To Laugh or Not To Laugh

Minutes after rumors came out that Djibouti had severed diplomatic ties in support for the Saudis in a recent row with Iran over the execution of Sheikh Al-Nimr, Iranian social media users started to poke fun at the African country for its small size and population in mocking songs, memes, jokes and poems. BBC calls this a defense mechanism “a way of venting anger and in some cases distancing themselves from official actions.” However, this was perhaps a rare occasion in which Iranian officials also followed suit. This is what seems to have finally persuaded Djiboutian authorities to cut diplomatic relations with Iran.

Some of the top jokes circulating among Iranians on social networks and mobile messaging apps like Telegram are gathered below.

Many on social media are mockingly asking where Djibouti is exactly. “I have never heard your name before… nor did I know that we have diplomatic relations,” one Iranian wrote on Twitter. “With the cutting of relations with Djibouti, Iran’s economy will fully shut down,” said another, sarcastically, about the small nation in the Horn of Africa.

Iranian social media users posted memes showing how small Djibouti looks on the map, mentioning that it only has a population of around 800,000. “Oh my God, what would we do without Djibouti now?” they laughingly asked.

Another joke on Telegram says the Djiboutian foreign minister has announced they have eaten the Iranian ambassador!

“The Genghis in your eyes came to pillage me, Left aghast at your coquetry and dexterity. You seized me and then set me on fire, I feel you are self-motivated and I am an embassy,” reads a mock-romantic couplet.

“One good thing that the snapping of ties with Saudi Arabia taught me is geography. At least now I know where Djibouti is”, a joke on Telegram reads.

“Americans learn geography by attacking countries, Iranians learn geography by cutting relations with countries”, says a Twitter user. However, others responded to these jokes by reminding fellow Iranians that Djibouti's location on oil routes gives it a strategic importance in the region.

Things have apparently grown worse as some senior Iranian officials have also offended Djibouti by their jokes. The most-shared comment came from Hossein Shariatmadari, editor of the conservative “Kayhan” newspaper, who allegedly wrote that “The Iranian Foreign Ministry has set an ultimatum for Djibouti’s diplomats to find their country on the map within 24 hours.”

Rouhani’s administration also followed suit in mocking Djibouti’s actions, when it sent out sarcastic messages over the “mighty” nation’s reported decision to do so. Spokesman Mohammad Baqer Nowbakht said sarcastically that Iran is not worried about Saudi Arabia cutting its ties with Tehran, “even if this move is backed by the great country of Djibouti”.

“It’s interesting that Iran would respond to Djibouti’s move, even though it made light of it, and not to much larger Sudan - but even that is telling. Despite Iran’s sarcasm, little Djibouti’s location at the narrow strait separating Africa from the Middle East is of great strategic importance,” wrote Mail and Guardian Africa.

Though a great portion of the social media hype goes too far and becomes racist in their perspectives, these jokes mostly work as a sequel to a series of humorous comments by Iranian social media users after the Saudi embassy in Tehran was stormed. Even Iranians were not safeguarded.

One popular joke shared on Telegram was: “A new option has been added to the Foreign Ministry's telephone number [when you dial for queries]… to cut diplomatic ties please press 9”.

“I slept for a few hours and when I woke up a few countries cut ties with us. I don't even dare to take a nap now!” a Twitter user said after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Sudan and Djibouti severed ties with Iran.

Another sarcastic comment doing the rounds on Telegram reads: “Please leave some embassies for the future generations. They also have the right to seize embassies! There are embassies but there are not that many!”

Another joke comes from a doctored photo of the British embassy in Tehran, which was attacked by crowds in a separate incident in 2011. The photo shows a banner on the wall of the diplomatic mission saying “If you need anything climb up. If you don't come down let others climb”.

This joke references the popular charity drive, recently started in Iran and it is known as “the wall of kindness” where people donate clothes to the homeless.