El Wak is a divided city

Divided City

Divided City is a novel written by Theresa Breslin and published in 2005 by Doubleday. The novel is written for teenagers and adults concerning the problems of sectarianism in Glasgow and racism against asylum seekers....

 on the Somalia

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

-Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

 border. The Somalian portion is located in the southwestern Gedo

Gedo

Gedo is an administrative region , formerly part of the historic Upper Juba Region in southern Somalia. Its regional capital is Garbahaarreey. Gedo is a region created in 1980s and is bordered by the Ogaden in Ethiopia, the North Eastern Province in Kenya, and the Somali regions of Bakool, Bay,...

 region, where it is the seat of one of the region's seven districts.

Etymology

In the Afro-Asiatic

Afro-Asiatic languages

The Afroasiatic languages , also known as Hamito-Semitic, constitute one of the world's largest language families, with about 375 living languages...

 Somali language

Somali language

The Somali language is a member of the East Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Its nearest relatives are Afar and Oromo. Somali is the best documented of the Cushitic languages, with academic studies beginning before 1900....

, the word ceel means "well". Many cities and towns in Somalia have that word in front of it, which suggests the importance of water wells for the region's mostly pastoral clans. The name El Wak therefore refers to a water well, a structure still used by local herders.

Location

El Wak is situated in the El Wak District. It is bordered by the Bardera and Garbaharey districts on the east, and the Somali-inhabited North Eastern Province to the west.

Economy

The area is rich in camels, cows, sheeps and goats. Most of the local population are thus pastoralists

Pastoralism

Pastoralism or pastoral farming is the branch of agriculture concerned with the raising of livestock. It is animal husbandry: the care, tending and use of animals such as camels, goats, cattle, yaks, llamas, and sheep. It may have a mobile aspect, moving the herds in search of fresh pasture and...

, and also engage in small business and trade.