Djibouti

June 3, 2022 11:47 AM

"Madam, where you from?", asks the driver as they crawl under the Stepney bridge. His accent sounds gruff and manufactured. She squints at his nametag on the dashboard, but without her glasses there is only a smudge that extends the length of the photograph. In Sri Lanka, every stranger has an opinion on her. She sees it beneath each unctuous smile. In Europe, no one knows nor cares, so she gets to be from wherever she chooses. These days, her job is to brag about her country to strangers who couldn't care less.

A short story by Shehan Karunatilaka.

posted by smcg (4 comments total)

Wow. That was really gripping. So vivid.

Thank you for posting this, smcg.
posted by kristi at 11:59 AM on June 3, 2022 [2 favorites]

I just want to share my favorite Djiboutu fact, which is that the country is basically a naval base for more countries than you can name. There was that whole hullabaloo about China opening a naval base there. but actually India and US and Russia and Ethiopia (which is LANDLOCKED! WHY?!) have naval bases in Djibouti, and that's not all of them. So Djibouti does one thing very well, and that thing is other countries' naval bases.
posted by saysthis at 7:27 PM on June 3, 2022 [2 favorites]

Djibouti occupies a pretty strategic location in the straits between the Indian and Red Seas, why wouldn't you want naval access and docking rights there?

As for Ethiopia, it didn't used to be landlocked, having annexed Eritrea for several decades from ~1960-~1990; I'm guessing when Eritrea gained its independence the Ethopian navy negotiated access to the ports next door.

[edit window ~abuse: I found the story thought-provoking as well!]
posted by Earthtopus at 8:38 PM on June 3, 2022 [2 favorites]

Appreciated reading the story, thanks - a suspense I'd never encountered before!
posted by brainwane at 5:58 AM on June 4, 2022