A ‘no man’s land’ in Africa that is owned by no country. Means you could plant your flag and make it your own.

All of us have dreamt of becoming the King; or the President; or the Supreme Leader of our nations at least once in our lives.

If you are a citizen of a democratic nation, the possibility of that happening in the future still exists. However, the probability of it might not be in the higher range for most of us.

But one certain way of accomplishing this childhood fantasy would be to form a new nation altogether…

..Now, forming a new nation does not necessarily mean that you revolt against your own country, wage a war and get thousands of people to side by you.
(That seems like a tedious task with more than affordable risk involved)

But what if, you could find an unclaimed territory, i.e. “No Man’s Land” where you could plant your own flag and just announce it as…

..”The Kingdom of ”

Well, there are a couple of such places on this planet.
(WHAT!?!)

Yes. Even in 2020, there are two places in this world that are owned by no country.

The two “No Man’s Land” in the World.

The first one is predictable. It’s Antarctica.
(I know, nothing too exciting..)

Due to the Antarctic Treaty System, no country can lay claim to own Antarctica.
In fact, tbh being as cold as a refrigerator for most part of the year doesn’t make it an ideal place to live at either.

But there’s one more….

The “no man’s land” in the middle (metaphorically) of Africa – Bir Tawil.

Bir Tawil

The area expands to 800 sq. miles (2060 sq. km) and is located at the Egypt-Sudan border.
After Antarctica, it is the only piece of land on the planet that is let alone ‘owned’ is not even claimed by any country.

Albeit, located in an arid environment, this is still a much better place to reside in than Antarctica.

But Why is it so?

The reasoning behind this is the uncanny border dispute between Egypt and Sudan.

Unlike a “normal” border dispute in which multiple nations/parties lay claim to an area, both Egypt and Sudan believe it’s rather the other country’s property.

(Check the pictures below!)

The rationale behind this lies in the times when Sudan (then Soudan) was ruled by a condominium of the United Kingdom and Egypt.

The British signed an agreement with Egypt that the border lied on the 22nd parallel.

But this caused a slight confusion as a lot of tribes would have to technically cross the border for their daily activities.

So in 1902, the British drew a separate administrative boundary. In which they reallocated Bir Tawil to Egypt and the Hala’ib Triangle to Sudan.

However Egypt still considers the 22nd parallel as the border.

(I know, bonkers! bonkers! bonkers!)

So, both Sudan and Egypt claim the Hala’ib Triangle whereas Bir Tawil is claimed by none. Making it the only such habitable place on the planet!

So, has anyone tried to claim Bir Tawil yet?

YES!

The two most prominent names are Jeremiah Heaton from the US state of Virginia and India’s Suyash Dixit.

Both of them made their journey to Bir Tawil and planted their own flags.

The former did this as he wanted to give an unprecedented birthday gift to his daughter and even planted the flag made by his kids. He calls the land as the Kingdom of North Sudan. And here is, in fact, the official website of the same. (click here to visit!)

Suyash, on the other hand, laid his claim and announced it via a Facebook Post!
So, according to him Bir Tawil Kingdom of Dixit is no longer a “No man’s Land”

So aren’t their claims valid?

They are. As long as you recognize them as valid.

See, the thing is Bir Tawil has zero native population. Hence, it does not require a functional government. In fact none of the aforementioned individuals reside their either.

And in order to become a sovereign nation and therefore appear on a World Map, you need, if not more, at least 4-5 countries to recognize you! (Ask Kosovo!)

Heaton and Dixit haven’t really tried convincing the others!

But if you could, you could very well have your own country.

(All the best.)

I know…

“It’s kinda SILLY,
but it’s A POINT“

The post The “No Man’s Land” you can claim and form a new country appeared first on A Silly Point.