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I. D ibouti
Although a traditional hose to E-.iopian and coasta!
populations -n tizes of previous poitical stress, and a
trade and empov-ent magnet because of the French presence,
DIibouti is now faced with potentially serious administra­
tive and economic problems as a result of an inherited and
;-rwing refuqee burden (map attached).
:n addi:tion to about 350 Eritreans and scme 750 Mfars
w!-c ca.ze in earlv 19-5 from A:i- Mirah' tribal area near
Asiata in t i:hp-a to the north, ::ibouti, -onits inde en­
dence -a-. J.---e 27, 1977, estimated its "refugee" population
at between 9--0,000 within D:ibouti aity itself and about
3,300 cther Afars and :ssas 4n the countryside. The ?r=e
%.in-ster now esti=ates the tora: at 16,300.
Since Ma" with -.;.-.e ;ntensf'icati4n. of fi=htinc in the
,caden - especially "wtint.e Chercer highlands and along
the rai = etween the Dire ,awa and D:iti - "-t is
true .nat the refuzee .=c=uati4Cnwithi.n the new country has
crzwn -. at :east an esti=ated 5,2010 additcna. persons,
.cst of wnhm are *dcmen and c....-en. Th-s new populat.on is
:oncentrated in two rellef areas, Dikh_: and Al Sabie.h,
near the Ethiopian border. :t is growing by roughly 100
persons per day. While the GOD may claim some 16,000 refugees,
other sources assert that "legiti=te" refugees total only
about 6,500 (see Appendix C) .
Totally"dependent on income from port operations, the
Addis Ababa to Djibcuti railroad, and French military pay­
rolls, the Republic's overall economic viability at independence
65.