Somaliland

i'd never heard of it until yesterday, when there was an article about it in the Herald Tribune. it's a small state in the north-eastern part of Somalia, which has its own, freely-elected government, headed by a president, has its own economy and currency and which, against all odds, seems to be a peaceful and politically stable place, despite being the 'neighbour' of Somalia, which as we know, is nothing like stable.

the problem is, as far as i understand the situation from one day's worth of knowing about it, that it is recognised by no government, except sometimes Ethiopia, which uses its main port for commerce. and the problem, when you're not recognised by others, is that you're not entitled to anything, like funds, aid, etc. it appears that Somaliland is getting a little money from the main Somali government, but will soon collapse if nothing else is done. and nothing will ever be done if people don't even know it exists. so here's my contribution to informing people about it.