SOMALILAND: the country that doesn’t exist | France 5 | Les Routes de l'Impossible

It’s a country that does not officially exist. It cannot be found on any map. Yet Somaliland has its army, its entry visa and its government. This “no man’s land”, the size of England, is crammed in between Djibouti and Somalia and is one of the trade routes for neighbouring Ethiopia. Every day, dozens of ancient trucks cross the Somali desert providing a link between the port of Djibouti and the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. It’s a terrible journey under a beating sun that claims the lives of some because, apart from the risk of getting stuck in the sand, the heavy trucks can be blown up at any minute on one of the many antipersonnel mines that are buried in this desert. In total, there are more than a million of them. So, in order to cope with the challenge and give themselves courage, the drivers consume the local drug: khat. It’s a plant with stimulating qualities that is sold legally throughout the country.