In the eyes of Chinese, the Comoros is an African country with no sense of existence, although the Western world calls it "the country of spices and the moon", but it was not until after the outbreak that it became popular in China because of the 100 euro donation. Many People in China have asked: what kind of country is the Comoros, and why is the donation only 100 euros?
The French writer Maupassant once wrote of the Comoros in his short story The Necklace: "It is a picturesque place, but poor enough to have nothing." ”
Indeed, many people do not expect the Comoros to be an Indian Ocean island nation located off the coast of East Africa, and indeed have nothing: GDP per capita ranks 173rd in the world and third from the bottom in the Human Development Index.
The Comoros is a special country, which was colonized by the French in 1841 as a dependency of Madagascar until 1946, when it became a French Overseas Territory. Although it has been controlled for more than a hundred years, it is known that sooner or later it will be allowed to allow independent colonists to bury a chess piece before letting go, that is, the usual "referendum", and after a promise, only three of the four islands choose independence.
Nominally, the Comoros consists of the islands of Grande Comoros, Anjouang, Moeli and Mayotte, with improvised ferry means of transport between them, with a total area of about 2,236 square kilometers. But in fact, the 374-square-kilometer island of Mayotte only recognizes French jurisdiction, and the referendum result is overwhelmingly 99.4%, and France has taken the opportunity to unilaterally list it as an overseas region - Mayotte Overseas Province (not recognized by the United Nations).
Due to many historical problems and French intervention, the Comoros has not yet achieved complete reunification, and the "island owners" of each of the three islands will take turns to serve as the president of the Comoros, and this provision was abolished after 2018. Chronic instability has left the Comoros economically struggling, with an extreme lack of infrastructure such as transportation, health care and education.
Mishima has a total population of 800,000, 60% of the agricultural population, mainly in the spice industry such as cloves and herbs, less than 0.4% of the land grown for food crops, and fisheries account for 40% of total GDP. In other words, the Comoros is a thoroughly agro-fishery country, relying only on foreign imports of food and daily necessities, resulting in prices that are 10 per cent higher than in France, especially fruits and vegetables.
For tourists, the Comoros is an untapped "Pearl of the Indian Ocean", and its pristine beaches and little polluted waters are very popular with European and American tourists. However, the cost of a trip to the Comoros is not low, European and American tourists have to take a flight to Kenya, Ethiopia or Madagascar in Africa and then transfer to the Comoros, although the current global tourists enjoy a visa on arrival (endorsement fee of 30 euros), but the cost performance of Chinese tourists to the Comoros is too low.
The Comoros has a weak industrial base, with three islands currently less than 100 kilometres long, nearly half of which are asphalt roads built during the French colonial period. After the 2003 agreement between the three islands to weaken the federal government's fiscal power, the country's infrastructure construction was suspended, which is the main reason why the Comoros can only donate 100 euros, and the federal government in charge of security and diplomacy really has no money, especially poor.
Comorians generally don't like to buy cars, and car ownership is considered "negligible", mainly because the price of hydropower oil has soared, far exceeding the minimum standard set by the European Union, and the current price per liter of gasoline is more than 2 euros (France is only 1.5 euros). Therefore, the idea of renting a car in the Comoros is not very realistic and you can only opt for a motorcycle. In contrast, the Comoros has a high number of small fishing boats per capita, and can also fish to make money (although it is very broken) in addition to being used as a means of transportation.
In terms of network communications, the Comoros has just replaced its 3G network with the assistance of the European Union, but the coverage of mobile phones is less than half of the country's land area, and most villages and towns are still dominated by public and wired telephones, and Internet access can only be achieved in urban areas. Because of this, many tourists are worried about changing money and cards the first time they arrive in the Comoros.
The official languages of the Comoros are French and Arabic, but in reality most Comorians speak Comorian (one of swahili), the official currency is the Comorian franc, but the use of the euro in daily life is much higher than the national currency, with an exchange rate of about 1:500. It should be reminded that it is difficult for comoros banks to exchange euros, and the private market rarely finds change, and it is best not to use large euros.
Since the main ethnic group is of Arab and African descent, the comoros eat both Arab taboos and African tastes, the most famous local dish is called Madaba, the cassava leaves are mashed and boiled into a paste, because the production time takes several hours, the restaurant hardly provides this dish, the locals only make this dish when entertaining VIPs.
Perhaps because of their long-term colonization and oppression, the Comorians are generally optimistic and hospitable, and as long as they do not violate customs and do not wear swimsuits to show off the market, people will smile at foreign tourists. Locals often invite visitors to their homes, even when children are encouraged to do so (refusing to cuddle or touch), but visitors buying and giving gifts is often considered disrespectful.
In terms of living customs, most people in the Comoros and in all public places have implemented "prohibition", and although they do not oppose tourists drinking alcohol, they do not have a good face. As a result, only a few hidden small shops sell South African castle beer and cheap French boxed wines, and the merchants also provide black opaque plastic bags so as not to be misunderstood on the road. Some beach restaurants also serve alcoholic drinks, only between 6-12 p.m.
Everyone who has been there knows that the Comoros is very poor, but the Comoros people cherish the current environment, one of which even Europeans and Americans admire: 45% of the country's population is in extreme poverty, ordinary workers earn less than 10 yuan a day, but strictly implement various environmental protection measures, and even the seafood caught must be measured one by one, and the standard will enter the market.
This may be what we often say, "people are not short of ambition"!