Djibouti

Osafa Kemnbi was born in the African quarter of Djibouti City, Djibouti in 1972. His mother and father sold khat under a dirty green umbrella against one of the city’s ancient sandstone buildings. The mismatched umbrellas that lined its arches formed a canopy linen and plastic. Some days, young Osafa would crawl underneath the ash-wood board that served for their khat stand and rest his body against the cool stone wall. In this makeshift cave Osafa rested and watched the legs of the townspeople pass by under scorched sunlight. There were times when the wind blew and the dust and sand that caked the streets would twirl in the air and scour the earth like locusts. Under the shadows Osafa often fell asleep to the sound of this wind—to the low flapping tone of an umbrella’s shudder, to the whistle and the creak, to strange voices bargaining—shouting—to be heard over it all.