Arhiba

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Arhiba (“Welcome” to Afar ) is a slum in Djibouti City , where mainly members of the Afar ethnic group live.

The neighborhood was established in 1970 for dock workers by the Afar ethnic group. Since the strike of 1962 these were supposed to replace the Somali port workers, who from the point of view of the administration of the French colony at the time were more inclined to protest actions. Due to the large population growth and further newcomers, Arhiba soon developed into a densely populated slum .

In the Djiboutian civil war , residents of Arhiba also joined the rebel organization FRUD , which opposed the discrimination against the Afar by the Somali. On December 18, 1991, the Arhiba massacre occurred in which security forces killed at least 30 Afar civilians and injured 80. According to a report by Amnesty International , eyewitnesses said that over 100 people had previously been encircled to verify their identity. Subsequently, people who tried to escape or did not want to get into vehicles were shot at. An Afar member of the security forces who refused to shoot civilians was also killed. This event increased the pressure on the government of Hassan Gouled Aptidon and contributed to its approval of the reintroduction of a multiparty democracy.

As a result of the modernization of the port facilities, many residents of Arhiba have lost their jobs. In 2005, an estimated 20,000 people lived in Arhiba.

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  • Arhiba and Dockers , in: Daoud A. Alwan, Yohanis Mibrathu: Historical Dictionary of Djibouti , Scarecrow Press 2000, ISBN 0-8108-3873-7
  • Peter J. Schraeder: Ethnic Politics in Djibouti: From 'Eye of the Hurricane' to 'Boiling Cauldron' , in: African Affairs , Vol. 92, No. 367 (April 1993)
  • IRIN News, July 5, 2005: Djibouti: Rags despite riches

Coordinates: 11 ° 33 '  N , 43 ° 7'  E