Djibouti is Hot Questions
1. La Chaumiere is a very essential part of the capital of Djibouti. It is a restaurant that
serves as a centripetal force that brings people with cultural differences together. The
people who run the restaurant, such as Mr. Wang, embrace multiculturalism. Also, the
acculturation of Mr. Wang to so many different cultures has helped La Chaumiere
become the restaurant that everyone goes to, regardless of their cultural background or
nationality.
2. The neighboring countries of Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia are both huge countries in
comparison to the size of Djibouti. Djibouti’s square mile size is over 40 times smaller
than the individual countries. However, these countries didn’t swallow up Djibouti
because they were preoccupied with their own internal conflicts such as war and famine
that needed to be resolved and did not pay attention to Djibouti. Also, the presence of
foreign troops played a role in Djibouti not being swallowed up.
3. The United States has military personnel in Camp Lemonnier, next to the airport in order
to fight terrorism. The European countries of France, Germany, Italy, and Spain have
personnel in Djibouti to protect the global shipping industry from Somali pirates. China
has military personnel in Djibouti to secure infrastructure investment. All these bases
were formed close to the Bab el-Mandeb shipping channel.
4. Considering the many disadvantages that the country of Djibouti has such as high
poverty rate, low literacy rate, etc., the presence of troops brought logistics, ensured
peace within the area, and help for the people living in Djibouti. An example of this is
when the American troops built a dental clinic that provided free dental care to
Djiboutian citizens who needed it. This kind of humanitarian aid played an important
role in the further development of the country.
5. China is simply using the relative location of Djibouti to their advantage and moving the
natural resources that they were getting from other countries in Africa. Djibouti and
China have an international alliance since China is financing and building many
important infrastructure buildings in Djibouti that end up benefiting both countries.
Their eventual role or sphere of influence is transporting their resources through the
country and in order to compensate, helping to fund further development of the
country, even if it means military presence to ensure funds are being used appropriately.
6. In the country, China is funding the construction of essential infrastructure buildings.
One example of this is the railroad that is being built by Chinese and Djibouti workers.
The railroad will improve transportation within the country and allow more people to
travel in and out of the country. The other forms of infrastructure that China is funding
are port terminal expansion, pipelines, a natural gas plant, better highways, airports, and
government buildings.
7. The form of government that France was practicing towards Djibouti, colonialism
affected Djibouti negatively because there were no resources or objects of value in the
country; since it was a railroad town, the standards of living were very low and the main
purpose of the country was to transport things from one country to another. In addition,
during colonial times, the climate of Djibouti was very harsh for everyone living there
due to heat and drought-like conditions. Now, the negative views that sparked from
imperialism have changed into positive views since the democratization of the country
occurred in the 1970s.
8. Due to a large number of military personnel from other countries, the population of the
country will increase, and in turn, more infrastructure will need to be built and more
people will need to be sustained by the environment, therefore increasing the
physiological density and increasing the pressure on the arable land. More people will be
creating waste within the country and there will be a greater need for sanitation.
9. One of the advantages would be the development of modern state-of-the-art
technology and infrastructure including transportation, natural resources, and
imports/exports. Another advantage would be the aid that is being provided by the
countries stationed in Djibouti since these forms of humanitarian aid are helping the
people living in Djibouti. One disadvantage would be the centrifugal force that is so
many different countries and military personnel being stationed in the country and
causing potential conflict. Another disadvantage would be the high levels of poverty
within the country, around 79%.