Jijo Jamal Sheikh Omar is a displaced mother who fled from the clan conflicts in Lower Shabelle region. She lives in an IDP camp on outskirts of Mogadishu, where two of her children recently died of malnutrition. She spoke to Radio Ergo’s local reporter and shared her story:
Jijo: We are suffering inside this camp and my children are dying of malnutrition. I don’t have food for them – we are all starving!
Ergo: How many children of yours have died of malnutrition?
Jiijo: My four-year old son and three-year-old daughter have both died in this camp, and other children are at risk of dying of malnutrition too. We don’t have food, water and toilets.
Ergo: Before they died, did you take them to a doctor or a clinic?
Jiijo: No, I didn’t know where to take them or how to get medicines.
Ergo: Did your two children die of malnutrition alone?
Jiijo: They died of malnutrition and hunger. They used to go to sleep without eating the whole day. I couldn’t feed them as I don’t have any stable source of income since we fled from our farmlands in Qoryoley district. I sometimes earn between 20,000 to 30,000 Somali shillings, but that money could buy nothing from the market.
Ergo: What did they used to eat before their death?
Jiijo: When I manage to get some money, I used to feed them cornmeal and milk. Before we fled to this camp, we used to produce our own food from the farming and used to eat green bananas, tomatoes and gourd. Here at camp, we can get nothing. We often go to bed without eating. I am currently fasting and don’t have breakfast. The children don’t even have food to eat tonight.
Another displaced mother, Habibo Ali, who lives in an IDP camp outside Mogadishu has lost three of her children due to malnutrition.
Ergo: How many children have died of malnutrition in your camp?
Habibo: I can confirm that more than eight children have died of malnutrition and hunger in the camp in recent weeks.
Ergo: Are your children included?
Xabiibo: Yes, three of my children are among those who died of malnutrition earlier during Ramadan. There were two boys and a girl. Their eyes grew bigger and their faces became more skeletal within a few days. I later took them to a clinic near to our camp and they died there.
Ergo: Did they die at the same time and place?
Xabiibo: Two of them died over two consecutive days. The third one died later on. I suffered with them for weeks and then later they died.
Ergo: Who told you they died of malnutrition?
Xabiibo: My neighbours have previously seen children suffering from malnutrition. They saw my children and told me it is malnutrition.
Ergo: What did you used to feed to your children?
Xabiibo: It depends what we get – we may sometimes get rice or spaghetti. I have never given them milk because I couldn’t afford it, and I could get no nutritious food.
Ergo: Have you received any help since your children’s death?
Xabiibo: I have received condolences from my neighbours, but I received no support or aid. I have been living in this camp for two years and I never got any food aid.
