SOMALIA: Nomad Nation

Of the new nations born last week, none faced bleaker prospects than the Somali Republic. Combining the former Italian and British colonies on Africa's horn, the country is largely a desert plateau, studded with anthills as tall as a man, and roamed by a Moslem nomadic people whose per capita income from their herds is just $10 a year. In a way, Somalia's only asset for nationhood is a small group of capable, moderate leaders. They bear no grudge against the West, because they bear no scars of a struggle for independence.

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