Stomping Grounds: Djibouti City

By Rachel Pieh Jones / October 2013

Marwo and Mohammed opened the M and M CafA� in 2012 across from Djiboutia��s old train station. I was sipping watermelon juice here when I learned that the US government had shut down.

Topics: Africa, Djibouti

A Harvest of Salt

By Rachel Pieh Jones / September 2013

Powdery dirt covered the salt flats, rose in circular poofs around our ankles, and left streaks, like dried mustard, on our skin. But the earth was deceptive.

Topics: Africa, Djibouti

Djiboutia��s White Gold

By Rachel Pieh Jones / July 2013

Lac Assal, nicknamed Hell, is the lowest point in Africa. It is also the world’s largest salt reserve. Rachel Pieh Jones sends this dispatch.

Topics: Djibouti

The Hard Work of Unemployment

By Rachel Pieh Jones / April 2013

Women cooking over open fires in front of huts, men cutting hair with razor blades, children sorting trash. These are the faces of Djibouti’s jobless.

Topics: Djibouti

Bread for the Body, Bread for the Soul

By Rachel Pieh Jones / February 2013

Rachel Pieh Jones on Djibouti’s baguettes: “I was not prepared for the bread man. I thought it was a dying bird that awoke me every morning.”

Topics: Africa, Djibouti

Djibouti the Beautiful

By Rachel Pieh Jones / January 2013

Rachel Pieh Jones finds splendor in the Djiboutian desert: “The girl and camel are no mirage. The garbage can’t out-shadow the flowers or the volcano.”

Topics: Djibouti