Displaced Somalis seek shelter in war-torn city

By dpa correspondents Aug 4, 2011, 11:04 GMT

Mogadishu - Rahmo Ibrahim Madey trudged hundreds of kilometres from Islamist-held areas to reach Somalia's battle-weary capital, desperately seeking means to survive in a country shattered by war and drought.

Madey lost two of her children walking from southern Somalia to Mogadishu along a treacherous route plagued by wild animals and bandits. Food and water are expensive purchases, if they can be found at all on the roads.

One daughter, just 1 year old, died near Afgoye, some 30 kilometres from makeshift shelters. A second daughter, 4, died a day after they reached a camp in the capital for displaced people.

'I have lost two of my daughters to this fierce drought,' said a weeping Madey, 29. 'Fadumo died in front of my eyes, and Batulo passed away the same way.'

She lamented the trauma of having to leave behind in their village an older son, Ahmed. She left all her belongings.

'I have no clothes after this one,' Madey said, pointing to the red dress she was wearing.

She looked to a bowl nearby: 'I have no food after this porridge.'

Makeshift camps are popping up across Mogadishu, with the UN counting more than 100,000 internally displaced people in the capital, which remains a battleground for fighting between the Islamist al-Shabaab militia and government troops, who are backed by African Union peacekeepers.

'Those people turning up in Mogadishu are in really bad situation. It shows you how bad off they are,' said Grainne Moloney, a UN food expert in Nairobi.

Despite the risks in Mogadishu, the displaced continue to come, hoping to find food, water and shelter during the worst drought in decades.

'The needs of the displaced are just huge right now. It is so big it's hardly imaginable,' said Anna Schaaf of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Many refugees are also escaping al-Shabaab, which has links to al-Qaeda and seeks to violently impose strict Islamic law on the population. The group bans most aid agencies.

'It is no coincidence that the worst-affected areas are those that are under the control of al-Shabaab,' said a senior United States government official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The combination of conflict and drought is bearing down, even for Somalis accustomed to hardships after 20 years of civil war.

Andy Needham, a spokesman for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), says the makeshift encampments that have spontaneously appeared house the most destitute.

'The reality in settlements is that people there have fled their homes with nothing. Their crops and animals are dead,' he said.

Many lacked even jugs and were retrieving water in filthy plastic bags.

People do not have firewood or pots to cook, so the World Food Programme (WFP) was serving warm meals. The WFP's 20 so-called 'wet feeding centres' in Mogadishu let the malnourished refugees receive sustenance immediately on arrival.

'Despite all the best efforts of agencies and charities, there is not enough to go around. More people are coming in everyday to Mogadishu. That is not likely to stop,' Needham said.

Rains fell on Mogadishu recently. The water is insufficient to alleviate the drought but has caused havoc for those sleeping under plastic sheets and discarded fabrics.

'There were torrential rains pouring down on us, and all our makeshift tents are leaking,' said Ey Sitey, 59, as he sat in a camp. 'We need food, shelter and toilets.'

The area he calls home sits in the dilapidated remains of former government buildings, now pock-marked with bullet holes and shell blasts from decades of conflict.

'We fled our homes because of a lack of food. The whole family was near death,' said Fu'ad Goyow, a southern father whose youngest son recently died of malnutrition. 'We can't cultivate our farm because of the lack of rains. Most of our animals have already died.'

Despite the fear and loneliness of being in a war-torn city where they have no friends or relations, many displaced people say they are thankful to receive at least some help from local and international aid agencies.

But the humanitarians say the displaced risk becoming dependent on aid and unable to fend for themselves.

'The ICRC's food aid won't solve the problem. It is not a long-term solution,' said Schaaf at the Red Cross. 'Therefore, we are also conducting agricultural programmes, so if the rainy season comes, maybe they can plant again and have a harvest next year.'

Even in the best case, the UN expects famine conditions to persist at least until the end of the year.