Somali camps: Places of desperation
Somalis displaced by conflict and drought to camps around Mogadishu are getting more and more frantic as food aid dwindles. With nowhere else to go, they are appealing to their government for help
Deero Ismail, a mother of five, fled her home town of Baidoa in southern Somalia in February, 2011 after her husband was killed by the militant group which controlled the town. With her children, she lives in a hut, made of dried tree branches and covered with plastic sheeting, in the Rajo camp for internally displaced people west of Mogadishu. Established in early 2011, at about the time that Ismail sought shelter, Rajo camp is now the largest settlement for the internally displaced in the area around Somalia’s capital. Rajo — which means “hope” — is the home of 5,000 families mostly from southern parts of the country, which was hit by drought in 2011. A quarter of a million people died during the ensuing famine, the first in the Horn of Africa region for more than three decades. Drought isn’t the only problem. The UN Office for Humanitarian Co-ordination estimates that more than 1.1m people are internally displaced in Somalia as a result of two and a half decades of conflict, as w...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.