Chantal Heijnen

Photographer & Educator

Ghost Republic Somaliland

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Location: New York

Nationality: Dutch

Biography: Chantal Heijnen (1976, The Netherlands) is a visual storyteller who uses photography to build connections on both sides of the lens. She holds a BA in Social Work and Photography. Her career as a social worker greatly informs her observant and... MORE

Numerous monuments have been e...red independence from Somalia.

1 of 19 © 2024 Chantal Heijnen

Numerous monuments have been erected throughout Somaliland since 1991. This Somali army jet was placed in the heart of Somaliland’s capital Hargeisa in memory of the 1988 bombing by the dictatorial Siad Barre regime which killed thousands of civilians. When the Somali central government collapsed in 1991, the Somaliland government - formed by the all-encompassing traditional Somali council of clan elders (guurti) led by the Somali National Movement (SNM) - declared independence from Somalia.

In 1993 the National Charter &...recollects with visible pride.

2 of 19 © 2024 Chantal Heijnen

In 1993 the National Charter – the first main Constitutional document of independent Somaliland – was written and signed by the Conference of the Somaliland Communities at the Sheikh Ali Jahar Secondary school in Borama. The prototype was followed by Somaliland’s first Constitution in February 1997. A teacher, who was part of the Conference, shows the classroom where the National Charter was written in 1993. He was part of the birth of his nation’s Constitution. The teacher points out all the rooms and areas where the Conference gathered – sometimes for days at a stretch, he recollects with visible pride.

Supreme Court justices, appoin...e judge wears informal attire.

3 of 19 © 2024 Chantal Heijnen

Supreme Court justices, appointed to the highest judicial institution in the country, also make up the Somaliland Constitutional Court which deals exclusively with constitutional matters. In 2008, suicide bombings in Hargeisa killed 30 people in the city and caused part of the building’s roof to collapse. No groups have taken responsibility for the attacks; they were widely considered to be directly aimed against Somaliland’s nationhood and the institutions representative of the new state. The Court lacks the funds to repair the building, or even to acquire official togas: until a promised international shipment arrives, the judge wears informal attire.

Erigavo is one of the three la...it trucks during World War II.

4 of 19 © 2024 Chantal Heijnen

Erigavo is one of the three larger cities in the northeast of Somaliland. The estimated population of this fast growing city is 180,000. Mayor Ismail Haiji Nuur explains that Somaliland does not have the means to build the infrastructure needed to connect the country’s larger cities. To reach Erigavo from Hargeisa means to travel two days through the desert, on dusty tracks, once a road constructed by the British to suit trucks during World War II.

Launched in 2000, the governme...at was previously unthinkable.

5 of 19 © 2024 Chantal Heijnen

Launched in 2000, the government-controlled national station, broadcast daily from 6PM to midnight. In 2012, Somaliland supports three television stations in Hargeisa and two additional international Somali stations elsewhere in Somaliland. With no infrastructure in place, it is difficult for Hargeisa-based newspapers to reach the villages. Satellite television has given people in rural areas the kind of media access that was previously unthinkable.

As a former soldier in the Som...ee the safety of its visitors.

6 of 19 © 2024 Chantal Heijnen

As a former soldier in the Somali National Movement (SNM) army, Achmed Nuur personally fought for Somaliland’s Independence. In the aftermath of the 2008 suicide bombings on Hargeisa Nuur began work as a security guard escorting foreign travelers in Somaliland, a precaution mandated by the Somaliland government to guarantee the safety of its visitors.

Mural painting on fence of pol...from rural areas moving there.

7 of 19 © 2024 Chantal Heijnen

Mural painting on fence of police station in Burao. Burao was the site of Somaliland’s unilateral and internationally unrecognized declaration of independence on May 18, 1991. Burao is Somaliland’s second largest city, with approximately 400,000 inhabitants. Like the other cities in the northern part of the country, Burao has been rebuilt with limited outside aid. The city has boomed economically with people from rural areas moving there.

Burao International Airport is... Ethiopia, Djibouti and Dubai.

8 of 19 © 2024 Chantal Heijnen

Burao International Airport is the largest of three airports of Somaliland, the other two being Egal International Airport in Hargeisa and the airport of Berbera. Lack of asphalting on the runway does not prevent flights taking off to their international destinations in Ethiopia, Djibouti and Dubai.

Immigration officer at Burao I...d an official Somaliland visa.

9 of 19 © 2024 Chantal Heijnen

Immigration officer at Burao International Airport. To enter the Republic of Somaliland all foreign travellers, except ethnic Somalis, need an official Somaliland visa.

As per annual local tradition,...themselves and their families.

10 of 19 © 2024 Chantal Heijnen

As per annual local tradition, members of Abdi Hamud meet with their king in the village of Hamaas, a small town near Maid. Abdi Hamud is a small faction of the Isaaq clan. With a total population estimated between 2 to 3 million, the Isaaq clan dominates the population of the five major cities of Somaliland: Hargeisa, Burao, Berbera, Erigavo and Gabiley. Although Somaliland tribes are traditionally animal-grazing nomads, the Isaaq are famous for their historical trading links with Arabia and India. In the rural areas outside Erigavo farmers are able to grow enough corn, potatoes and limes to feed themselves and their families.

Daylight finds its way to a ca...the pharaohs of ancient Egypt.

11 of 19 © 2024 Chantal Heijnen

Daylight finds its way to a caretaker inside the tomb of Sheikh Isaaq in Maid. A small coastal village is all that remains today of Maid, the region’s former main seaport that once bordered the Gulf of Eden in
north-east Somaliland. The architectural beauty of the tomb indicates the importance of its eternal tenant. Sheikh Isaaq from Arabia, one of the Prophet Muhammad’s early descendants, is considered to be the founding father of the Isaaq clan in the 12th/13th century. Four of the sheikh’s sons are laid to rest in the tomb with him, as are the two Arabic architects who designed the structure - a tribute to their craftsmanship reminiscent of the pharaohs of ancient Egypt.

In the increasingly arid inlan...Harti, Samaroon and Issa clan.

12 of 19 © 2024 Chantal Heijnen

In the increasingly arid inland region around Maid the tomb of another clan ancestor, Sheikh Issa, is a holy place. The white of its dome, reflected by the sun, serves as a bright beacon for weary pilgrims. The Issa clan is one of the four major clans of Somaliland. Isaaq is the largest of the four, followed by the Harti, Samaroon and Issa clan.

Abdirahman Libaan Fohle, head ..., subordinate to the military.

13 of 19 © 2024 Chantal Heijnen

Abdirahman Libaan Fohle, head of police in Burao in 2009 and former member of the Somali National Movement (SNM) army, sits behind his desk; a Somaliland flag adorns his sparsely furnished office. Today (2012), Fohle is the deputy police commissioner of Somaliland. The Somaliland Police Force is part of Somaliland’s internal security forces,

subordinate to the military.

Weeds overgrow former army bar...mage incurred by years of war.

14 of 19 © 2024 Chantal Heijnen

Weeds overgrow former army barracks in Burao. The barracks, like many buildings in Burao, sustained heavy damage during Somaliland’s fight for independence. Structures like this one, riddled with bullet holes and in various stages of disrepair, stand throughout the city as silent witnesses of the cumulative damage incurred by years of war.

Radio Hargeisa’s stu...on was renamed Radio Hargeisa.

15 of 19 © 2024 Chantal Heijnen

Radio Hargeisa’s studio was completely destroyed by the bombings in 1988. During the remaining years of Somaliland’s independence war with Somalia Radio Hargeisa was unable to broadcast. The Somaliland
National Movement (SNM) thus built its own pirate radio station in May 1989. Broadcasting from a bunker in Hargeisa, the station reached the
Somaliland people. In January 1991, four months before the end of the war and a declaration of independence, the Somaliland station was
renamed Radio Hargeisa.

Newsreaders present live news ...lilanders is still illiterate.

16 of 19 © 2024 Chantal Heijnen

Newsreaders present live news from the studio of Radio Hargeisa. In 2000 the Somaliland Government rebuilt the radio station. Radio Hargeisa is currently the only radio station in Somaliland, broadcasting ten hours a day in Somali, English, Arabic and Amhari. Broadcast media, especially radio, is the primary source of news and information for the population
since a majority (55 percent) of Somalilanders is still illiterate.

Axmed Yuusuf Dirir, Executive ...e port in the world that year.

17 of 19 © 2024 Chantal Heijnen

Axmed Yuusuf Dirir, Executive Director of the Berbera seaport, is in charge of all export and import in the harbor. Berbera’s main exports are sheep, camels and myrrh, with the main markets for exports in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Livestock has traditionally been at the heart of Somaliland culture and the Somaliland economy; the 2.8 million live animals that Somaliland exported from Berbera in 1997 represents the largest number of animals exported from a single port in the world that year.

Berbera, the former capital of...outh side of the Gulf of Aden.

18 of 19 © 2024 Chantal Heijnen

Berbera, the former capital of Somaliland, has been the main commercial seaport of Somaliland since its completion in 1962. Livestock exports makes up approximately 65 percent of Somaliland’s gross domestic product. It plays a major role in the Somaliland economy as a source of employment, income, foreign exchange, government revenues and food imports. A gateway to Ethiopia, its strategic location next to international oil shipping lanes means Berbera is a booming seaport. It boasts the only sheltered harbor on the south side of the Gulf of Aden.

Hargeisa, capital of Somaliland, 2009

19 of 19 © 2024 Chantal Heijnen

Hargeisa, capital of Somaliland, 2009

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Thumbnail of Numerous monuments have been er_ared independence from Somalia.

Thumbnail of In 1993 the National Charter &a_ recollects with visible pride.

Thumbnail of Supreme Court justices, appoint_he judge wears informal attire.

Thumbnail of Erigavo is one of the three lar_uit trucks during World War II.

Thumbnail of Launched in 2000, the governmen_hat was previously unthinkable.

Thumbnail of As a former soldier in the Soma_tee the safety of its visitors.

Thumbnail of Mural painting on fence of poli_ from rural areas moving there.

Thumbnail of Burao International Airport is _n Ethiopia, Djibouti and Dubai.

Thumbnail of Immigration officer at Burao In_ed an official Somaliland visa.

Thumbnail of As per annual local tradition, _ themselves and their families.

Thumbnail of Daylight finds its way to a car_ the pharaohs of ancient Egypt.

Thumbnail of In the increasingly arid inland_ Harti, Samaroon and Issa clan.

Thumbnail of Abdirahman Libaan Fohle, head o_s, subordinate to the military.

Thumbnail of Weeds overgrow former army barr_amage incurred by years of war.

Thumbnail of Radio Hargeisa’s stud_ion was renamed Radio Hargeisa.

Thumbnail of Newsreaders present live news f_alilanders is still illiterate.

Thumbnail of Axmed Yuusuf Dirir, Executive D_le port in the world that year.

Thumbnail of Berbera, the former capital of _south side of the Gulf of Aden.

Thumbnail of Hargeisa, capital of Somaliland, 2009

Public Story

Ghost Republic Somaliland

Copyright Chantal Heijnen 2024

Date of Work Apr 2009 - Feb 2011

Updated Feb 2019

Topics Community, Documentary, Mixed Medium, Peacekeeping, Photography, Photojournalism, Portraiture

Ghost Republic Somaliland: democracy against all odds
Very few people have heard of Somaliland. Officially still part of Somalia, Somaliland declared itself an independent republic on May 18, 1991, and has been building its nation ever since.
Somaliland has everything one would expect any “normal” democracy to have, with the exception that it is situated within, and officially still part of a country that has absolutely nothing of the sort: Somalia. One of the most volatile and violent countries in the world today, Somalia is tarnished by its ongoing civil war, unmatched brutalities and absence of government.
Photographer Chantal Heijnen’s fascination with Somaliland started in 2009, when she and her Somaliland born friend Fatma Ali traveled to this democratic enigma within what is essentially a failed state. In the two years that followed, they began documenting the Somaliland people who are building the democratic institutions of governance in their unrecognized republic.
Ghost Republic Somaliland: Democracy against all odds is a photo document focused on the Somalilanders who are organizing, maintaining and governing a nation that is effectively cut off from the rest of the world.

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