A dangerous time for Somaliland

Nurses of payment ward, originally uploaded by CharlesFred.

This is my most viewed photo of all the photos I took in Somaliland. I am very happy because these are three of the nurses who are now working at the Payment Ward of the Group Hospital in Hargeisa, where I was born! Thank you ladies for posing in such a nice way.

I am disappointed, to say the least, because I have read in Somaliland Times and Awdal News that our friend and mid-wife to my mother, Edna Adan Ismail seems to have lost her job as Somaliland's Foreign Minister. She is an incredibly strong woman and has done so much for her country as well as for many people in other countries, such as Djibouti, where she was the WHO representative for many years. She has built her own maternity hospital in Hargeisa, which is heavily involved in training local nurses in maternity issues.

She has been a strong and clear voice pushing for international recognition of the independence of Somaliland.

With all the nonsense going on in neighbouring Somalia, with Ethiopian troops on the ground, weapons being supplied by Wahabi-ist Arab countries (notably the despicable Saudi Arabia), through Eritrea and the standoff between the Transitional Governement, sponsored by the pathetically inept UN and the Union of Islamic Courts, it could be only a matter of time before Somaliland is affected.

Granting recognition now would look like a knee-jerk reaction to the possibility of a Taliban-style regime in Somalia and may even provoke additional nastiness between the two countries.

I know the UK has been quietly going about strengthening its ties with its old Protectorate, but it has lacked the decisiveness on this issue with which it has invaded Afghanistan and Iraq.

In the meantime, the big enemies of Somaliland such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Italy (and Italy really should know better) will all have blood on their hands if the conflict in Somalia spills over to its neighbour.