Thanks to some timely updates from Somaliland247, one of the blogs that I pay a lot of attention to, I have a few updates to share with my readers today on what is going on in Somaliland. Today’s update is evenly divided between health and geopolitics. First, there is an upcoming presentation at TED, which showcases ideas worth spreading around the world, with Edna Adan presenting her work in training Community midwives when Somaliland’s medical infrastructure was nearly totally destroyed. Then we have a report on long distance walker Kris Walker planning a walk that ends (not coincidentally) at the Edna Adan Maternity Hospital to help provide funding for medical care in Somaliland. After this comes some excellent reasoning from Somaliland’s President as to why Somaliland’s independence should be recognized by the international community. Finally, we close with a short update on signs of increased French friendliness towards Somaliland.

An Idea Worth Spreading

Normally people like to think in terms of massive efforts, and when it comes to medicine we think of hospitals first. However, Somaliland247 reports an upcoming presentation from a Somaliland medical figure who helped provide for urgent care when the hospitals of Somaliland were nearly entirely destroyed as a result of a civil war against the brutal dictator Siad Barre [1]. With a quarter of a million Somalilanders dead due to the civil war and 95% of the country’s infrastructure destroyed, Edna Adan put all of her savings into building a hospital to help out what was then one of the least developed countries in the world.

What happened next is remarkable. She made a wise decision that was nonetheless unusual. Eschewing the grand flourish of trying to train a few doctors to help with childbirth in what is a fairly large area, she chose the smaller but better solution of working to place community midwives all over Somaliland to help reduce infant mortality. The solution worked, and now Somaliland is vastly better developed than Somalia, even though it was worse off only twenty years ago after their successful war of independence. It’s nice to see the world taking notice of Somaliland in such a dramatic way. Here’s hoping for a successful TED presentation..

A Long Walk For the Edna Adan Maternity Hospital

Not coincidentally, our next update has to do with Edna Adan as well. Somaliland247 reports that long distance walker Kris Walker is planning a long walk to help provide some fundraising for the Edna Adan Maternity Hospital. The walk was apparently inspired by Kris Walker growing up with a lot of sisters in his family and looking to help out the often-ignored women of Somaliland.

Kris Walker has planned an ambitious walk, and some donated equipment should help make a documentary possible. The walk is scheduled to begin in Cairo, Egypt on January 2, 2012. Kris will then attempt a 30km daily pace south to Aswan, which is 900 km south of Cairo. After this Kris will take a ferry to Wadi Halfa and then walk to Atbara in Central Sudan, before walking to the Red Sea. After this comes a ferry trip down the Red Sea to Djibouti and then a walk for the last 500 km to Hargesia, the national capital of Somaliland. The walk is scheduled to end (with a media event, no doubt) at the Edna Adan Maternity Hospital in Somaliland’s capital. Here’s hoping for a successful walk.

Plenty Of Good Reasons To Support Somaliland’s Independence

Somaliland President Ahmad Silanyo has a very excellent and eloquent essay about the need for the world to recognize Somaliland’s independence. As this blog has repeatedly argued, recognizing Somaliland’s independence is not only a no-brainer, as Somaliland has fully met the conditions of the Montevideo Convention for sovereignty for the last twenty years, but in an age when nations are being granted their independence left and right, Somaliland’s status is an international embarassment, especially as the world continues to pump in billions of dollars in aid to a totally failed state next door in Somalia while completely ignoring a functioning and free democracy right next door.

Somaliland has three political parties, and all of them agree on one thing—Somaliland’s independence from Somalia. It is hard to find that sort of unanimity anywhere in the world, but it is the sine qua non of politics in the nation of Somaliland. But like a tree falling in the forest, the world has not heard the sound of Somalilanders calling to be free even as the horrible plight of starving Somalis next door has drawn the attention of the world. Why is this so? Why do we continue to ignore success and reward failure with endless aid?

Mr. Silanyo is particularly accurate in his examination of the reasonable tests for granting independence to a nation, all of which are standards that Somaliand meets and has met for two decades [3]: Secession should not result from foreign intervention, the threshold for supporting succession should be high in a monitored referendum (in South Sudan, and Somaliland, it is over 90% of the population), minority rights should be respected, and aid and recognition should reward successful nations and not punish success and reward failure. Amen, and amen.

French Delegation To Somaliland

Finally, Somaliland247 has reported that the French delegation to Djibouti (their former colony of French Somaliland) has had a planned official visit as well to Somaliland President Ahmad Silanyo in Hargesia. The French delegation was headed by Mr. Rene Forceville, French Ambassador to Djibouti, and also included Mr. Renu Morechaux from the Defense Ministry and Mr. Alexander Jabet, first secretary to the French embassy to Djibouti. The meeting apparently focused on increased bilateral relations between Somaliland and the French government as well as commitment by the French government to help Somaliland develop and improve its private trade.

This meeting marks the third high level meetings with UN Security Council members that Somaliland has had in the last month or two. Only the Americans and Russians have not have recent high-level meetings with Somaliland’s president among the permanent UN Security Council. Clearly Somaliland is working on developing friends in high places to help promote the cause of Somaliland recognition as well as the larger aim of increased development for Somaliland and integration of Somaliland into the world’s economic and legal infrastructure. Clearly, Somaliland wants to play the game of international relations. Hopefully someone will pick them for their team.

[1] http://somaliland247.wordpress.com/2011/10/24/edna-adan-will-give-a-presentation-at-the-upcoming-ted-conference-in-geneva/

[2] http://somaliland247.wordpress.com/2011/10/24/kris-plans-huge-trek-for-somaliland-hospital/

[3] http://somaliland247.wordpress.com/2011/10/23/somaliland-needs-its-independence/

[4] http://somaliland247.wordpress.com/2011/10/23/somaliland-french-delegation-signals-increased-cooperation/