Djibouti Jones: All's Quiet

Djibouti Jones: All's Quiet: "There were rumors of more protests to occur yesterday (Friday) but other than an increased police presence, we didn't notice anything like l..."

I have heard that the reason there were no protests is because some opposition leaders are still "detained" and they are waiting to see what will happen to them. So perhaps protests will start up again if and when these opposition leaders are free?

calm in Djibouti?

Djibouti has been peaceful this week. No more protests that I know of. The police are still out in force and there are rumors swirling that there will be another protest tomorrow (Feb 25th) but that the government has not issued a permit for this protest. As I understand, protests and demonstrations are permitted as long as they are registered in advance and normally the gov't has allowed them to go ahead. We'll see what happens tomorrow though. Today I saw a burned out semi truck or lorry if you're British and commented to a friend that today this street is calm but who knows what tomorrow will bring?

Non-protest news

Last week the world's only non-American nuclear carrier arrived in port. The Charles de Gualle French aircraft carrier was here for a couple days. That was enough to make the local newspaper here in Djibouti. I saw it walking home, it was pretty large.

Charles de Gaulle Wikipedia page

2nd day of protests and fatalities

A Chinese News Agency is reporting 2 deaths.

More protests early saturday

I was in a cafe tonight watching Djibouti News and they showed pictures of burned out cars and several semi trucks burned. There was even a gas tanker burned. Another friend told me there were skirmishes with police until about 1 am last night. In Belbela right outside of the city there were rock throwing protests against police this morning. Currently all the schools are on vacation but the university is not. Attendance was very low today at the university many students stayed home because of the events of yesterday and today.

Large Protests in Djibouti

Here's some links on what happened yesterday in Djibouti.


Next Up; Djibouti?

Political Protests Spread to Djibouti

Protesters rally against gov't

Whats happening in Djibouti

Thats video from the recent student protests. Here is the site of the opposition candidate with some interesting facts about Djibouti. Here's one for you; the gov't provides 70% of the total employment in Djibouti.

2 more things to see in Djibouti

1. Coordinated dancing to Michael Jackson in public, in the dark. Seen near my house last night.

2. An Arab guy drinking beer while driving a car. I looked at him and he looked at me and just shrugged his shoulders with a quirky smile.

Things seen in Djibouti

1. A man wearing a t-shirt with a giant picture of Sadam Hussein.

2. large human turds on the street.

3. protests being dispersed with tear gas

4. armed police guarding University officials

5. A Canadian born Somali teaching in Qatar with a wife from Somalia. I met this dude on the street today and directed him to a passport photo place.

2011 or 1973

This doesn't have anything to do with Djibouti so now is your chance to bail.

I saw an interesting article today. The proposition is; if you could, would you live in 1973 with your current income, family, and friends? Because of inflation our current money would go 5x farther so I would assume that we would all be living quite comfortably.

Think of the possibilities; no technology dominating our lives, no war on terror, the 70's are the golden age of music in my opinion, we still have things like interstates, airline travel, gas is cheap, Michael Jackson was still black, its endless.

The guy who originally posted it here said he would not go back, he likes his technology and toys too much. But is that really where we derive our happiness from? All of our stuff? all the information we have now? Technology has invaded every part of our lives. I'm typing this on a computer in Africa for people all over the world to read. We can't even talk about or read about the effects of technology in our lives without using technology.

I'm voting for 1973. Check out another guy who also voted for life in 1973. I like his reasons for 1973.

Protests on the streets of Djibouti

The previous 3 mornings, students from the University of Djibouti have taken to the streets to protest their grades from the fall semester. These protests have taken the form of rock throwing, destruction of property, and general mayhem. The police have responded with arrests, tear gas, and though I have not seen this personally, I would assume beatings. The police carry large wooden sticks suitable for beating unruly students.

So most students have not shown up to classes even when the protests are not happening. I am scheduled to have a class this afternoon of about 75 students. However, the previous class period only 5 students came so I'm not holding out a lot of hope. Last night 4 out of maybe 100 students showed for my class and I canceled it.

One strange thing happened to me a couple days ago. The protests were happening a few blocks away and I was talking to another American guy on a street corner. The high school students had been sent home and were streaming through the city en route to the buses. A group of 8 or so girls stopped behind me and started playing with my hair. I turned around to look at them thinking maybe I knew them but nope. They told me they liked my hair. Thanks

Sorry i don't have pictures, also you will probably not find any news articles online about this.

the music of Djibouti

I hear this song constantly. In restaurants, on the bus, on the street. I think it is the anthem of Somali people. Check it out.

if it doesnt work heres the link to the video

Update: Protests in Djibouti

So it turns out I was wrong about protests in Djibouti. Not dead wrong, but wrong nevertheless.

check it out

Djibouti Protests

Their enthusiasm and passion simply takes my breath away. I anticipate big things in the future.

WATCH THE VIDEO in the link