Gedo

Gedo ( _so. "Geedo") is an administrative region ("gobolka") formerly part of the historic Upper Juba Region, Somalia. Gedo regional capital is Garbahaarreey. Gedo is a region created in 1980's and is bordered by the Ogaden, the North Eastern Province, and the Somali regions of Bakool, Bay, Jubbada Dhexe, and Jubbada Hoose further down east. The southern parts of Gedo, west of river Juba, used to be part of the old British Transjuba region during half of the seventy years of colonial era in Africa from 1890 to 1960. The British and Italians fought over twice in this area of Horn of Africa. Gedo region's population exploded in the last twenty years reaching almost one million early 1990s after the civil war erupted in Mogadishu.

Most of the newcomers to the region, suddenly left and resettled different parts of world. This new migration movement made Buuloxaawo the second largest district in Gedo. Lugh used to be the second largest city and district, Bardera being the first. At one time Buuloxaawo District became the largest city and district in the region.

During 1990s In Northern Gedo

The population in BeledHawo swelled 200 000. This was in early 1990s when large number of Mogadishu's resident settled BeledHawo town, because of its cosmopolitan and proximity to the Kenyan border, also this time was the rise of Al-ithihad Al-islamia led by Sheikh Mohamed Haji Yussuf a well known Gedo native, soon after the group spread through the region Ethiopian Government accused Al-ithihad for supporting ONLF and other insurgents inside Ethiopia this led to the Ethiopian invasion of Gedo in 1996 and the intra Marehan clan fighting follewed after that for those pro Ethiopian and anti Ethiopian clans. after years of unrest in the region 2004 clan elders and intellectuals called peace conference in the region's capital Garbaharey one of the agreement of the conference was to held free and fair elections within three years, now days Gedo region is one of the most peaceful places in Somalia and all its district representatives, mayors, and regon's governor are elected by the people, today Gedo region has ful democracy that other regions of Somalia dream on it.

Gedo Districts

Gedo region consists of seven districts:

#Baardheere
#Buurdhuubo
#Buuloxaawo (or Beled Haawo)
#Ceelwaaq
#Doolow
#Garbahaarreey
#Luuq (or Lugh)

The regional capital is Garbahaarreey. Major rivers in the Gedo region include the Dawa and the Juba. Dawa river runs on the border between Ethiopia and Gedo region.

Dolow town is located along the Dawa. The Juba River starts from Dolow, just north of Luuq District, then flows to Burdubo, Bardera, then Bu'aale and Jilib of Middle Juba region, until the river empties into the Indian Ocean at Goobweyn. There is a clear and seemingly permanent separation between the two colours where the red river outflow meets the blue ocean waters.

Baardheere and Beledxawo

The most populous towns in Gedo are Baardheera and Balad Xaawo or(Buulo Xaawo) or Balad Hawo in English. Buuloxaawo is the commercial gateway of the region and the neighboring regions, while Baardheera is the breadbasket of the region. Agricultural products from Baardheere fertile lands, which include maize, potatoes, sorghum, tobacco,onions, sesame, fruits such as papayas, mangoes, watermelons and bananas are shipped to many different parts of the country.

Population

According to a 1994 United Nations reports, the estimated population of Gedo was 690,000. [cite web | title=UNDOS (United Nations Development Office for Somalia) Regional Report: Gedo Region | work=Global Information Networks in Education (GINIE) | url=http://www.ginie.org/ginie-crises-links/peer/pdf/SomEd-6.pdf | accessmonthday=December 19 |accessyear=2005 ("Note:" PDF file)] According to the nomadic culture of the people and their movement these numbers can decrease or increase over time. Large cities such as Bardera, Beled Hawo, and Lugh have sizable populations; most of the urban dwellers live in these cities plus the capital region area in the town of Garbaharey.

Bardera (Somali:Baardheere), the largest metroplitan, and the seat of the most popolous district in Gedo, has become urbunized to the extent that its population multiplied 400% since the breakdown of law and order in the capital city of the country, Mogadishu. Aside from the urban population in proper Bardere city, the rest of the region's population are pastoralists with the exception of people living in the cities where the region's seven district seats are located.

Commerce in Gedo

Economy in Gedo region is mostly dependent on two sectors: Agriculture and livestock. A growing third sector is services sector mainly financial and telecommunications industries. Those who live on the fringes of district seats or outside of large cities such as Garbahaarreey, Baardheere, Luuq and Buuloxaawo, generally keep either a farm on the river banks or herds of sheep, camel or cattle. There are significant farmers around towns and cities alongside the Juba River and this has made close to half of the region's population city dwellers since the breakout of the civil war in 1991.

The economy mostly depends on livestock and farming but Gedo region has strong interregional and international cross-border trade with Kenya and some extent with Ethiopia. Trade between Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia allowed Gedo region to be econonomically stable for the years before the UN intervation and afterwards. 1998 Nordic Fact Finding Mission prepared a report in Gedo region and found some encouraging economic figures. Davidson College assistant professor, Keneth Menkhaus asserted that, "Traders in Gedo region made more profit than, for instance, those in Hargeisa, in north-western Somalia." [http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain/opendocpdf.pdf?docid=3ae6a5bd0] Trade going through the border between the three countries were ongoing despite the raging civil war in Somalia for much of the 1990.

The town of Beled Hawo is the commercial gateway to Mogadishu and parts of Kenya. Large manufactured goods cross both sides of the border everyday going to and coming from the rest of Somalia. Buuloxaawo is part of Buulxaawo, Luuq, and Doolow Tri-District commerce activity region. Both Lugh and Doolow have sizable agriculture output.

Gedo region is famous for its agricultural production in the south. The farming land is mostly concentrated in four towns and these are Dolow, Luq, Burdubo and Bardera. During the peace years, produce from Bardera farms used to reach as far north to DJibouti on the Gulf of Aden.

The Landscape of Gedo Region

Gedo region has one of the most varied scenery in Somalia. The Gedo region in Somalia is a vast land with a varied landscape. Parts of Gedo region has rocky mountains in daawo region, red sand in all areas, white sandunes across the Jubba Valley, flat lands in northwestern Bardera District at Gelgel Prairre. In the middle of the region, one finds ancient scarred land with gorges in all directions and rocky mountains. These gorges are filled with south-easterly direction downstream rain waters. On the lower southern portion of Gedo region is red sandy flat land from Bardera district on the Juba Valley all the way west to El Wak town on the border with Kenya's Northern Frontier District, a district mainly populated by Somalis through the ages.

There are plenty of the four most popular Somali livestock roaming the land. These are camels, cattle, goats, and sheep. In the Somali language, camel, cattle, goats, and sheep are called "geel", "lo"', "ari cad" and "iddo", respectively. A mixture of goats and sheep are normally herded together. This mixture of livestock is called" ari" in Somali and means a mixture of goats and sheep, which in most cases, is in the hundreds per family. Similarly, Gedo region is famous for its horse breeding. Large number of horses can be found in Beled Hawa flat lands and Dirharra area near town of Damase, of Elwak District.

About 40km from Gedo region's capital, Garbahaarreey, towards Beledhawo, you will encourter the Humbaale Mountain which has the highest peak in all the mountains and hills in Gedo region. To have a feel of how high this mountain is, coming from Bardera and going to Garbahaareey, at the top of "Waamo Yarey Hill", from here, you can see Humbaale Mountain peak. At this stage you will be around 140km away from the mountain, and you will be around 100km from Garbarreey. There is a distance of 130km between Garbahaarreey and Baardheera. Humbaale Mountain is located 40km northwest of Garbahaarreey and it will be 20km off-road on the road to Beledhawo. The mountain areas of Gedo region have sizable safari animals from elephants to cheetahs. It is not rare to hear lions roar during the night hours. Lions, ostriches, oryx, giraffes, warthogs and hyenas are plenty around the grassy lands of western part of Bardera District between the towns of Gerileey and Faafahdhuun. This is in Gelgel Prairies (Banka Gelgel)in Somalia or simply Gelgel (Gelgesha).

The Jubba River from Doolow to Baardheere has large river animals such as crocodiles and hippopotamus. Crocs and hipos bask in the sun on the sandy island spots during the drying up of the river.

Cities and towns in Gedo region

*Ajaaw
*Baardheere
*Baqtiile
*Barwaaqo
*Beledhawo
*Bilcisha
*Boorame
*Buraa
*Buulo Gaduud
*Buulo Mareer
*Buulo Weyn
*Buurdhuubo
*Buusaar

*Caanoole
*Caracase
*Ceel Cadde
*Ceel Duur
*Ceel Gaduud
*Ceel Garabjaalow
*Ceel Marjis
*Ceelwaaq
*Cilaan
*Daarul Salaam
*Dhamasa or Dhamaso
*Dheenle
*Doolow
*Faafaxdhuun
*Faan Weyn
*Gantamaa
*Garbahaarreey
*Gerileey
*Kurmaan
*Luuq
*Malkaareey
* [maykaareebay]
*Qooneey
*Saamoole
*Serinleey
*Shanqoloow
*Siidimo also Siidamo
*Tuulo Barwaaqo
*Uur Mataano
*Waamo Yareey
*War Dugsi
*Yurkud

References

[http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain/opendocpdf.pdf?docid=3ae6a5bd0 October 1998 Nordic Fact-Finding Mission to the Gedo Region of Somalia]