A breathtaking documentary on D'jibouti, a tiny nation on the Horn of Africa.
D'jibouti has an unique geographical importance because the geological tripoint is located here when three tectonic plates meet together. The tectonic interaction is at the lowest elevation of any place in Africa and second lowest depression on dry land (source: wikipedia). It also has the hottest point on the earth's crust.
It has got a huge coast with Red Sea in the north and the Gulf of Aden in the east. The D'jibouti port is located strategically just below the Mediterranean so it becomes a legal and illegal spot for trade. Smuggling of gasoline is done in exchange for whisky, vodka and liquor which is sent to the Gulf states.
Smuggling of exotic animals takes place from here to the Gulf and the Orient, and luckily in D'jibouti they have an animal refugee centre, where wild animals which are caught in the process of trafficking are housed there.
Villagers in plenty are after khat, a kind of localised opium which is grown in plenty and trade takes place. Being a very hot place, not much activity takes place in the afternoon, which are spent in enjoying the khat.
Pearl, lobsters, shark fishing are important activities and fetch a good price in the market, especially with the international hotels located along the beaches. The country has plenty of breathtaking beaches dotted along the coast line.
Salt is another trade, especially refined salt, which does not require much processing. All in all, a newly independent country, with not much of manufacturing activity, but plenty for tourists, and lot of illegal trade especially in drugs and arms which make it a focal point for the international agencies like UN to monitor. Good documentary, as the narrator follows a few examples and takes us around their daily life activities. Typically like what a good documentary should be. Worth watching.
You can watch it here
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