(ERGO) – Residents of the frontier town of Dollow in southern Somalia’s Gedo region are complaining of loss of income and shortage of food supplies, after the border with Ethiopia was closed to curb the spread of Coronavirus.
Aweys Ahmed Adana, a father of five, told Radio Ergo that he used to earn his daily wages by transporting goods in both directions across the border using a wheelbarrow. His income is in jeopardy since the border was closed in March.
“When the border was open, I used to make about $5 a day transporting goods and supplies that people sell from one side to the other. But now I’d be lucky if I make $1 a day,” he complained.
He explained that the money he used to make was sufficient to cover the needs of his family, including rent for their one-bedroom house. There is now less and less work for him as a porter and the family’s future looks bleak.
Gedo residents who normally commute across the border for work or business are also feeling the pain of the suspension of cross-border interactions.
Mohamed Wardhere used to work at an electronics store in Dolo Addo on the Ethiopian side, which he can no longer access. He told Radio Ergo of his sad predicament.
“Because of this Coronavirus thing, I’m sequestered here with my family, doing nothing. I used to go to the other side every day for my work to earn my living. I can’t ask my friends to give me money because I know they’re in similar circumstances,” he said.
Mohamed has been forced to take food for his family on credit from a local store. As his debt piles up, he said he sometimes thinks of illegally crossing the border by one of the make-shift river dinghies. What stops him from taking the risk is the fact that his wife, who recently gave birth, needs him to stay around.
Traders in Dollow’s vegetable markets told Radio Ergo that they too are feeling the effects of the border closure, as much of the produce they normally sell comes from the other side.
Abdiqadir Yonis, a local market trader, told Radio Ergo that the prices of fruit and vegetables have risen sharply due to the reduced supply in the market.
“The closure of the border bridge over the past two weeks had a major effect on us because bananas, potatoes and other greens are now in short supply,” he said.
He added that some supplies are coming into the town through informal routes like river dinghies but that is not enough to meet local demand or stabilize the prices.
On the Ethiopian side, Somali refugees in camps in Dolo Ado camps, who used to occasionally venture into Dollow for various purposes, are also negatively affected by the border closure.
