In Somaliland, fresh start brings hope

Expatriates return to bustling region once ravaged by war

By Raymond Thibodeaux, Globe Correspondent, 9/21/2003

HARGEISA, Somalia -- At first, Fatima Ibrahim thought she had blundered in 1999 by returning to her homeland in this breakaway region of northern Somalia known as Somaliland. After living in Wales for more than 20 years, she had grown accustomed to its sparkling shopping malls and smooth highways.

Even before her plane landed in this dusty city, "you could see people shooing goats and camels off the runway. I wanted to go back immediately," said Ibrahim, a human rights specialist for the UN Development Program in Somalia. "Hargeisa was nothing like what you see now. Everything's being rebuilt."

Ibrahim, who trains this region's police officers, lawyers, and judges to respect human rights, is part of a massive return of Somalilanders in recent years from such places as Britain, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. They are rebuilding this region shattered by war into what they hope will be the world's newest country: The Republic of Somaliland.

Somaliland, which broke away from Somalia in 1991 after the ouster of the country's longtime dictator, Mohamed Siad Barre, has maintained a degree of stability that is lacking elsewhere in Somalia. About the size of Tennessee, Somaliland has a predominantly Muslim population of about 3.5 million, a functioning multiparty government, its own currency and license plates, a potentially lucrative export income from oil and livestock, and a deepwater port in Berbera that rivals the seaport of its northern neighbor, Djibouti.

Hargeisa, the regional capital, is bustling. Men gather at sidewalk tea shops to read the Haatuf, one of the city's two daily newspapers. Past the rows of shops selling electronics, construction workers install electrical wiring for the first two floors of a five-story World Trade Building of Somaliland, a symbol of Somalilanders' faith in their country's future.

Many Somalilanders, however, say their future hinges on international recognition as a nation. So far, clan leaders in Mogadishu, the seat of power for Somalia, are reluctant to grant Somaliland its independence. Legal advisers from South Africa's Foreign Affairs Ministry supported Somaliland's claim to statehood, but a spokesman for the ministry said that South Africa was "still investigating" the issue.

Some European countries have indicated a willingness to recognize Somaliland's independence but have held off. Earlier this year, Walter Kansteiner, assistant US secretary of state for African affairs, told Congress that the United States should try to build on Somaliland's successes, but stopped short of suggesting official recognition for fear it would undermine Somali peace talks.

The diplomatic purgatory threatens to stunt the region's growth. Without it, Somaliland cannot borrow money from international lenders, and many foreign donors wary of the region's status are reluctant to provide aid.

But analysts believe that Somaliland's case for recognition is strengthened by faltering peace talks in Nairobi, where clan leaders from central and southern Somalia have been trying to hammer out a national constitution.

"Most people don't like the idea of balkanizing Somalia, but there might not be a better solution," said Ross Herbert, a senior researcher for the South African Institute of International Affairs.

The biggest hurdle in the region's struggle for recognition is the African Union, a coalition of leaders from 53 nations, "We cannot stand for dismembering one of our countries," said Desmond Orjiako, a spokesman for the African Union. "We cannot talk about African unity and then accept Somaliland."

Somaliland has remained relatively peaceful for more than a decade. And with presidential elections last year deemed fair by international observers, many Somalilanders are now wondering what other credentials are needed for the world to recognize their nationhood.

Somaliland gained independence from Britain in 1960, and opted days later to join its southern neighbor Somalia, a former Italian colony. The two countries shared a vision of a Greater Somalia that included parts of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti. The partnership soured in the late 1970s when Somali forces failed to gain control of Ethiopia's Ogaden Basin, important grazing lands for Somaliland's goat, camel, and cattle herders and a region with strong Somali clan ties. The lasting resentment from the Ogaden War ended Mogadishu's dream of a Greater Somalia and prompted a rebel movement in Somaliland that eventually toppled Barre in 1991.

But the rebellion cost Somaliland more than 50,000 lives, mostly civilians killed during bombing raids, according to UN estimates. Government forces demolished Berbera and Hargeisa.

Mass graves near Hargeisa uncovered by heavy rains two years ago attest to the atrocities carried out by government soldiers under Barre.

Somaliland authorities say that the remains of more than 9,000 people in 116 mass graves have been unearthed.

Meanwhile, the people depend heavily on the estimated $500 million sent every year from family members abroad. By comparison, the region's livestock exports to the Middle East bring in $120 million a year.

"We've shown that we can be democratic and that we can respect human rights. We are setting an example for the rest of Africa," said Somaliland's foreign affairs minister, Edna Adan Ismail. "Where is our peace dividend?"