Protests

I haven't written much about Djibouti's current political situation, for many reasons, but I don't think I can avoid it much longer. With events in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Jordan, Bahrain, Algeria...protest fever seems to be in the air and Djibouti is not immune.

We have experienced strikes when students are dissatisfied with teachers, lack of supplies or their grades. There have also been occasional, small-scale demonstrations over political issues or if the khat plane fails to arrive. But in the seven years we have lived here, nothing has been major enough to alarm us, just enough to keep us in the house for an afternoon or so.

I must say that we still are not alarmed, but are paying attention and taking precautions as necessary (so don't worry, mom!).

Here is a video of some protests that took place last week among University students who were angry about their final grades. This protest did include some property damage and tear gas, which doesn't happen often.

Here is another clip of political opposition protesters about two weeks ago.

Today there are planned protests, to begin sometime after 1400. We are just planning to stay inside. The only difference we have noticed lately around town is a vast increase in police presence, more rocks than normal in the streets and this morning while I ran and Henry biked around in the desert, someone said to us, "Djibouti isn't peaceful today, go home."

We did go home, as our route was a circle and we had only one way to go, which was in the direction of home but on the way we stopped to watch the ocean, ibis birds, cranes and eat a granola bar beside a tranquil pond/mud puddle. Protests seemed far removed from the beauty of the morning, but the reality of what will transpire this afternoon remains to be seen.