Tuesday September 17, 2024
Three hundred families who fled from clan conflict in Hirsalama village in central Somalia’s Mudug region are struggling to get enough to eat in the wind-blown coastal village of Dhinowda.
Mohamed Abdirahman Osman and his family of nine trekked for three days to reach Dhinowda, 45 kilometres from their home, when conflict started. They set off with their 60 goats, 40 of which died along the road due to lack of water and fodder.
More of the goats died after reaching Dhinowda, where there is a severe lack of water and fodder. He has been trying to keep the last few goats alive by taking them every other day to graze five kilometres away, where the vegetation has not been covered by incoming sand drifts.
“We are living in difficult conditions. Locals have collected food aid for us and sometimes they share cooked food with us. We don’t have a source of food to depend on apart from the handouts. Getting water is also an issue,” he said.
Locals in Dhinowda depend on water trucking services charging hefty prices for water. However, the displaced families walk for long distances to access water from wells that is free but contaminated. Despite the water tasting sour, they have to use it for drinking and cooking.
Although Mohamed and his family survived violent clan clashes, they are still living precariously. He said the shifting sand blown in from the ocean has buried water wells and even houses in Dhinowda area. His family keeps repairing their hut only to see it battered down again by the strong winds.
“It is a menace during the day and even at night. Within 24 hours we dig out the sand from our house three or four times. Other times we cannot sleep in there,” he said.
Fadumo Abdikadir, a single mother of six, was living off the $7-10 she made a day from the restaurant she had in Hirsalama village, where most of her customers were fishermen. Since fleeing the clan conflict that broke out on 20 July, she hasn’t been able to make a living in Dhinowda.
“We get to cook once in a day, either in the morning or at night. I feed the children whenever they are about to sleep. There is uncertainty over the food,” she said.
Fadumo said there are few businesses that operate at night due to lack of electricity. The locals are barely any better off than the displaced families and also suffer from food shortage.
They lived in a two room house back home but here they are huddling in a hut that keeps being blown down by the wind.
“We are particularly worried about the house and water. And they are important for living, right? We would love to go back. But how can we even go back. We earned a living in our previous area. We don’t have water, fodder or even a house here,” she said.
She hopes to return to her house and business as soon as the conflict ends. Local elders who spoke with Radio Ergo said they were working on a peace process.
The commissioner of Dhinowda, Abukar Mohamud Malin, said they had shared reports with Mudug regional administration about the plight of the 300 families displaced from Hirsalama.
“We have shared the message with the regional administration although we have not got feedback. Those people need aid and the displaced families need to be returned to their houses. There needs to be a solution to get us peace,” he said.
He noted the Dhinowda administration and local well-wishers had been giving food aid to the displaced although the locals were also dealing with poor economic conditions exacerbated by the challenges posed by the encroaching sand drifts.