(ERGO) – Hawo Mohamed Abukar and her six children are forced to huddle together under a sheet of plastic nailed to someone’s stone house since heavy rain pounding the Somali capital Mogadishu washed away her makeshift hut.
Nearly 100 families in Sigale and Alfurqan IDP camps in Mogadishu’s Hodan district have been sleeping out in the open since the start of November because of destruction of their woefully inadequate shelters.
“I can’t leave the children like this, this is no place for them, and I can’t go to town to earn any money for them as I fear they may drown in these waters,” Hawo said, explaining her dilemma.
She works as a cleaner in town, earning three to five dollars to support her family. The family came to the camps five years ago after being displaced from their home in Middle Shabelle region by river flooding. Inclement weather has once again washed away their meagre possessions.
“Someone gave us a sack of grain but I don’t have a pot to cook anything. All our pots and pans were washed away. The man next to this house where we have put up our plastic cover gives us dry bread, but it’s not enough and the kids go to bed on empty stomachs,” she told Radio Ergo.
Fadumo Abdiqadir Ma’ow, a single mother living in Sigale IDP camp, has also been stranded with her six children. She rigged up a plastic cover after their hut was flooded in the downpours.
Despite the cold and wet, sleeping in such an exposed setting, her worst fear is for their safety.
“I stay awake all night, I fear being raped by the men who move around the area at night,” she said.
Fadumo’s hair braiding business that earned her one or two dollars has closed as she has nowhere to operate.
The Sigale and Alfurqan IDP camps are located near the low-lying Sigale drainage pond, where all the water from the city accumulates, making them more susceptible to flooding during the rain.
The camp leader, Abdi Hussein Hashi, said at least 30 houses had completely collapsed and the rest were all flooded.
“The rains are continuing to pour down in the city, so we expect the problem to persist,” he warned.
