2016 / Editorial / Conflict

Somalia: the resilient Nation (life returns in aftermath Al- Shabaab)

  • Photographer
    Marco Gualazzini

Africa, Somalia, Bosaso. 06/10/2015 Somalia has an emblematic role to play in any attempt to understand the refugee crisis today, because this country on the Horn of Africa is one of the states from which a large proportion of the population are fleeing in search of asylum throughout the world. The internally displaced number over a million, and another million that have found refuge in neighbouring countries or in Europe; however, by virtue of a historical and geo-political paradox, this country – the emblem of war on earth – has also become a place of welcome: over 30,000 Yemenites have already landed on the Somali coasts, in flight from the Arabian peninsula (where the Houthi rebels are at war with the Saudi-guided coalition) and have found refuge in a nation that for 25 years now has been under the anarchic rule of hordes of undisciplined soldiers. Children waiting in queue before attending to the lessons at Haji Mire Primary School in Bosaso, with 9 classes where children study English, Arabic, Maths, Physics and the Koran.