Congratulations Somaliland on 15 years of peaceful Independence

Somaliland, originally uploaded by CharlesFred.

May 1991 was the date that Somaliland declared itself independent. The past 15 years can be looked back in with pride by the Somalialnders who have rebuilt their country and instituted a peaceful democratic system of goverenment with free and fair elections.

It has not been easy with a host of not-so-friendly neighbours, particularly the Arabs the other side of the Gulf of Aden and without formal international recognition. Maybe not such a bad thing as it is often better to do things oneself than to rely on other people or parties.

Anyway, I will soon be attending the event here in Birmingham to mark this occasion and will be giving a short talk about my personal experiences there, concentrating mainly on the photos I took when I was there in November last year. Not exactly extremely well prepared, but I have a nice powerpoint presentation, full of photos, so hope it will all go OK.

Looking forward to meeting A. Mirreh, the organiser and other Somalilanders.