Water in tijden van droogte

“Als het regent, loopt dit hele gebied hier onder water,” legt mijn lokale Somalische collega me uit terwijl we ergens in Zuid-Somalië door de dorre omgeving rijden. Ik kijk hoe hij zelfverzekerd uit het raam van de auto kijkt, terugdenkend aan vervlogen tijden. Slechts een handjevol mensen weet dat we deze ochtend op weg zijn naar het vluchtelingenkamp. In geen enkel ander land moet Medair zo onopvallend te werk gaan als in Somalië. “Ik wil me niet voorstellen wat er met mij en mijn familie zou gebeuren als de verkeerde mensen zouden weten dat ik voor een internationale hulporganisatie werk,” vertelt mijn collega, laten we hem Ahmed noemen. Wat hem overtuigt om ondanks alle bedreigingen toch met Medair samen te werken, is dat hij weet dat er niemand anders is die de 1500 gezinnen in het kamp te helpen. En morgen ook niet. Deze verwaarloosde groep mensen is een van de vele in het land die getroffen zijn door de ergste droogte in meer dan vier decennia. Naar schatting 8,25 miljoen mensen in Somalië hebben op dit moment humanitaire hulp nodig en door de droogte waren eind 2022 al meer dan 1,3 miljoen mensen hun dorpen ontvlucht. Daar kwam een langdurige cholera-uitbraak bij in 2022. Het leven van de mensen in de kampen is daardoor zwaar. Van alles wat er nodig is voor de bewoners, is schoon water het belangrijkste.

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“De mensen die je om me heen ziet, hadden vroeger een goed leven. Ze waren landbouwers of veehouders, heel goed in staat om voor zichzelf en hun gezinnen te zorgen. Door de droogte zijn ze afhankelijk geworden van jullie hulp.” Dit vertelt een vertegenwoordiger van dit kamp terwijl hij me rondleidt in het kamp. Het valt op dat ik er ben, en ik voel dat er best wat spanning is en gemengde gevoelens. De meeste mensen lijden er onder dat de hulp niet voldoende is. De man die ons namens het kamp ontvangt is behalve kritisch ook positief. “Jullie waren de eerste hulporganisatie die ons kwam helpen toen niemand anders kwam,” herinnert hij zich. “Natuurlijk is water onze grootste behoefte hier. En jullie brengen het ons.”

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Since more than 6 months now, the mornings in the settlement start with the same scene: Women leave their shelter early, placing their water canisters patiently in an orderly line as huge water trucks sent by Medair arrive at the site. “Every day we distribute 60,000 litres of clean water to the community,” Ahmed tells me with pride in his eyes. He is a water technician and therefore has a great responsibility for the community. “I check whether the water is really absolutely clean. After all, the people here rely on us.”

A large hose is used to fill the water tank from the truck. More and more women join the queue. Only a few of them are willing to be photographed. But I am lucky and even find a female resident who kindly describes her situation in the settlement to me. Jasira, as I will call her for this story, has been living here with her young boy, Hodan, for only a few weeks. She and her family used to have a small farm, grew their own crops and kept livestock. The ongoing drought, however, has destroyed their livelihood.

“It has been too long since there was enough rain for us. My cattle died and cultivating became impossible. I had no other choice but leaving home and finding a place where I can stay with my child. Without water, nobody can survive”, the mother shares. “It was a long and dangerous journey for me and my infant to find your support here in this community. We all are very thankful that you care about us. It seems as nobody else does. Without your support, we all might be dead already. In the morning, we are sure that your trucks arrive and bring fresh and safe water. I come early to the tank to find my place in the queue to fetch it soon, so I am not too long away from our tent. However, our needs in the settlement remain high. You can see my baby is malnourished. I understand you cannot solve all our problems here. The water was my biggest concern, and I am glad that for the moment I do not need to worry about it.” 

We stop talking because it is her turn to fill her water ration soon. Mothers walk past us with their children and full water jerricans, enough for one day to drink, cook and wash. Every day anew this picture repeats itself. A great logistical effort under difficult security conditions in a historic emergency situation, not only for the displaced in the settlements of Somalia, but bitter reality for countless people in East Africa.

The conflict in Ukraine is not only fuelling inflation and disrupting supply chains for food. It is pushing the hunger crisis in Somalia and East Africa into the background and making it difficult for NGOs to finance their aid work there. Serving the people in this settlement in Southern Somalia is only possible thanks to the many generous donors who courageously support our work in this difficult context. As I am still touched being back in the office by what I have seen in the settlement, I want to use this opportunity to say a huge thankyou to everyone who supported our work in this emergency while needs are on the rise all over the world. The people in Somalia are some of the most resilient I have ever seen. But in a crisis where drought, hunger, disease and violence merge to bring the country to the brink of famine, they remain dependent on our aid. As we wake up tomorrow morning, we can be sure that brave Medair relief workers will be taking huge risks again to serve this community I was privileged to visit. Together, they on the ground and we at home make a big difference and bring hope into an often hopeless-seeming situation. For mothers like Jasira, and for thousands more in this place in Southern Somalia that used to be flooded when it rained once upon a time.

This content was produced with resources gathered by Medair country and headquarters staff. The views expressed herein are those solely of Medair and should not be taken, in any way, to reflect the official opinion of any other organization.  

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