Sunday is an ordinary working day in a Muslim country like Somaliland. Unlike you, we get to enjoy our weekend on Friday.

I was reliably informed that from Hargeisa, the nearest church is located across the border in Ethiopia! This makes it a perfect place for a Christian to have an excuse to turn into a pagan! Easily said than done though. This is because having access to the various tools of the devil might prove quite challenging! Booze is illegal – no bars, period. A man and a woman sharing the same room that has a bed might need a document to prove that they are married. The local ISPs have done a good job of preventing access to pornographic web sites from within Somaliland. All web sites falling under the category ‘entertainment’ and ‘travel’ are also blocked for good measure!

If you come from a nation of merry makers like Kenya, you might find yourself searching for a picture of a bottle of beer on the Internet! You would be lucky to turn up anything though. Doing an Internet search based on images is also not allowed by the ISPs. How do I know that? I recently made a frustrating online search for a map of Somaliland.

I have pictures from the period in my life that was characterized by a chronic lack of money. Great importance was attached to having money in the pocket. Such a rare occasion called for an all night celebration with friends and relatives. This often took the form of a drinking spree in a seedy bar in downtown Nairobi. Numerous photographers frequent such joints to capture those memorable occasions! Such were my ‘crawling into the house in the wee hours’ bad old days!

Today is Sunday. Take a moment to reflect and be thankful for small mercies.

As I write this, I remember a meeting I had on Thursday with a gentleman whose one hand is severed just below the elbow. His other hand has the two middle fingers missing! He used this ‘good hand’ to take notes during the meeting. I had just begun to wonder why he had to wear dark glasses in the office when he removed them. One of his eyeballs was missing as well. This is what a landmine can do to its victim.

You might want to squeeze in a thought about others today?