|
|
  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Assignment Djibouti: Where?'You can fry an egg out in the sun'
By Jeff Koinange
Editor's note: In our Behind the Scenes series, CNN correspondents share their experiences in covering news around the world. DJIBOUTI, Djibouti (CNN) -- After banging my head in frustration searching for a place called Djibouti on the map, I'm almost at the point of giving up when I spot a tiny country the size of Massachusetts sandwiched neatly between Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea. Wow, that's it? Looks like a spillover of the other three countries, as if someone said, "OK guys, you can have that little triangle there. We don't need that part." Turns out that was a big mistake: Djibouti is strategically located at the entrance to the Gulf of Aden, the all-important sea route for oil tankers plowing through the choppy waters transporting its cargo to destinations around the world. And military experts say it's also strategically located for other more sinister reasons: It's an hour's boat ride from Yemen and nine miles from the Somali border -- two nations with what the U.S. State Department says are known terrorist links. It's here that the United States and coalition forces have decided to set up shop in their stepped-up war against terror. (Rumsfeld in the Horn of Africa) Welcome to Camp Lemonier, 80 acres of dry, dusty desert sand about to be transformed into a high-tech command center for U.S. Special Forces launching missions into neighboring countries.
To say it's hot here is an understatement. Average temperatures hover around 130 degrees Fahrenheit (54 degrees Celsius). "You can fry an egg out in the sun," quips a U.S. Marine who's sucking down a bottle of water. He's one of the recent arrivals, as is his friend who adds, " Damn, I didn't know Africa was so hot. I'm melting here." About 900 U.S. military men and women in chocolate-chip camouflage uniforms now are deployed on this former French military base. They include personnel from the Marines, Army, Navy and various Special Forces. Rangers and Deltas are here, too; you don't get to see them but they're definitely here. Helicopter gunships and Humvees kick up a dust storm as the camp slowly comes to life. Offshore, on boardAbout 50 miles offshore, deep in the Gulf of Aden, floats a giant command and control center, complete with the latest gadgets capable of listening to the most sensitive information being relayed potentially by terrorists in the troubled region. " If it moves out there and we determine that its actions are aggressive, we'll spot it and contain it," says a U.S. Navy officer. Many on board are used to being shipped out on short notice. But for others it's their first deployment and they don't expect to be home before May 2003.
"It's tough being away from friends and family," says 31-year-old Signalman 2nd Class Erica Moore from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a wife and mother of two. She adds," Hey, it's a job and we have to play our part." A job, indeed: Sgt. Benjamin Stryfeller mans one of the big guns on the main deck. He's your stereotypical Marine -- big, muscular, ready for anything. " We're here to get rid of the bad guys," he says nonchalantly. There are 400 service people aboard this ship and another 600 crew members, each of them like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle, each dependent on the other to help make sense of the big picture. Back on dry land, not much happens in Djibouti, mainly because of the searing temperatures. In fact, someone once said Djibouti is such a laid-back place that the founding fathers decided not to complicate things and named the capital after the country. So here we are in downtown Djibouti, Djibouti. Last week, the country's first Yellow Pages telephone directory was launched. Hundreds crowded the city center for a glimpse of the 300-page book and a quick demonstration of how to access it on the Internet. The country's population is just under 700,000, most of them poor and uneducated. Khat deliveryAs we walk the deserted streets -- the heat keeps everyone out of sight -- suddenly several pickup trucks careen round the corner and screech to a halt in the middle of the street. Several men jump out and grab huge sacks, tossing them onto the curb before moving on. We move out of the way, not knowing what could be in the sacks. Women take over the operation, ripping open the sacks and exposing thin twigs tied neatly into bunches. This is khat, we learn, a chewy, mild stimulant flown in daily from neighboring Ethiopia. Within minutes, the streets are buzzing with activity. Men, women, boys and girls seemingly appear from nowhere, running in different directions in search for the freshest khat. " It has to be fresh," insists our driver, Jama Ahmed. " Otherwise the juices dry up and you don't get the sensation."
The sensation he's talking about is an escape from Djibouti's everyday routines. But, according to experts, more than 75-percent of Djiboutians may have developed a dependency on khat. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's Web site, "chronic khat abuse can result in symptoms such as physical exhaustion, violence and suicidal depression, which are similar to amphetamine addiction." It's illegal in the United States but legal throughout much of Europe, East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. "I wish khat was banned," complains 28-year-old Aisha Mohamed, a waitress at one of the downtown fast-food restaurants. "It renders our men useless." It's a lucrative business for those involved. A planeload of khat is said to be worth $500,000. We corner one Djiboutian before he dives into his daily dose. We ask him about his countrymen's thoughts on the "American invasion" of military personnel here. He smiles, waves his arms and says, "Look around you. We've had French troops here for over 25 years. What difference will another set of troops do in our tiny country with a tiny population?" He has a point. French troops mingle freely with the locals here, Beau Geste meets Sleepy Town -- only here it seems hotter than any other place on Earth.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
