By Sophie Mongalvy -

DJIBOUTI, 19 September (Middle East Online) – Mason Omar Yonis Guelleh is one of many Djiboutians making a good living on a military base that for the last year has housed up to 1,500 US troops engaged in the international "war on terror."

"I am twice better paid than workers in any Djiboutian firm," said Guelleh, who is employed at a construction site at the US military base.

"With 170,000 Djibouti francs (1,000 dollars - 10 times the minimum salary) a month, I can live comfortably with my family," added the young mason, who was unemployed for two years before he won the nine-month contract at Camp Lemonier.

For a poor, largely desert country, with little economic activity bar the port and the railway linking it with Ethiopia, the American military presence in Djibouti is proving a much appreciated financial boon.
But not many Djiboutians are as lucky as Guelleh.

At the beginning of the installation of the US base as part of a global campaign against terrorism, hundreds of Djiboutian applied for jobs and waited to enter the military camp every morning.
"There is no lack of prospective workers," said Matt Morgan, the base's spokesman.

According to him, with a total of 500 Djiboutians currently employed in the base's laundry, as labourers and in the small stores inside, the base is the second largest employer of Djiboutian workers after the government in the tiny Horn of Africa country.

But the American claim was immediately challenged by the French Forces in Djibouti (FFDJ), who said that 750 civilians, 90 percent of them Djiboutians, were employed in the French military establishment.
"Privately French families employ 1,000 people as gardeners, cooks and household help," said FFDJ spokeswoman Sandrine Therion.

"We do our best to work with the locals to improve the quality of life of the people," said Morgan, arguing the United States' side.

Along with their military activities, the Americans are engaged in projects to improve the infrastructure in Djibouti and in neighbouring countries participating in the war against terrorism.

They have just completed the construction of a road linking Djibouti city with HolHol, a town near the Ethiopian border.

"In helping develop their infrastructure, the education systems and health, we want to make these countries less vulnerable to the threat of terrorism," explained Morgan.

"The problem (...) is that international terrorism affects generally and historically underdeveloped countries," said General Mastin Robeson, the commander of the US forces in Djibouti.
"My priority here is to help in the establishment of a reliable environment that ensures security in the eradication of international terrorism," he added.

Djibouti, which has a population of 630,000, is also host to some 2,800 French soldiers based there since the African country's independence to protect it against the threat of external aggression.
"They help reduce the rate of unemployment. A lot of people apply for jobs with them," said Moustafa, a resident of Djibouti city. "It is good for the country," he added.

"They (soldiers) are very polite and discreet", added Moustafa, a trader in the city.

Relations between the foreigners and the locals are largely harmonious despite some minor limitations.
A notice in Camp Lemonier announces: Toilets for Djiboutians only.

"It is for reasons of hygiene," said the camp's spokesman.

 

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