Somalia has the longest coastline on the African mainland. It also has a long history. It’s thought to be one of the first lands where early hunter-gathers settled. And lots of good things have happened after that: for example, about 2,500 years ago, the so-called Macrobian people in Somalia had a wealthy kingdom and were said by Herodotus to the “tallest and handsomest of all men”. Their kingdom was so rich that they kept even their prisoners golden chains.
And more recently the 15th-century explorer, Vasco da Gama, observed that Mogadishu was a large city with tall multi-storeyed houses and large palaces.
Still more recently, however, things have lost their loftiness: Somalia’s GDP per capita is one of the lowest in the world, and it is considered to be a least developed country, and also one of the most fragile states. That’s like going from Macrobians or Macrobes to Microbes, or something along those lines.
However, things are getting better. The Somali diaspora is investing substantially, and factories are reopening. The telecom industry is flourishing, and you can make the cheapest and clearest phone calls in Africa there. Plus there’s now even a giant Coca-Cola bottling plant in Mogadishu.
Yes, things go better with Coke! When Coca-Cola comes to your country, you know things are getting better!