Hundreds of pastoralists and their livestock living around the Elwak-Bardera route are experiencing severe water shortage as the dry season of Jilal intensifies.Bardera-based Radio Ergo reporter Ahmed Omar Salihi, who travelled along the road, said water pans, boreholes and other sources of water had all dried up as the deyr rainy season in November was inadequate water in the area.
Ten villages – Takar, Fafah-dhun, Geriley, Garsal, Warhol, Dibiriq, Dhenle, Buralan, Dhaso and War-gududo – situated between Elwak and Bardera are the worst-affected. The pastoralist communities there are relying on water transported from 60 km away. However, the price of water brought from water pans in other villages has dramatically increased since the scarcity began in early January.
A traditional elder, Hassan Mude, in Dibiriq about 35 km south of Elwaq told Radio Ergo’s reporter that a barrel of water transported from other villages now costs around 100,000 Somali shillings, up from 20,000 Somali shillings before the crisis. “The village is very thirsty and residents and children are about to die from thirst,” Mude said. He added some residents had moved with their livestock near the river and towards the towns in the region.
Radio Ergo’s reporter said some residents stand at the roadside begging water from vehicles travelling from other parts of the region. A 42-year old mother of five children, England Abdikarim, was among dozens of women, children and elderly people standing alongside the road waiting for public transportation to ask for water. “We are very thirsty and we are appealing for an urgent aid of water, otherwise we might die of thirst,” Abdikarim said.
The farmers in the region also said they are not expecting to harvest anything due to inadequate deyr rains in the area. “We are not expecting to harvest crops from the farmland. We have planted but the rain wasn’t adequate enough to produce food,” said Ahmed Sheikh Muhamed, a farmer in Likoley village, about 92 km from Elwaq. Reaching the villages caught in this crisis is very difficult due to the poor transportation, our reporter said. It takes 2-4 days to reach Elwaq from Bardera, depending on the type of vehicle.
Muhyadin Ahmed Roble
