Djibouti (AFP)

They sit on street corners, their purses filled with euros, Ethiopian birrs, Indian rupees: in Djibouti, money changers are everywhere, fulfilling a key role in a predominantly informal economy.

Installed on a plastic chair, their legs propped up on a small wooden step, dozens of "sarifleys" (money changers, in Somali) await, alone or in small groups, the passage of customers, who prefer them to the classics. currency exchange office.

"I have all kinds of them. There is the euro, the pound sterling, the Turkish lira, the dollar, the Indian rupee, and any other type," lists in Somali Medina, who like many of these women prefers not to give that his first name.

"It must not be less than a million Djiboutian francs" (nearly 4,700 euros), estimates by raising her large sunglasses this former "artist" who has kept the air of a diva.

On Place Rimbaud, overlooked by an elegant mosque, Medina and three of her friends officiate in the heat, in the midst of cars, horns, stalls and passers-by who swarm in this lung of Djibouti-city.

A young Yemeni man, in a long white robe and turban, approaches to change Saudi riyals.

Medina talks, taps on her phone, then pulls a bundle of crumpled banknotes out of one of the many compartments of her shoulder bag, which she hands him.

"We take Saudi money with us, because our currency, with the war (in Yemen), it changes all the time," he explains in English before disappearing into the wild at the approach. of a police car.

- Proximity -

Anchored on the borders of Arabia and Africa, Djibouti is a thousand-year-old crossroads where war refugees in Yemen, foreign soldiers and truck drivers from neighboring Ethiopia meet. main port.

"We deal with Djiboutian businessmen who go abroad for their activities, we collaborate with foreigners and tourists", list Noura Hassan, seated further.

When her husband died 10 years ago, this mother of three wearing a blue veil and a black abaya started with the household savings, in Djiboutian francs.

Since then, currencies have diversified and Noura Hassan collects a form from the bank every day giving him the exchange rate for major currencies.

"It's a good job and I'm proud of it," she says.

In PK12, a popular district where many Ethiopians live, Ahmed jumps out of his tuk-tuk to change a few birrs.

"The difference is 10 or 20 francs, it's not a lot," he said of the rate offered by the exchange offices.

The latter are far, he adds, when "these women are nearby".

"Without them, I would say that the trade in PK12 could not be done", adds Faiza, 25, a seller of khat - a euphoric plant consumed daily in Djibouti.

"They make sure to feed their families (...) We help each other like that".

- "Eyes closed" -

As economist Abdulkader Hussein Mohamed notes, "the informal economy has considerable weight in terms of job creation", accounting for two-thirds of activity.

And "73% of active workers in the informal sector are women," adds this researcher from the Center for Studies and Research of Djibouti.

In addition to offering accessible employment in a country where women are less literate than men, foreign exchange is safe work, they assure: in Djibouti, which has less than a million inhabitants, even the capital is a village, and the police are never far away.

Thefts, "we have never seen one".

"Whoever steals money, he does not come to us, he is afraid", sweeps in French Zahra, installed in the city center.

She is no longer afraid of counterfeit bills.

“A copy?” She cries. 'is this not?"

© 2021 AFP