Thursday December 23, 2021
Koriyow Farah Abdulle has been staying at home for two months in Sir-maqabe IDP camp, on the outskirts of the central Somali town of Galkayo, because work in the building sector has dried up as a knock-on effect of the current drought.
“The engineer used to call us when they have construction jobs. There is also a place we used to meet as a group and wait for construction jobs, but now there is no work at all,” said Koriyow, who used to make $50 a week building toilets.
He had to remove two of his four children from Koranic school as he cannot afford the fees. His family of 10, who used to cook three meals a day, are now surviving on one meal.
“I ask money from friends who have a job. The little they assist me with is what my family uses to cook one meal. Here, people share whatever they can afford with each other,” he said.
Koriyow goes out early each morning to the meeting point for those waiting for casual jobs on building sites but like all the other men he has been going home at noon disappointed.
The market slowed significantly in October. Ahmed Mohamed Hirsi, a local building contractor, said he was hiring 70 workers a week on building projects. Recently he as only deployed two workers as his contracts have shrunk from four or five a week to just two for the whole month.
“The people in Mudug depend on livestock and now that the pastoralists are worried about their animals, no one is building homes. This has affected the construction sector, and the people who worked on construction sites have been hit hard,” he said.
Ahmed has been working in construction for 23 years and said he has not seen such a bad unemployment situation before. He blamed the drought facing the pastoralists as well as the rise in prices of building materials in the past few months.
Dimir Farah Ali depended on her son working as a labourer on construction sites, making about six dollars a day, which was enough for the family of 14. They are struggling to make ends meet now as he has no work.
Dimir has been forced to take up cleaning and laundry jobs to provide for the family, earning $2-$2.5 which is only enough for one meal a day. One of her sons helps her with laundry jobs and another has gone out working as a shoe shiner. They dropped out of Koranic school to help their mother.
“I stopped them from going to the madarassa so that they can help me. I am not that strong so I can’t wash clothes alone. The boy helps me to fetch and carry water,” she said.
On days when she does not find a cleaning job, she begs her neighbours to help her with some food to cook for her children.
“This region’s economy doesn’t depend on the sea, it depends on livestock, which has been ravaged by the drought,” Dimir said. “We all depended on the nomadic pastoralists who are now struggling themselves to help their livestock and families. This has affected all the other people who depended on them for jobs.”