AFRICA NINTH STOP ETHIOPIA (ABYSSINIA THAT WAS)

BACKGROUND :

Africa covers 6 per cent of the surface of the Earth and provides 20.4 per cent of Earth’s landmass.   Occupying this massive  and significant territory there are 1.1 Billion people. Africa is the second largest and second most populous continent on Earth.


ETHIOPIA

Ethiopia, it is probably fair to say, conjures up in the Western mind two images - its former Emperor Hailie Selassie ( probably filed mentally rightly or wrongly under the category "good thing") and the Evelyn Waugh book "WAUGH IN AFRICA" ( similarly filed under the heading "comic writing" or alternatively "No longer PC").

Landlocked Ethiopia is bordered to the North by Eritrea, to the East by Somalia, to the South by Kenya and to the West by Sudan. It is populated 88% by 11 tribes and a wide mixture comprises the remaining 12 %. With an estimated population of 90,000,000 it is the 14th most populous country in the world and the second most populous in Africa. It is the 27th largest country in the world in area and the 10th largest country in Africa.

However, Ethiopia is only the 122nd ranked world exporting country, but it is the 96th largest importing country in the world.(Interestingly, my own country Australia ranks 20th on both Imports and Exports lists - not bad for the 52nd Ranked country by population.)

Considering those statistics, I am amazed that I have so rarely given Ethiopia any thought at all.

Said to have historical roots back to the second millenium B.C., Ethiopia has, for most of the time been a monarchy. In the early centuries A.D. it was part of the Kingdom of Aksum. In more recent times it successfully resisted the European powers' scramble for colonial territory in Africa.
Even in the 1880s she succeeded in defeating Italy's attempts to conquer her. However the claims of the Ethiopian Emperor that he was the heir of a 3,000 years old dynasty were fanciful.

Between 1936 and 1941, Fascist Italy at length succeeded in occupying the country. British Empire forces then joined Ethiopian forces in driving out the Italians in a campaign that degenerated into guerilla war until 1943 when the Italians were finally beaten.In 1944 the British at last recognised Ethiopian sovereignty and this recognition was cemented in the Treaty signed in December, 1944. Since 1995 the country has been a federated Republic.Prior to that , and after the death of Hailie Selassie ,the country was ruled by a Communist Russian backed Military Dictatorship called the Derg.

The Ethiopian territory is a high plateau with a central mountain range divided by the Great Rift Valley. The highest point is Ras Dejen at 4,533 metres. 15% of the land is arable Permanent crops take up only 1.14% of the land.The Great Rift Valley is geologically active with occasional earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, and drought.The Blue Nile rises in Lake Tana in the country's Northwest. It is believed that the coffee bean, grain sorghum and the castor bean are native to Ethiopia.

A slight majority of the population is Christian , mostly members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. One third of the population is Sunni Mohammedan.

AFRICA SIXTH STOP SOMALIA

Background:

Africa covers 6 per cent of the surface of the Earth and provides 20.4 per cent of Earth’s landmass. Occupying this massive and significant territory there are 1.1 Billion people. Africa is the second largest and second most populous continent on Earth.

SOMALIA

Somalia is situated right on the tip of the horn of Africa, bounded by the Gulf of Aden to the North , the Indian Ocean to the East, Kenya to the South West ,Ethiopia to the  West and Djibouti to the North West. It has the longest coastline in Africa, and its land area makes it the 44th largest country in the world. However, its population of only 11,123000 ranks only 86th in the world( respectively the 18th largest in Africa and the 27th in Africa). But its GDP, at $ 5.86 Billions ranks only 163rd in the world.

The majority of the people are Sunni Mohammedans. The ethic minorities are mainly concentrated in the South. The majority (85%) are ethnic Somalis mainly Benardiris and the remaining 15% are African as we normally understand the description.The Africans are the descendants of slaves brought to the area by Mohammedan traders.

Politically, the country is a federal parliamentary republic, which gained its independence from colonial powers in 1960.The curent Constitution came into force in 2012.

History

Growing out of a series of city states from about 200 B.C. and it was an important regional trading nation on account of its location. In the barbaric Mohammedan invasions across North Africa in the 8th Century the country was overrun and the people were forced to convert or die as usual. There followed centuries of tedious Mohammedan governments and inter Mohammedan wars . This was dampened somewhat by British and Italian invasions in the late 19th Century. It was not until 1920 that the colonial powers were completely victorious. The Italians remained until 1941 when they were driven out by the British .And the British in turn remained until 1960 when independence was achieved. There are obviously a host of complexities covered over by this brief sketch.

Economy

In a marvellous euphemism, the country is said to have an " informal economy" based on livestock, remittances and telecommunications. This would seem to suggest chaos and corruption.80% of the population are nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoralists, keeping goats, sheep, camels and cattle.Whilst the country has a trade deficit of $190,000,000 , inward remittances from the global Somali diaspora total around $ 1,000,000,000  comfortably keeping the country afloat.

Summing up

Somalia is a Mohammedan country dependent on the diaspora of its people for the remittances that keep it alive. The country's legal system has been heavily influenced by Sharia law and no Christian religious observances are permitted. 

On a lighter note it is not possible to be altogether opposed to country that has towns named "El Dubbo", "Ted" and "Bud Bud" and the misfortune to call its capital " Mogadishu".