Somaliland:Ilkley adventurer vows to continue Africa quest

Monday 6th May 2013

Intrepid traveller Christopher Stanfield, who has completed his 2,000-mile trek across Africa

An adventurer who trekked 2,000 miles across Africa is continuing his mission to raise cash – and awareness of a maternity hospital in Somaliland.

Christopher Stanfield, of Ilkley, set off on his long-distance walk from Egypt to Somaliland in September last year, and arrived at the Edna Adan University Hospital, Hargeisa, in January.

But his efforts to raise international awareness of the hospital’s work, and raise money for the cause, are set to continue.

He filmed the journey in its entirety for a documentary he plans to release, and is writing a book about the trek which he hopes will contribute to positive change.

A day of fundraising for the hospital will take place at The Yard, Ilkley, on Sunday.

Mr Stanfield, who previously walked the Camino de Santiago through Southern France and Spain, came up with the idea of the Somaliland walk a year before he set off.

He wanted to raise both money and awareness for Edna Adan’s maternity hospital in Somaliland – but also wanted to help Somaliland take a step towards gaining recognition as a breakaway country in its own right, no longer affiliated to Somalia.

He says the adventure, taking his life into his own hands, led him to the brink of both his physical and mental capabilities.

The journey took him through Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Djibouti and finally Somaliland.

He set off with an American companion, David Adams, and had a camel to carry supplies – but red tape on the border with Sudan meant he was forced to say goodbye to both.

He continued his journey alone, using a cart to haul his belongings with him, through baking desert heat and over mountains.

He completed the journey on January 4, walking the last kilometre side by side with Edna Adan Ismail, finishing in front of the hospital she had built 12 years previously.

Now he hopes to capture mass media attention with his book and documentary.

He said: “The expedition has an underlying theme of providing an inspirational distraction from our modern lives and ultimately show that despite our world’s current problems there is still so much hope to be had.

“Edna Adan’s hospital is an inspiring white light in Somaliland, and it is time we all stood up and recognised both the hospital, and this ever growing and stabilising country.”

The event at The Yard, off Brook Street, Ilkley, will feature live music, a raffle, auction, barbecue and cake sale, plus a specially brewed ale

By Amanda Greaves

Source: Somaliland Press

Is Western style democracy being used to wrap Africa under foreign control?

AFRICAN Game Changer: The Consequences of Somaliland’s International (Non) Recognition

AFRICAN Game Changer: The Consequences of Somaliland’s International (Non) Recognition
Executive Summary

This Discussion Paper considers the case for Somaliland’s formal recognition following the recent 20th anniversary of its declaration of independence (18 May 1991) and in light of the secession of Southern Sudan. Based on a series of field studies in the region over several years, most recently in Somaliland in June 2011, this Paper focuses not only on the options for Somalia and others in this regard, but considers the vital question: How will recognition – or continued non-recognition – affect Somaliland’s prospects for peace and stability as well as the interests of the international community? It also asks whether there is an alternative to full recognition, and what a strategy to achieve recognition might look like.

The Paper argues that recognition of Somaliland would be a most cost-effective means to ensure security in an otherwise troubled and problematic region. Moreover, at a time when ‘ungoverned spaces’ have emerged as a major source of global concern, it is deeply ironic that the international community should deny itself the opportunity to extend the reach of global governance in a way that would be beneficial both to itself, and to the people of Somaliland. For Africa, Somaliland’s recognition should not threaten a ‘Pandora’s box’ of secessionist claims in other states. Instead it offers a means to positively change the incentives for better governance, not only for Somaliland, but also in south-central Somalia.

The Paper’s authors acknowledge, however, that recognition would not resolve all of Somaliland’s problems, or the region’s. Indeed, the Paper explains that recognition may, for example, exacerbate tensions with both Al-Shabaab, committed as the Islamist organisation is to the notion of a united Somalia, and with neighbouring Puntland.

Recognition might also diminish the link of accountability between Somaliland’s democratic government and its people, as the government may be tempted to be more responsive to international partners, with their potentially significant aid packages, than to the people. And nor should the recognition question obscure the deep-rooted social and economic problems in Somaliland that will need constant and continued attention. But whatever the benefits and costs to Somaliland, regional states and the international community, recognition would illustrate that African borders, far from being sources of insecurity, can be a source of stability and enhanced state capacity. In that respect, the recognition of Somaliland would certainly be an African game changer.

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Source: Ramaasnews.com