A Congress of Baboons

‘’You’ll hit the goats uncle, what are you doing? Slow down!’’

This was the moment I truly thought I was going to die and take a few goats with me.
You see, in 2003 Burao, Somalia did not have any roads. Car drivers were obliged to share the dusty roads with pedestrians and whatever animal came their way.

So after many a honking of the horn my uncle stopped and got out of the car for a shouting match with the goat herder and by this point traffic had come to a standstill.

I looked around and finally realised we were on top of a bridge and after rolling the windows down I saw the stretched out plains of an old dried riverbed and from the distance came the most mesmerising sight I had ever witnessed.

It was a group of baboons running along the course of the river.

I ran out of the car to have a better look and it was as if I was the only one who noticed them. I ran to the other side of the bridge until they disappeared out of sight.

It was only then that I heard people laughing at me and my uncle shouting to get back in the car.

I thought they were crazy not to be in awe of such wildlife right under their noses, but it turned out they thought I was crazy to get out of the car and run from one end of the bridge to the other ‘’just to see a bunch of bully baboons.’’

I was a 15 year old being taken back to the motherland and the lack of modern technology peppered with an obvious culture clash did not excite me.

Until I saw those baboons.

It completely changed my outlook. Suddenly I wanted to be here. I wanted to see more. I wanted to know more.

That moment opened my eyes to the beauty of Somalia. Its nature, wildlife and the people made me appreciate that 3 week holiday. Conversations with eclectic nomads took over my wish for a television and an adventure in the mountains of Sheekh replaced my longing for the skate park.

Amidst all the chaos and memories of civil war there was still so much hope in the people I met.

Those baboons triggered a sense of curiosity I still carry with me, but sometimes I do still wonder if I was the only one who saw them.