Ambiyo [not her real name], a mother of three girls, decided to speak out about the chaotic and corrupt dealings of the officials running Daryeel camp for the displaced on the outskirts of Mogadishu after being deprived three times of food for her family.
Like many of the 1,000 displaced families living in the camp, the family has seen food stolen from them or disappearing before they got their share on several occasions by the people supposedly managing the aid.
Ambiyo settled in the camp in August 2016. She described the first time she witnessed a food delivery arriving.
“Three lorries parked outside the camps and offloaded the food into a tent,” she said. “We were so happy to see the food, but the next day our hopes were reduced to despair when we heard all the food was being taken somewhere else.”
The camp residents were not able to find out where the food had gone. Ambiyo said the last time food was stolen by those bringing it in to Daryeel was last month.
Most of the displaced people fear blowing the whistle on corrupt aid workers and camp leaders because they are afraid of retribution, as well as losing what little aid they sometimes get for their children in the camps.
The camp leaders, commonly referred to as gatekeepers, control who and what goes in and out of the camps.
Anab Nuur, another mother of four children in Daryeel, told Radio Ergo food aid had been delivered to the camp three times to her knowledge. The first time was 15 October 2016, when camp officials confiscated the food distributed to them saying they were going to cook for everyone. Nobody ever received any cooked food.
The second time was 4 November 2016, when Anab said a group of armed men entered the camp at night and stole the food that had been delivered to them. It is not known how the armed men knew that the food was there in the camp. The third incident came at the beginning of this year, when food was delivered and half of it was taken by the camp officials.
“I have tried to express my concerns to these camp leaders but they threatened me and my children. Since then I have tried to move away to another camp but I have not been able to find space anywhere,” Anab said.
Mohamud Sheikh, a camp leader, told Radio Ergo the allegations were all false. He said he completely denied any fraud claims.
Sheikh Noor Barud, the head of the Drought Response Committee, said there had been several reports of mismanagement of aid resources by aid workers and camp officials but the committee had not received any evidence to support the allegations.
