# Which country is the most backwater godforsaken hell-hole on earth? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 31, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393 "2010-05-31T16:10:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/21 "2010-06-01T01:53:46Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > We were talking about [this video on Liberia](http://www.vbs.tv/watch/the-vice-guide-to-travel/the-vice-guide-to-liberia) last week in a thread about North Korea. It’s definitely not some place most people would ever want to visit. Yes, watch the Vice Guide to Liberia, a country where cannibalism and child prostitution is rampant. This should end the conversation. Seriously. Watch it now. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/22 "2010-06-01T02:03:57Z")
Uh, if you want to compare Liberia to North Korea, watch the Vice Guide to North Korea also. [Vice Guide to North Korea](http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/vice_guide_to_north_korea_episode_1_of_3/) ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/23 "2010-06-01T02:28:37Z")
I’m surprised nobody here has nominated [Central African Republic](http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_940.html). After years of some of the most disgusting government ever, it finally descended into no real functioning government and one of the earth’s more incoherent and pointless civil wars, where few people actually have any side, it’s just generalized conflict. Bangui has long been considered Africa’s most dangerous capital city with armed gangs prowling even in the day. According to the State Department, crime victims in Bangui may have to pay taxis if they want to see the police, since the police lack cars and fuel. And outside of the capital you can expect to be robbed by road bandits immediately. With neighbors like DRC, Chad and Somalia, it gets spillover from some of the world’s worst conflicts. Chadian civil war? Got it. Lord’s Resistance Army? Got it. Bad place. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/24 "2010-06-01T02:32:40Z")
> [@palacheck](#): > > …and the closest thing to rape I’ve seen was a guy grabbing a woman’s boob in line at a taco truck… Shit, in parts of New Mexico, that’s actually how they swear in the new female elementary-school superintendants… ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/25 "2010-06-01T02:37:16Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > I don’t have a cite, and it’s not on the list of _man-made_ hell-holes, but I have heard that New Guinea certainly qualifies as “backwater” and “godforsaken”. The virtual absence of any trace of civilization in parts of the highlands combined with a hot humid, muddy, disease-and-pest ridden climate, makes it not one of the world’s favorite vacation sites. compared to Liberia, CAR, Chad or similar New Guinea Highlands is a relative paradise. There is small scale payback skirmeshes (over land, women or pigs, the only things the highlanders fight over 🙂 ) but no large scale modern conflict, and one of the few places in the world to independently develop agriculture. Trekking there is relatively safe. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/26 "2010-06-01T03:21:38Z")
> [@palacheck](#): > > Texas is pretty sweet where I am. I’ve never even seen a gun fired off except at a gun range and the closest thing to rape I’ve seen was a guy grabbing a woman’s boob in line at a taco truck. Also the Creationist nuts trying to influence textbook committees doesn’t seem nearly as bad as Liberia’s whole Christian warlord cannibal problem. Why is it that if a Texan hasn’t seen it firsthand, it doesn’t exist in Texas? ---
**Author:** ![signal11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@signal11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/signal11)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/27 "2010-06-01T03:46:41Z")
> [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > I’ve been to North Korea and other than it being a closed dictatorship with a oddball leader it is certainly not as hell-holeish as Somalia or parts of eastern D.R. Congo (which is the most dodgy place I’ve ever been). I rather like the Kivus and don’t think it’s nearly as dodgy as Somalia. IMO, minus the exploding lake and the violence, the area around Lac Kivu is some of the most beautiful countryside in the world. Like the Congolais say, the land is blessed, it’s just the people who are cursed. It’s not like you can’t get a good meal or decent alcohol in Goma. The climate is great and people know how to have a good time. To me, Somalia is much, much worse. Isolated, with very little access to modern convenience. And when a Somali says he’s coming to kill you, you better GTFO of Dodge right NOW because he’s really coming to kill you. Somalia was the only place (other than Chechyna) where MSF compromised on it’s no armed guards principle. And MSF is an organization that specializes in working in the worst conflict areas - areas what many might call “backwater, godforsaken hell-holes.” Every other place everyone’s mentioned is doable without armed guards. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/28 "2010-06-01T04:09:46Z")
[moderating] I think asking about “the most backwater godforsaken hell-hole on earth” is pretty subjective, so I moved this thread from GQ to IMHO. [/moderating] ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/29 "2010-06-01T05:19:27Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > I’ll vote for Texas. No smiley here? > [@Superhal](#): > > Why is it that if a Texan hasn’t seen it firsthand, it doesn’t exist in Texas? Again, no smiley? What’s the problem with Texas? More cannibalism than Liberia? More chaos than Somalia? More genocide than Sudan? More poverty than Haiti? What’s \*\*your \*\*problem with Texas? The fact that you even nominated it in this thread has major WTF implications. You really need to explain this. ---
**Author:** ![Sue\_Duhnym](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@Sue\_Duhnym](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sue_Duhnym)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/30 "2010-06-01T05:35:36Z")
I actually know someone from Eritrea and he escaped TO Somalia. Granted, this was about 20 years ago but his story is horriffic. ---
**Author:** ![Sinisterniik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/51bf81/32.png) [@Sinisterniik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinisterniik)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/31 "2010-06-01T06:13:35Z")
> [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](#): > > What’s the problem with Texas? More cannibalism than Liberia? More chaos than Somalia? More genocide than Sudan? More poverty than Haiti? > > What’s \*\*your \*\*problem with Texas? The fact that you even nominated it in this thread has major WTF implications. > > You really need to explain this. Maybe it’s the terrible zombie epidemic: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7AyFEuIm6vM/hqdefault.jpg "Texas Tech Zombie Walk 2009") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AyFEuIm6vM) > **[Texas | Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com/category/us/us-regions/southwest/texas)** > > Texas [http://today.ttu.edu/2009/10/vampires-and-bats-and-ghosts…-oh-my/](http://today.ttu.edu/2009/10/vampires-and-bats-and-ghosts%E2%80%A6-oh-my/) [http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2009/05/13/2009-05-13\_zombie\_bugs\_texas\_to\_deploy\_braineating\_flies\_in\_battle\_against\_fire\_ants.html](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2009/05/13/2009-05-13_zombie_bugs_texas_to_deploy_braineating_flies_in_battle_against_fire_ants.html) [http://www.truthistreason.net/darpa-takes-on-suspended-animation-zombie-pigs-squirrels-and-hypersleep](http://www.truthistreason.net/darpa-takes-on-suspended-animation-zombie-pigs-squirrels-and-hypersleep) I think maybe _you_ need to start explaining! ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/32 "2010-06-01T06:25:14Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Yes, watch the Vice Guide to Liberia, a country where cannibalism and child prostitution is rampant. > > This should end the conversation. > > Seriously. > > Watch it now. This. Seriously, this. Liberia looks like a nightmare. I couldn’t possibly imagine living there. North Korea, as bizarre as it is, at least has some semblance of normality to it. Liberia just seems like a living hell in every sense of the word. A place where rape happens so often people don’t even think it’s that big a deal anymore? A place where some kid (who couldn’t have been more than 16) is willing to go on camera with a bloody heart in his hands and say he’ll eat it? I’d pick North Korea over Liberia any day. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/33 "2010-06-01T07:31:44Z")
Ah yes, the eternal question - Lawful Evil or Chaotic Evil? The Nine Hells or the Abyss? ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/34 "2010-06-01T07:34:04Z")
> [@toofs](#): > > How about Sudan, with a blend of both? Plenty of good old fashioned genocide going on, and a thriving chaotic daily life tossed in for good measure. Plus, it is a super dry, hot-as-hell desert nation that just happens to be poor as fuck. Lots of violent religious fanaticism, too. The north of Sudan (from Khartoum to the Egyptian border) is actually quite normal. Yes, it is poor, but other than that, there is nothing hell-holeish about it. I spent about two weeks there driving around on holiday a few months ago. The west and south are almost different countries (and situations) of course. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/35 "2010-06-01T07:38:46Z")
> [@signal11](#): > > I rather like the Kivus and don’t think it’s nearly as dodgy as Somalia. IMO, minus the exploding lake and the violence, the area around Lac Kivu is some of the most beautiful countryside in the world. Like the Congolais say, the land is blessed, it’s just the people who are cursed. It’s not like you can’t get a good meal or decent alcohol in Goma. The climate is great and people know how to have a good time. Indeed. It is just that the situation goes from stable and normal, to guys with AK47s running amok. Usually not in Goma directly, but north of there. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/36 "2010-06-01T07:48:47Z")
> [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](#): > > No smiley here? > > Again, no smiley? > > What’s the problem with Texas? More cannibalism than Liberia? More chaos than Somalia? More genocide than Sudan? More poverty than Haiti? > > What’s \*\*your \*\*problem with Texas? The fact that you even nominated it in this thread has major WTF implications. > > You really need to explain this. I guess you missed the joke, yet somehow made it funnier. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/37 "2010-06-01T07:55:03Z")
It sounds to me like many areas of sub-saharan Africa are a post apocalyptic movie script nightmare =( It is a crying shame that Europeans have screwed a continent over with imperialism combined with disease and religion. I would be willing to bet that if europeans had never subjugated the kingdoms and tribes there it would be more peaceful. Not anything like a european view of civilized, perhaps cut into more tiny countries along tribal lines, but no atrocities going on. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/38 "2010-06-01T08:23:37Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > It sounds to me like many areas of sub-saharan Africa are a post apocalyptic movie script nightmare =( To be fair, there are some bright spots as well. And plenty of places where people just do their jobs, have their families and live their lives. Africa is not all a big hellhole, and there are plenty of bright, motivated local people dedicating their lives to improving their communities. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/39 "2010-06-01T12:40:13Z")
I’d say Haiti. I was astounded to learn that the city of Port-Au-Prince never had a central sewage system!! The roads are in disrepair, and much of the useful infrastructure dates from the 1920’s (during the US occupation). I am waiting to hear how the $billions in aid sent there after the January earthquake was misappropriated, stolen, or otherwise disappeared. Of course, much of the corruption in Haiti comes about because of the foreign aid-local politicians/crooks see the money flooding in (and want their cut). It is amazing to see late model Mercedes limousines, driving of streets where beggars sleep on the sidewalks.:mad: ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393/40 "2010-06-01T12:57:15Z")
I would tend to view the question a little differently, rather than talking about what countries have been fucked up by their governments, I’d say that there are a handful of countries that just have nothing going for it. IOW, God has dealt them a terrible hand. Of the places I’ve been, I put Djibouti at the top of the list. There’s nothing there but hot. No natural resources, no beautiful sights, no actual interesting history, nothing. It supposedly has some good scuba diving, which only reinforces my point that you cannot stand in Djibouti and enjoy yourself. Its suckyness is so alluring that I want to go back, however, just because it is such a train wreck of a place. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-is-the-most-backwater-godforsaken-hell-hole-on-earth/541393.md?page=3)