Somaliland seeks a little respect Free and stable, self-declared republic chafes at lack of world recognitionBy Paul Salopek | Tribune correspondent
2:57 PM CDT, June 8, 2008
HARGEISA, Somalia — Somalia isn't supposed to be this normal.
Untroubled by petty crime, money changers in this quiet desert city leave their stacks of currency unattended—in piles the size of refrigerators — while they pray in mosques.
Earnest government officials, elected in what may be the cleanest voting in Africa, eagerly meet reporters in roadside cafes, a practice that would be suicidal in the violent south of the country, where occupying Ethiopian troops do battle with a ferocious Islamist insurgency. (Even more unusual, the officials insist on picking up the tab for camel-milk tea.)
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My Comment: Right in the heart of hell, we have a state that is not even recognized by the international community but functioning in a manner completely opposite from its southern neighbor. Maybe everyone should take a closer look at them, to see what they are doing that is right, and what are they doing that is wrong.