A Trip To The Unknown

[Jacaylbaro]

In late March, the opportunity to spend the summer working in Hargeisa arose. I was intrigued. I had heard that Somaliland is a sort of enclave of stability in the region, but to the best of my knowledge still a place that foreigners would be foolish to venture to. But how can one know? And who could I ask? First I turned to my Somali friends living in the United States. All of them are from southern Somalia, with little familiarity of Somaliland.

 

Nonetheless, they did make requests that I bring back certain items with me, if I go. If I honor all of these requests, among the things I will return with to Boston include gold, clothes, pots and pans, a camel, and if I can’t take a camel, a goat. Now, back to the investigation. Still lacking information about Somaliland, I turned to my American friends who have worked in Eastern Africa. I finally was introduced to a friend of a friend who spent time in Hargeisa two years ago. He said it was safe, and raved about the beaches. I looked at Thorn Tree travel guide on Lonely Planet, which provided a greater wealth of first hand information. The reports and stories were mostly positive.

 

Still, I needed more information. On a whim, I typed “Somaliland” then “Somaliland Boston” and “Hargeisa” into the facebook search bar. To my surprise, I even found a facebook group called “Hargeisa…summer 2009!” I messaged people in the group and got in touch with Somalilandpress in Boston. Surprisingly, all of these investigative initiatives led me to make connections with many knowledgeable people, so that I started feeling more confident about going and better informed about the situation on the ground.

 

Okay, so I’ve decided that I will definitely be spending two-and-a-half months working in Hargeisa this summer. What now? All the planning is overwhelming and I don’t even know what airlines fly to Somaliland. A lot of research is in store. After inquiring with other foreigners who have been to Somaliland and looking on the Somaliland government’s website, it seems to be the consensus that the best way to get a visa is to head to the Somaliland embassy in Addis Ababa.

 

I have heard contrasting feedback about obtaining a visa. While my fellow foreigner friends all tell me that I have to get a visa in Addis or London (but better Addis), my Somalilander friends tell me that a visa can be obtained at the Hargeisa airport for $40. I am not sure which solution is best for me, and perhaps Somali ex-pats who visit are subject to different rules than foreigners. In any case, I feel better knowing I will have a visa in hand upon arrival. And anyway, I have a friend in Addis who can show me around. I will let you know how the visa process goes when I arrive in Addis next week.

 

Next on the agenda: booking a flight! Finding a flight from Boston to Addis is not so hard, but being that I am a graduate student on a limited budget, I am after the best deal possible. In my extensive research I have uncovered an essential travel tip, for the frugal out there: it turns out that buying two separate round trip tickets rather than one round trip ticket is cheaper (from Boston to Ethiopia). This is why my itinerary consists of one round trip ticket from Boston to Paris, and another round trip ticket from Paris to Addis Ababa, which will even give me the opportunity to visit some friends and family when I stop over in Paris. From Paris, the most reasonable tickets I found to Addis are with Turkish Air, Emirates, and Lufthansa. At the time of my search, Turkish Air had the best price, but a very long layover and inconvenient arrival times. For only $90 more I chose to take Lufthansa and save 14 hours round trip, plus arrive at a reasonable hour. Finally I take the plunge and book my ticket. Total price? $1100. Ouch, but expected.

 

Now for the trickier part: how to get from Addis to Hargeisa? After speaking with my contacts in Somaliland and doing other investigations, I learn that I basically have four options to explore: Daallo Airlines, Ethiopian Air, Air Ethiopia, and the bus. My instinct tells me to go with Ethiopian Air, but then I look on their website and call the airline, only to discover that all flights to Hargeisa are still suspended. And while I have gotten mixed reviews about many topics, one thing has remained consistent: avoid Daallo airlines if you can. Luckily, (or perhaps it will be unlucky, as I have yet to take my flight and find out!) a contact in Hargeisa told me about Air Ethiopia, a relatively new airline that has flights from Addis to Hargeisa every Monday and Thursday.

 

I contact a travel agent as well as the airline directly, and they say they will hold a space for me, though I have not put any money down and certainly have no e-ticket as proof. I will simply go to their office when I arrive in Addis to pick up the ticket and pay. Sounds good to me.

 

It seems like everything is nearly set. Now I just have to pack my suitcase accordingly. Simple? Not as much as you might think. You see, my Somali friends in Boston are very excited (and also nervous) about my trip. They have all filled my already stuffed suitcase with gifts to give their family, or family of their family, or who knows who. Some gifts include clothes, Obama gear, magazines, a Blackberry, USB key, and more.

 

Not only that, they have showered me with Somali clothing which I have been instructed to don when I am there. I give a little fashion show to some friends, thinking that I have mastered how to wear their clothes, but as it turns out, I never noticed the little details: what size scarf to wear with a skirt versus a dress, how to tie each scarf so it looks right, what to wear under the skirt, and so on. Luckily I have a few days before I leave to learn these intricacies and patient teachers ready to instruct me.

 

Hopefully the people I meet in Hargeisa will be as patient with me as my Somali friends in the U.S. have been in helping me prepare for the trip! Stay tuned and thanks for reading.

 

 

By Emily Huston

[Jacaylbaro]

Actually, this girl is coming with my new STUFF

 

 

[N.O.R.F]

LoL

 

You don't even know her and waxay kuu keenaysaa stuff? Only JB

[Jacaylbaro]

... waar bal sug ,, hehehe

[Sherban Shabeel]

$1100 "ouch"??

 

That's a bargain! I pay more than that to go to Romania.

[Jacaylbaro]

Probably she never left for other countries dee .... yeah i know it is not much comparing to other trips. From US all da way to Addis, i think 1100 is very cheap ...

[The Zack]

She is bringing you the "Curve"? That is little outdated ask her to bring you the "Storm". That is the cool stuff!

[Jacaylbaro]

The storm will be the next ,,,,,, lemme start with this first ,, hehehehe

[Jacaylbaro]

PART TWO

 

 

It is a great privilege to be here in Hargeisa. The sounds of the call to prayer wake me up each morning as the city bustles around me. It is much more alive than other cities I have come to know; here you can always find people outside, sipping tea, chatting, hauling loads on their mules, chewing qat [a narcotic leaf chewed in parts of East Africa and Yemen]. I had intended to write this article sooner but my internet access has been limited to the internet café across the street, and my 7-year old laptop has retired. My co-workers were amused that my laptop was not shiny and new, but quickly hooked up a reliable desktop in my breezy office so now I should have regular internet access.

 

My flight here was an adventure as I expected it would be. The visa process in Addis was very easy though, and I would recommend acquiring a visa there to other travelers. The hardest part of the process was finding the Somaliland Liaison Office, which is hidden behind the Mozambiquean and South African Embassies. But once you find the office, with its gardens and dusty driveway, the entire visa process takes only about 10 minutes, and is very straight forward.

 

When I was ready to leave Addis with my visa in hand, I arrived at Bole International Airport an hour and a half before my flight, as I was instructed to. I had picked up my boarding pass the day before at Air Ethiopia’s office downtown, but when I asked the airport officers where to find the flight to Hargeisa, they looked at me and my boarding pass quizzically. Nobody I spoke with had heard about this flight, and they even told me that there were no flights to Hargeisa from Addis. Luckily I maintained my confidence and thanks to the Somali dress I was wearing, some fellow passengers walked over and asked me if I was looking for the flight to Hargeisa. With relief, I told them I was, but they too were just as lost as I was. We all commiserated for a few minutes before taking a seat and waiting for someone who knew something. Eventually a young, skinny Somali guy showed up and asked us for our boarding passes and collected our bags. We then proceeded to customs and through security; the whole while airport officials were confused as to who we were and where we were going. Had I been alone I may have just given up! After customs and security, we looked around the gates and read the illuminated screens, but found no indication of a flight to Hargeisa or of the Somali man who had taken our bags. We decided to sit in a group (there were 8 of us in total) and wait by Gate 5, hoping someone would come. One passenger seemed more informed than all of us so we just followed whatever he did. The flight was slated to depart at 11:00, but by 11:15 we still did not know where to go. We all remained calm though, waiting further instruction. Eventually the same man who had taken our bags returned, and guided us to the gate where we were told to wait for a van to take us to the plane. We waited, and after a few false alarms the van came and we all got inside, curious as to what the plane would look like. It was a plane white plane with a blue stripe, and from the outside it was essentially what I had imagined, but once I got inside I was stunned at how tiny it was! There were no overhead compartments and certainly no safety orientation before take-off. We were all happy to be inside though, at this point it was about 1:00, and luckily I had brought some cookies and chocolate which I shared with the other passengers.

 

The flight was smooth enough, we were given bottled water, and I was trying not to worry about whether or not someone would be waiting for me when we landed, and if he would be able to recognize me or not. As we descended towards the ground, it looked as though we were landing in the desert, with no buildings in sight. But just as we hit the ground I could make out the city of Hargeisa, which was larger than I had imagined it. We walked off the plane onto the pavement and someone from my work (Abdi) was indeed waiting for me, al-hamdu l’illah. I suppose I was easy to recognize being the only female and only foreigner on the flight. When he saw me, Abdi grasped my arm and led me quickly to the customs area, where he asked me for $50 and for my passport. In my head I was thinking, who is this man and why does he want my money? I decided to bargain with him and said I will give you $40, before I realized that the $50 was not for him but was a required amount of money you need to change into Somaliland shillings in order to enter the country. Within two minutes he handed me two huge stacks of money held together with rubber bands, along with my passport and entry stamp. Now is a good time to point out for those who may not know, that $1 is equal to 7,000 Somaliland shillings, and the remarkable part is that the highest bill they have is 500 shillings, so for $50, you receive 700 individual bills.

 

We proceeded forward in a rush, and then Abdi led me back outside were I pointed to my bag which someone thrust on his shoulders and brought to the car. The car ride was my first opportunity to see the city and I enjoyed looking out the window and attempting to chat with Abdi in a mix of broken Somali and English. Abdi drove me to the bed and breakfast where I am staying. In order to give him directions, I just told him the color of the house and the name of the owner and he knew where it was. Directions here are often given in such terms, using landmarks and names instead of numbers and streets. When we arrived at the gate of the house, Abdi honked for the guard to open the door, but the guard just looked at the car then closed the gate. I assumed he was alerting the owners of my arrival, whereas Abdi assumed the guy was a rude man and started yelling at him. I tried to calm him down but it was too late, and the sort of amusing scene culminated with the guard spitting at Abdi who slapped him across the cheek. Abdi then told me I could not stay there, that he would not come get me each day for work, and he was going to take me to a guest house. I insisted that I must stay here and that he should come every day, we shook hands, and I went inside.

 

Do not be fooled by this introduction I had to Hargeisa, as it is certainly not typical and was actually a drama which spread around, and which I heard recounted in several different ways during my first few days here. Life has actually been quite calm and laid back. During the weekend I had a chance to get to know my surroundings a bit, and am grateful to the family I am staying with for showing me around, feeding me, and being such wonderful hosts. (They are not reading this so rest assured this is not a shameful plug). I already feel comfortable. Likewise, my co-workers have been very helpful and friendly and I am learning fascinating information about the history and intricacies of Somaliland. I remember when I was in Addis the night before leaving for Hargeisa, my stomach was so nervous and I could hardly sleep– I did not know what was awaiting me. I even said to my friend that I was afraid my stomach would stay in a knot all summer! But as soon as I landed the knot went away and I have been able to sleep well each night here.

 

Indeed the misconceptions about Somaliland, which is internationally known as Somalia, are plentiful and disturbing. I found the same to be true about Ethiopia. I packed enough soap, shampoo and toothpaste to last me for months, and just across the street from where I am staying are rows of shops which sell the very items I brought. Don’t get me wrong, Hargeisa is vastly different from any other place I have been, it does not have the high-rises of Boston and hot water is hard to come by, but the city is peaceful, lively, functioning, and far more developed than I had imagined. I hope to post pictures and provide you with more information about my experiences here next time, and look forward to your comments and insights as always.

[Jacaylbaro]

[N.O.R.F]

When we arrived at the gate of the house, Abdi honked for the guard to open the door, but the guard just looked at the car then closed the gate. I assumed he was alerting the owners of my arrival, whereas Abdi assumed the guy was a rude man and started yelling at him. I tried to calm him down but it was too late, and the sort of amusing scene culminated with the guard spitting at Abdi who slapped him across the cheek. Abdi then told me I could not stay there, that he would not come get me each day for work, and he was going to take me to a guest house. I insisted that I must stay here and that he should come every day, we shook hands, and I went inside.

Sounds like one of Ngonge's stories

 

So maaha Cabdiyow?

[Jacaylbaro]

We had dinner together last night ,,, she is funny ,,

[Hunguri]

Jacaylbro, beign a Faarax in Hargaisa since when did you learn using a Blackberry hand held device. Niyow, ninkani Pirate speed boat ayuu saaranyahay!

 

Norf,

Saxb aad ayaan kuu salaamay!