Mental Hospital in Somaliland

Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

The Somaliland government is delivering a range of services that are unheard of in the rest of Somalia, including this mental hospital in Hargeysa.

It’s all part of a Somali puzzle: how one area of the country, the northwest, also known as Somaliland, can seem so peaceful and functional — so normal, in fact — while the rest continues to be such a violent, chaotic mess.

This tale of two Somalias is especially striking now, as thousands of African Union peacekeepers prepare to rescue Mogadishu, the nation’s bloodstained capital, from itself.

BUT, critics say the Somaliland government can be repressive and inefficient, and the mental hospital in Hargeysa, the capital of Somaliland, seems to be evidence of both — patients are chained to their beds in dark, smelly rooms.

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