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Somalia: searching for survival
15-08-2011 Photo gallery
The severe drought has compounded the longstanding humanitarian crisis in Somalia due to 20 years of armed conflict. Hundreds of thousands of people are displaced within Somalia in search of shelter and food. The majority live out in the open or in makeshift camps. This small collection of photos illustrates the extreme nature of the crisis and what the ICRC is doing to help the beleaguered population.
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Thousands of people have moved to Mogadishu in recent weeks hoping to find water and food. Only a minority manage to get a ride on one of the trucks going to the Somali capital. Many have to walk in the extreme heat of up to 40C. It can take them up to one week to reach their destination.
The severe drought, the effects of previous dry spells, high inflation and the worldwide rise in food and fuel prices have further aggravated the situation since the beginning of the year.
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Hundreds of thousands of people are displaced within Somalia in search of shelter and food. Like here on the outskirts of Mogadishu, the majority live in the open or in makeshift camps. Many have been displaced more than once. They fled their homes due to fighting, returned and had to flee again when the next wave of violence set in or droughts and floods forced them to move. The displaced represent a heavy burden for the host communities that share their scarce resources with them such as water, pastures and firewood.
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In Somalia hot weather conditions prevail all year along with very little average rainfall in most regions even in normal seasons. The vegetation around Mogadishu is scarce and mainly consists of grass lumps, low bushes and low trees such as Acacias that can provide a bit of shade. Drinking water is still available, but only in low quantities. It can be found in boreholes and deep wells. People often walk several hours to reach a water source and internally displaced people (IDPs) often settle around them.
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The displaced usually arrive with only very few and very basic belongings such as these water canisters. Most of them do not have anything left to sell and are therefore unable to generate income and to buy food. As a result, malnutrition rates are usually even higher among displaced people than among the general population. The combined effects of conflict, violence and natural disasters have exhausted a large percentage of the Somali population who is now no longer able to cope with these extreme living conditions.
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The ICRC, together with its partner organization the Somali Red Crescent Society (SRCS), has recently distributed food to 162,000 people in areas affected by drought and armed violence in southern and central Somalia. In Kurtunwarey, 21,000 people benefited from the distribution. It was the first large-scale food distribution in that part of the country since the beginning of the year. Food distributions constitute a response to the most urgent needs. They are integrated into a more sustainable approach with the aim of helping the population carry on their livelihoods with no outside help. Examples are irrigation schemes and other cash-for work infrastructure projects to reduce farmers' vulnerability to extreme weather conditions.
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Each family received enough rice, beans and cooking oil to last them for one month. Women usually pick up the aid as they are in charge of the household. ICRC organizes the distributions together with local authorities and the elders of the communities. In the central and southern parts of the country especially, where only a small number of humanitarian organizations are present on the ground, the need for help is immense.
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Many displaced do not dare to return home, because of the prevailing insecurity /armed conflict, especially along the Kenyan and Ethiopian borders, and the lack of water and pastures. They prefer to stay in IDP settlements which are usually organized by local authorities. In Sako, there are about 1,800 IDP families who arrived 6 to 8 months ago. They came looking for water and work on the surrounding farms. Many of their children are malnourished and enlisted in the therapeutic feeding program run in the SRCS clinic in Sako. There are also three SRCS mobile health teams based in Sako who go to the surrounding areas every day, trying to reach those less fortunate who cannot make it to Sako for medical help. Both IDPs and residents in Sako benefit from ICRC assistance, including the patients of the SRCS clinic.
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Organizing a food distribution takes at least four to six weeks. The food is mainly purchased in neighbouring countries and then brought to Southern Somalia from Kenya by truck or ship. The situation in Somalia is bound to get worse if the urgently needed help is not delivered soon. ICRC is planning to help over one million people bridge the gap until the next harvest in December.
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