Elmore Leonard, New York Times bestselling author and "the hippest, funniest national treasure in sight" (Washington Post), brings his trademark wit and inimitable style to this twisting, gripping—and sometimes playful—tale of modern-day piracy

Dara Barr, documentary filmmaker, is at the top of her game. She's covered the rape of Bosnian women, neo-Nazi white supremacists, and post-Katrina New Orleans, and has won awards for all three. Now, looking for a bigger challenge, Dara and her right-hand-man, Xavier LeBo, a six-foot-six, seventy-two-year-old African American seafarer, head to Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa, to film modern-day pirates hijacking merchant ships.

They learn soon enough that almost no one in the Middle East is who he seems to be. The most successful pirate, driving his Mercedes around Djibouti, appears to be a good guy, but his pal, a cultured Saudi diplomat, has dubious connections. Billy Wynn, a Texas billionaire, plays mysterious roles as the mood strikes him. He's promised his girlfriend, Helene, a nifty fashion model, that he'll marry her if she doesn't become seasick or bored while circling the world on his yacht. And there's Jama Raisuli, a black al Qaeda terrorist from Miami, who's vowed to blow up something big.

What Dara and Xavier have to decide, besides the best way to stay alive: Should they shoot the action as a documentary or turn it into a Hollywood feature film?

Djibouti

Lonely Planet Ethiopia & Djibouti (Travel Guide)

Although the Horn of Africa was historically one of the earliest destinations for Yemeni migrants, it has been overlooked by scholars, who have otherwise meticulously documented the Yemeni presence in the Indian Ocean region. Subjects of Empires/Citizens of States draws on rich ethnographic and historical research to examine the interaction of the Yemeni diaspora with states and empires in Djibouti and Ethiopia from the early twentieth century, when European powers began to colonize the region. In doing so, it aims to counter a dominant perspective in Indian Ocean studies that regards migrants across the region as by-products of personal networks and local oceanic systems, which according to most scholarship led to cosmopolitan spaces and hybrid cultures. Samson Bezabeh argues that far from being free from the restrictions of state and empire, these migrant communities were constrained, and their agency structured, by their interactions with the institutions and relations of states and empires in the region. Elegantly combining theoretical readings with extensive empirical findings, this study documents a largely forgotten period in the history of Yemeni migration as well as contributing to the wider debates on class, citizenship, and ethnicity in relation to diaspora groups. It will appeal to specialists in Middle East studies and to those who study the Indian Ocean and Horn of Africa regions, as well as to migration and diaspora studies scholars, nongovernmental organizations, and policy makers concerned with the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden region.


Subjects of Empires/Citizens of States: Yemenis in Djibouti and Ethiopia

A war torn Ethiopia and an America in the throes of social unrest provide the backdrop for a poignant story of loss, famine, war, faith and love. Guided by spirit elephants, haunted by hyena men, The Lion of Djibouti is the quest of two brothers to reunite across two continents after a brutal lion attack.

The Lion of Djibouti

Djibouti, a hot, impoverished little country on the Horn of Africa, is a place of great strategic importance, for off its coast lies a crucial passage for the world’s oil. In this novel by Abdourahman A. Waberi, Djibril, a young Djiboutian voluntarily exiled in Montreal, returns to his native land to prepare a report for an American economic intelligence firm. Meanwhile, a shadowy, threatening figure imprisoned in an island cell seems to know Djibril’s every move. He takes dictation from his preaching cellmate known as his “Venerable Master,” but as the words are put on the page, a completely different text appears—the life of Walter Benjamin, Djibril’s favorite author. 
"Passage of Tears "cleverly mixes many genres and forms of writing—spy novel, political thriller, diary (replete with childhood memories), travel notebook, legends, parables, incantations, and prayers. Djibril’s reminiscences provide a sense of Djibouti’s past and its people, while a satire of Muslim fundamentalism is unwittingly delivered through the other Djiboutian voice. Waberi’s inventive parody is a lesson in tolerance, while his poetic observations reveal his love and concern for his homeland. "Praise for the French Edition"" "“Disguised as a political thriller, "Passage of Tears "is above all a great novel of childhood, murderous identities, and exile.”—"Le Monde des Livres"
 “A gripping book, burning with urgency and tension.”—"Télérama."

Passage of Tears

Few of us have had the opportunity to visit Djibouti, the small crook of a country strategically located in the Horn of Africa, which makes "The Nomads, My Brothers, Go Out to Drink from the Big Dipper" all the more seductive. In his first collection of poetry, the critically acclaimed writer Abdourahman A. Waberi writes passionately about his country’s landscape, drawing for us pictures of “desert furrows of fire” and a “yellow chameleon sky.” Waberi’s poems take us to unexpected spaces—in exile, in the muezzin’s call, and where morning dew is “sucked up by the eye of the sun—black often, pink from time to time.”
             Translated by Nancy Naomi Carlson, Waberi’s voice is intelligent, at times ironic, and always appealing. His poems strongly condemn the civil wars that have plagued East Africa and advocate tolerance and peace. In this compact volume, such ideas live side by side as a rosary for the treasures of Timbuktu, destroyed by Islamic extremists, and a poem dedicated to Edmond Jabès, the Jewish writer and poet born in Cairo.
  
  “With Waberi, the juxtapositions—surprising, provocative, and original—form a good part of the thrill themselves.”—"Words Without Borders"

The Nomads, My Brothers, Go Out to Drink from the Big Dipper

One of the first literary works to portray Djiboutians from their own point of view, "The Land without Shadows" is a collection of seventeen short stories. The author, Abdourahman A. Waberi, one of a handful of francophone writers of fiction to have emerged in the twentieth century from the "confetti-sized state" of Djibouti, has already won international recognition and prizes in African literature for his stories and novel. Because his writing is linked to immigration and exile, his native Djibouti occupies center stage in his work. Drawing on the Somali/Djiboutian oral tradition to weave pieces of legend, proverbs, music, poetry, and history together with references to writers as diverse as Soyinka, Shakespeare, Djebar, Baudelaire, Cesaire, Waugh, Senghor, and Beckett, Waberi succeeds in bringing his country into a context that reaches well beyond the Horn of Africa.

Originally published in France in 1994 as "Le Pays sans ombre, " this newly translated collection presents stories about the precolonial and colonial past of Djibouti alongside those set in the postcolonial era. With irony and humor, these short stories portray madmen, poets, artists, French colonists, pseudointellectuals, young women, aspiring politicians, famished refugees, khat chewers, nomads struggling to survive in Djibouti's ruthless natural environment, or tramps living (and dying) in Balbala, the shantytown that stretches to the south of the capital. Waberi's complex web of allusions locates his tales at an intersection between history and ethnography, politics and literature. While written in a narrative prose, these stories nevertheless call on an indigenous literary tradition that elevates poetry to the highest standing.

By juxtaposing the present with the past, the individual with the collective, the colonized with the colonizer, the local with the global, "The Land without Shadows" composes an image of Djibouti that is at times both kaleidoscopic and cinematographic. Here the art of the short story offers partial but brilliantly illuminated scenes of the Djiboutian urban and rural landscape, its people, and its history.

For sale in the U.S. and its territories only

The Land Without Shadows

Welcome to Djibouti: arrive, survive, and thrive in the hottest country on earth

Djibouti Culture and tradition. Owing to a number of ethnic groups in the country, the Culture of Djibouti is very rich and well-assorted. Arabs, French, Somalis, and other minority groups make up the ethnicity of Djibouti. The people of Djibouti are very hospitable, kind, and generous. These groups are peace-loving and stay in harmony by respecting each other's traditions and actively participating in the various cultural festivities.Djibouti Traditions are age old and varied. There are generally two major ethnic groups in the country along with some other tribes and clans.In the Djibouti Tradition, the major religion that is followed is Islam. There are mosques in various parts of the country. The most popular and holy place for the Muslims in the country is in the Goda Mountains where the tomb of Sheikh Abu Yazid is present. This is an integral part of the custom of Djibouti.

Djibouti Art and Culture: Conflict and political crises

Established as a country a little more than a century ago, born as an independent republic in June 1977, Djibouti is among the youngest as well as the smallest states in Africa. Yet its strategic location at the crossroads of the maritime trade routes between Africa, Asia and Europe turned this tiny spot on the world map into a vital player in twentieth century geopolitics.

Historical Dictionary of Djibouti

History of Djibouti Political Governance. An information Book. Ethnicity as a major springboard of identity politics has significantly affected the Republic of Djibouti since 1960s as Colonial rule, the Cold War and regional politics contributed to widen the rift of ethnic cleavage between Afar and Issa. The mobilization of Afars, the minority one, in the early 1990s faced with a heavy handed repression of the Issa dominated government which makes even the power sharing peace negotiation of 1993 less satisfactory. The power sharing scheme of the government was considered as a political contrivance of coopting Afar political figures for dumping the just claim of Afars which is so deep, and the conflict went on. This had exerted pressure on the government to make constitutional concessions of recognizing the plurality of Djibouti. However, from the perspective of accommodation an ethnic demand which has sustained for long, the constitutional and political adjustments are less adequate

History of Djibouti, Political Governance: Environmental Study

The paper examines the poverty-reducing and distributional characteristics of Djibouti's economic growth, and discusses policies that might help make growth more inclusive. It covers the period between 2002 and 2013, for which comparable household surveys are available. The main findings are that while in the past decade the overall level of poverty in Djibouti declined, there have been no clear signs of improvements in either equality or growth inclusiveness. Growth has not been inclusive and benefitted mainly those in the upper part of the income distribution. These conclusions should be treated as indicative. Progress in poverty reduction and inclusiveness would require not only sustained high growth but also the creation of opportunities in sectors with high earning potential for the poor. Better targeted social policies and more attention to the regional distribution of spending would also help reduce poverty and improve inclusiveness.

Growth Inclusiveness in Djibouti

Djibouti: Doing Business, Investing in Djibouti Guide Volume 1 Strategic, Practical Information, Regulations, Contacts

Describes the history, geography, and way of life of four northeast African countries.

The Horn of Africa: Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, and Djibouti

This is the only current book on maritime Djibouti, and the only one available in English since 1968. It describes the geography, naval history, and present strategic role of this small country, and indicates its possible future. Naval Strategy East of Suez includes previously little-known facts of French covert action in "Italian East Africa, 1938-1941"; and of "Operation Toreador "(1956), which served to aid Operation Musketeer. It also turns a spotlight on the Allied blockade of Djibouti in 1940-1942. In a sense, this book is a more readable, and less technical, treatment of what sailors call sailing directions.



Djibouti's naval base, 600 miles closer to the Strait of Hormuz than Diego Garcia, is the nearest base to Middle East oil centers likely to be available to France and its allies in the future--facts often ignored or unknown to all but the most specialized of specialists. Koburger believes that the troubles in the Middle East are only beginning. His book offers a background and strategy about an area little known to Anglophones that is of considerable potential usefulness.

Djibouti

Djibouti

Elmore Leonard

Lonely Planet Ethiopia & Djibouti (Travel Guide)

Lonely Planet

Subjects of Empires/Citizens of States: Yemenis in Djibouti and Ethiopia

Samson A Bezabeh

The Lion of Djibouti

Lindsey D. Linden

Passage of Tears

Abdourahman A. Waberi

The Nomads, My Brothers, Go Out to Drink from the Big Dipper

Abdourahman A. Waberi

The Land Without Shadows

Abdourahman A. Waberi

Welcome to Djibouti: arrive, survive, and thrive in the hottest country on earth

Rachel Jones

Djibouti Art and Culture: Conflict and political crises

Louis Rwagasore

Historical Dictionary of Djibouti

Daoud A. Alwan

History of Djibouti, Political Governance: Environmental Study

Joshua Hamilton

Growth Inclusiveness in Djibouti

Alexei P MR Kireyev

Djibouti: Doing Business, Investing in Djibouti Guide Volume 1 Strategic, Practical Information, Regulations, Contacts

Www Ibpus Com

The Horn of Africa: Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, and Djibouti

Harold Woods

Naval Strategy East of Suez: The Role of Djibouti

Charles W. Koburger Jr.

Interesting History of Djibouti [and the Surrounding Areas]

Emily Stehr