Daniel Dickinson
Website: http://ec.europa.eu/echo/index_en.htm
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Reuters and AlertNet are not responsible for the content of this article or for any external internet sites. The views expressed are the author's alone.
Garowe, Somalia The continued insecurity in Somalia is causing an increasing number of people to flee their homes and find sanctuary in other parts of the country or flee across borders into neighbouring countries. But conflict is now not the only factor which is driving the displacement of people in Somalia. A severe drought in 2009 has meant that many pastoralists are no longer able to survive off the land. They have given up their traditional way of life and are now heading to towns in search of humanitarian support. Philippe Royan is the head of the Somalia office of the European Commission Humanitarian Aid department and has recently visited northern Somalia. Question: What is the current situation regarding the number of internally displaced people (IDPs) in Somalia?
Philippe Royan: The latest figure given by the United Nations for IDPs in Somalia is 1.4 million. The majority of those are concentrated around Mogadishu where the worst fighting is taking place. The Afgoye corridor west of the capital is home to around 360,000 people, the largest concentration of IDPs in the country. There are a substantial number of people who have escaped to the far north. I was recently in Garowe in Puntland, some 1500 km north of Mogadishu where 6000 people have been living in quite desperate conditions for as long as 8 years, including about 2,000 living in 11 makeshift IDP settlements. Some fled there because they had family connections, but others told me it was because they wanted to get as far away from the fighting as possible. Q: How big is the problem of internal displacement amongst pastoralists?
PR: The vast majority of IDPs in Somalia have fled their homes because of the ongoing internal conflict and the extreme insecurity it has created. However, we are beginning to see more pastoralists who have been forced to drop out of their traditional way of life largely because of the severe drought which hit Somalia in 2009. It is difficult to know, given the lack of access for humanitarian agencies as a result of the conflict, just how many pastoralist IDPs there are in Somalia at the moment. What we do know is that these people are now moving to towns to access food, water, shelter and other services. Q: Why has a drought caused so many pastoralists to drop out?
PR: When a severe drought strikes it can lead to the death of animals, pastoralists' main asset and source of his livelihood. Without rain, there is no pasture or drinking water for animals so inevitably they die. I met one pastoralist drop-out family in Burtinle in Puntland. They used to own 400 goats and sheep as well as 50 camels, but following last year's drought they have just 50 goats and one camel left. The average number of animals that a pastoralist family needs to live sustainably is around 80. This family could simply no longer survive, so they moved to Burtinle where they are living in a shelter covered with old scraps of clothes and pieces of plastic. Q: How are these pastoralists being supported?
PR: The European Commission's Humanitarian Aid department has a 35-million euro (US$50m) programme in Somalia for 2010. In Burtinle, through our partner Veterinaries Sans Fronti�res (VSF) we are providing veterinary services in order to keep pastoralists' animals healthy and productive as well as cash vouchers which can be spent on other vet services. In total, around 300 pastoralist families will eventually benefit from European support. Q: Is there a sense of optimism amongst IDPs you met in Somalia?
PR: The pastoralists who have dropped out say they will only return once they have built up their stock of animals. This will be a challenge as droughts are becoming more frequent so traditional coping mechanisms no longer work. IDPs are waiting for the fighting in Somalia to end before they return home and nobody knows when that will be. In the meantime, humanitarian agencies are working hard at gaining access to areas which have been inaccessible to conflict. In Garowe, IDPs will begin to receive shelter materials, food and sanitation services. There are, sadly, many other places which are still inaccessible where IDPs are living.
Source: European Commission Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO)