Why many people in the pirate state of Somalia know Russian, and which of the Somalis became famous all over the world

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Living in Somalia is scary and dangerous, there is nothing to read, and you will not be able to do sports. The most prestigious profession is a pirate, and the most risky occupation is traveling in Somalia as a tourist. A country in which, it would seem, everything has been destroyed, where the state itself, in fact, no longer remains, nevertheless, continues to exist, remaining the homeland for millions of Somalis, some of whom still remember the Russian language.

A little history of Somalia

Puntland is now home to the infamous Somali pirates. And once "the country of Punt" - as the Egyptians called the territory of the peninsula - traded in gold, resins, slaves. During the time of Alexander the Great, elephants were supplied from here to Egypt for the army of the empire. The bulk of the population was then represented by nomads.

The entire history of the country is permeated with confrontations between different tribes, which only intensified in the XII-XIII centuries, when Islam came to Somalia. Rulers changed, sultanates appeared and disintegrated, cities were built, wars started. The country remained a major trade center. And in 1499 Europeans arrived on the peninsula - the Portuguese under the command of the traveler Vasco da Gama. The uninvited guests occupied major cities, including Mogadishu, and gradually took over the entire coast of Somalia.

At the end of the 19th century, three empires already claimed the division of the Somali coast, in the end they distributed the territory as follows. The lands around Djibouti went to the French, the British began to control the north of Somalia, the Italians began to control the south. In addition to internal strife between tribes, the Somalis now sought to free the lands of their ancestors from foreigners.

But after the end of World War II, the question arose about the status of African countries, and in 1960 Somalia became an independent autonomous state. The problem was that in Africa, the territory was divided between individual countries without taking into account the spheres of influence of different clans and tribes. The preconditions for a future unceasing civil war arose even then.

Friendship with the USSR

Nevertheless, in 1960 Somalia not only became a member of the United Nations, but also established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. The latter benefited the African state: significant material assistance came from the USSR to Somalia, the efforts of Soviet specialists and with their help established agriculture, a port was built, and water production from several wells was organized.

In 1969, as a result of a military coup, General Mohammed Siad Barre came to power in Somalia, who, with the support of the Soviet Union, embarked on a course of building socialism with Islamic characteristics. Specialists from the USSR lived in the Moskva quarter, built especially for them in Berbera, the largest Somali port city. They provided assistance to the country, including during the drought and famine - a scourge that regularly afflicts Somalia.

At the same time, they did not intend to abandon territorial claims to Somalia's neighbors. The conflicts concerned the lands of Djibouti, Kenya and all the same Ethiopia. In 1977, President Siad Barre attacked the Ethiopian state - with which the Soviet Union was also friends. A difficult choice between the two sides of the conflict ended with Ethiopia's support, and she won the war. In response, Somalia broke off relations with the USSR, and Soviet specialists were expelled from the country - urgently and rudely. “Moscow” remained at the disposal of the Berbera authorities in order to remain the best residential quarter in almost all of Somalia thirty years later.

A civil war that has not stopped for the past thirty years

The crisis in many areas of the life of Somalis at once led to the outbreak of a civil war in the country. The former president fled the country and died a few years later. And the history of Somalia over the past decades is a chronicle of chaos, anarchy and destruction of the country. Only on postcards of past years can one see a rich and picturesque African country - these postcards are now offered to tourists by hotels. Yes, in this country there are also travelers - first of all, those who are looking for thrills. Somalia provides them in abundance. Traveling without serious armed security is dangerous for a European: the white man is a real live target for kidnapping with a subsequent demand for ransom. The capital of Mogadishu is a system of roadblocks and fortifications.

Somaliland remains relatively calm - part of the territory of Somalia that was under the control of Britain. It is an unrecognized state, home to about a third of the total population of Somalia. The rest of the territory is an arena of almost incessant conflicts between various field commanders. In this country, millions of people can easily access firearms: a Kalashnikov assault rifle for a Somali is a common accessory.

In the early nineties, the UN tried to intervene in this situation by bringing in peacekeeping troops. By the middle of the decade, they found themselves embroiled in a military conflict with the local population and eventually left Somalia. In fact, the emergence of piracy at the turn of the century was directly related to European intervention in the affairs of the Somalis. The discharge of toxic waste by foreign ships into the waters of the Gulf of Aden has led to a deterioration in the environmental situation. The fish became scarce, the fishermen did not have enough to live on. And when pirates began to go out to sea, trying to make up for the damage done to the Somalis, they became real national heroes.

Somali pirates are now a serious problem for the world community. The pirates attack ships going to the Mediterranean from the Persian asset or Asian countries. And life on the peninsula continues. About 12 million people live in what was once thought of as Somalia.

The population, even in large cities, is mostly illiterate, and therefore on the signs of shops, clinics and any other points with a simple service, there are scanty inscriptions and numerous drawings of what a client can find in them. Very few Somali names are known in world culture. One of them is Iman, the widow of David Bowie. The famous super-model left her homeland with her parents as a child. As, however, and the novelist Nuruddin Farah, laureate of literary prizes.

Iman's career is one of the stories of how world famous models conquered the world of fashion.