Djibouti: Oasis Dreaming - Regreening the Djiboutian Desert

Ali Omar remembers a time when the practically bare patch of desert in northern Djibouti he calls home was a bustling seaside resort and the waters around it were teeming with fish. "Lots of people lived here and they had shops all along the seaside," says 75-year-old Omar, recalling his hometown Khor Angar's 1970s heyday, before it was hot year-round and the village had dwindled to just a few huts in the desert.

"You used to need a jacket around here," he says, squinting in the morning sun next to a sparkling shoreline, now empty apart from crabs scuttling to and from the froth. There used to be enough fresh water for all and so much seafood that planes would come from the capital to fill up with lobster, crab, fish and langoustine.

...

AllAfrica publishes around 500 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.