downtown Hargeisa |
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| Downtown Hargeisa |
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| Mansoor hotel - The only expat hotel in Hargeisa |
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| Mansoor ' Sports center' |
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| Aerial view of Hargeisa with Twin Peaks in the background |
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| Downtown Hargeisa |
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| View of Hargeisa from the roof of the Maternity hospital |
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| View of Hargeisa from the roof of the Maternity hospital |
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| View of Hargeisa from the roof of the Maternity hospital |
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| View of Hargeisa from the roof of the Maternity hospital |
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| Donkey car transport - Hargeisa |
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| Downtown Hargeisa |
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| Hargeisa neighborhood where I lived |
Outskirts of Hargeisa
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| Somali policeman - One of the security checkpoints just outside Hargeisa |
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| Colorful truck at a security checkpoint |
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| Somali policemen - Security checkpoint |
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| Rural scenery on the outskirts of Hargeisa |
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| Rural scenery on the outskirts of Hargeisa |
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| Rural scenery on the outskirts of Hargeisa |
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| Local - on the outskirts of Hargeisa |
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| Rural scenery on the outskirts of Hargeisa. We used to go for walks or runs in this area. |
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| Rural scenery on the outskirts of Hargeisa |
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| Rural scenery on the outskirts of Hargeisa |
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| Rural scenery on the outskirts of Hargeisa |
Education Project: Hargeisa Children’s Home
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| Children of the Hargeisa orphanage posing at the entrance to the Orphanage |
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| The soccer 'field' next to the orphanage where we spent many hours playing soccer with local kids |
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| With the Director of the orphanage |
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| Hargeisa Children's Home kids |
UNICEF sponsored Educational playground
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| Abdi Hakim, our driver posing in front of one of the constructed items |
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| The 'Tire Tree Forest' being placed in position after assembly |
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| Our assembly point at the garage of the HOPE staff quarters |
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| One of the volunteers who assisted in the assembly |
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| Finished product and one of the many happy 'clients' |
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| Abdi Hakim, our driver posing in front of one of the constructed items |
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| Chris Bekker, with some of the older Children's Home's boys who helped with assembly |
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| Kara & Melinda (USA) enjoying a late afternoon picnic on Hargeisa hill |
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| Posing with Matthew (France) & Jenny (USA) on Hargeisa hill where we had a late afternoon picnic |
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| One of the boys of the Children's home often came to our house to visit us |
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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. |
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| Kara, Melinda, Edna & Christa with some of our partners enjoying traditional food for dinner at one of the local restaurants. |
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| Abdi Hakim, our driver in our land cruiser, waiting for us after we jogged on the outskirts of Hargeisa |
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| Posing in traditional Somali attire |
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| With Melinda and Chris |
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| Posing after I had my late afternoon jog in the desert area on the outskirts of Hargeisa |
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| With Chris (also from South Africa) on Hargeisa hill. Some Somali settlements and "Twin Peaks' in the background |
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| Chris and I posing with Somali locals near downtown Hargeisa |
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| Picnic a'la 'Out of Africa' - style |
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| Picnic on the rocks - Hargeisa hill |
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| Dinner with partners at one of the local Hargeisa restaurants |
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| Posing with some Somali locals |
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| Cockpit view - On one of my flights from Nairobi to Hargeisa |
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| Hargeisa International airport - One of the EU sponsored jets that flew NGO staff, equipment and supplies back and forth from Nairobi |
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| Pit stop - taking a break from driving. The road between Berbera and Hargeisa. |
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| Desert picnic en route to Berbera |
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| Burnt out tanks are scattered throughout rural Somaliland |
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| Abdi Hakim and other locals on top of remnants of the civil war |
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| Remnants of Somaliland's brutally sad past |
We also conducted minor trips and outreaches to Nairobi, Kenya, and also Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.
Read more here
After 5 months in Somali-land, Kenya, and Ethiopia, having the adventure of a lifetime, our project was cut short by geopolitical circumstances, such as 9/11 beyond our control. Sadly, due to safety and security reasons, our project was brought to a halt quite prematurely, and we returned to our respective countries.
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