Omar Dahir Osman is one of the nomadic pastoralists living in Malkariyey village, 70 km from Dollow district in Gedo region. The village and its surroundings have been gripped by severe drought and acute water shortage in the past few months following failure of the seasonal rains. Some of the villagers have started to move to urban centres after their animals died.
Omar contacted Radio Ergo to describe the dire situation in the area. Radio Ergo’s Fowzia Omar interviewed him by phone and asked him first the number of families remaining in the village.
Omar: There are 315 families in Malkariyey.
Ergo: What do the people in your village do for livelihoods?
Omar: They include farmers, pastoralists and agro-pastoralists. The pastoralists lost most of their livestock in the prolonged drought in the area. They didn’t get any assistance from aid agencies. The seasonal river that was the main source of water is drying up. Farmers are also facing a similar situation. They don’t have seeds and fertilizers to plant ahead of the approaching rainy season – it is already the rainy season. They are also having problems in curbing pests that destroy crops in their farms.
Ergo: What are the major problems pastoralist families, whose livestock died, are facing?
Omar: They are starving; they are in a serious situation due to the drought in the area. Some of them abandoned the rural areas in search of relief food, but there are no aid agencies in the area. We hear that aid was being provided in parts of the region, but we were not getting any.
Ergo: How many families from the far rural areas reached your village?
Omar: About 80 to 90 new families. Many more whose livestock died are coming by the day.
Ergo: What do people whose livestock perished do in the village?
Omar: They are just idling, they don’t have any food to cook, they are destitute families. Some of them moved to Beled-hawo district in search of small jobs, like construction work, to survive.
Ergo: How is the health situation in the area?
Omar: The health situation is bad. Children are suffering from malaria and diarrhoea as a result of drinking contaminated water from the river.
Ergo: When did displaced families from rural areas reach the village?
Omar: They arrived during this month [September].
Ergo: What are the main problems they are facing?
Omar: Lack of food is the major problem. They want urgent food aid.
Ergo: What about the situation of farmers in the area?
Omar: Farmers are having problems in curbing pests that are destroying their crop, such as tomatoes.
Ergo: When did they start facing this problem?
Omar: It started about three years ago. We requested farm experts to assist us many times, but our request fell on deaf ears. Now we need seeds to enable ourselves produce our food.
Ergo: Are you a farmer as well?
Omar: Yes I am an agro-pastoralist. My farm serves as a pasture for my livestock.
