Faduma Sakow Abdullahiand her five children tried to escape starvation in Somalia by journeying to a Kenyan refugee camp. Only one day before they reached their destination, her 4-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son died of exhaustion and hunger. At first the 29-year-old widow thought the two were merely sleeping when they wouldn’t get up after a brief rest. She had to leave their bodies under a tree, unburied, so she could push on with her baby, 2-year-old and 3-year-old. She saw more than 20 other children dead or unconscious abandoned on the roadside. Eventually a passing car rescued the rest of her family from what could have been death.
“I never thought I would live to see this horror,” she said, tears rolling down her cheeks as she described the 37-day trek to Dadaab, the world’s largest refugee camp.
Tens of thousands of Somalis have watched their land dry up after years without rain. Then the livestock died. Finally all the food ran out. Now they are making the perilous journey over parched earth to refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia, regions that also have been hit hard by drought.
Recently-arrived Somali refugees wait to fill jerry cans with water at a newly-installed tank in Iffou 2, an area earmarked for refugee camp expansion, but yet to be approved by the Kenyan government, outside Dadaab, Kenya, Monday, July 11, 2011. U.N. refugee chief Antonio Guterres said Sunday that drought-ridden Somalia is the "worst humanitarian disaster" in the world, after meeting with refugees who endured unspeakable hardship to reach the world's largest refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Members of the family of Rage Mohamed are overtaken by wind-blown dust as they build a makeshift shelter around a thorny acacia tree, on the outskirts of Dagahaley Camp, outside Dadaab, Kenya, Sunday, July 10, 2011. It took the 15-person family five days to make the journey from their drought-stricken home in Somalia. They spent two nights sleeping in the open air under the tree prior to receiving tarps on Sunday. U.N. refugee chief Antonio Guterres said Sunday that drought-ridden Somalia is the "worst humanitarian disaster" in the world after meeting with refugees who endured unspeakable hardship to reach the world's largest refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
A young Somali girl who fled violence and drought in Somalia stands in line among adults outside a food distribution point in Dadaab refugee camp in northeastern Kenya on July 5, 2011. Dadaab, a complex of three settlements, is the world's largest refugee camp. Built to house 90,000 people and home to more than four times that number, it was already well over its maximum capacity before an influx of 30,000 refugees in the month of June. Upon arrival, the refugees find themselves tackling a chaotic system that sees new arrivals go days, even weeks, without food aid. "It still takes too much time for refugees to get proper assistance," Antoine Froidevaux, MSF's field coordinator in Dadaab told AFP. "The answer in terms of humanitarian aid is not satisfactory at all at the moment." ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images
A Somali woman waiting amongst scores of other refugees, all hoping to receive their ration cards despite a processing backlog, pleads with an organizer in Dagahaley Camp, outside Dadaab, Kenya, Monday, July 11, 2011. U.N. refugee chief Antonio Guterres said Sunday that drought-ridden Somalia is the "worst humanitarian disaster" in the world, after meeting with refugees who endured unspeakable hardship to reach the world's largest refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
A Somali man who fled violence and drought in Somalia with his family sits on the ground outside a food distribution point in the Dadaab refugee camp. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images
One-year-old, Habibo Bashir, rests on a bed at a Doctors Without Borders hospital where he is being treated for severe malnutrition, in Dagahaley Camp, outside Dadaab, Kenya, Monday, July 11, 2011. U.N. refugee chief Antonio Guterres said Sunday that drought-ridden Somalia is the "worst humanitarian disaster" in the world, after meeting with refugees who endured unspeakable hardship to reach the world's largest refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
A refugee holds her child in her arms as she and others like her mass outside a food distribution point in Dadaab in the hope of getting access to much needed aid at the worlds biggest refugee camp in the world on July 4, 2011. With a population of 370,000, Dadaab is the world's largest refugee camp even though it was built for just 90,000. With serious drought in the Horn of Africa, thousands of Somalis have arrived in recent weeks in search of food and water. AFP PHOTO/Roberto SCHMIDT
A Somali refugee drags a sack with food aid given to her at a food distribution point at the Dadaab refugee camp. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images
Refugees newly arrived from Somalia line up to receive food rations at a receiving center in Dagahaley Camp, outside Dadaab, Kenya. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates 1300 new refugees fleeing drought and hunger in Somalia are arriving daily in the Dadaab area. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Somali refugees wait in line to recieve aid at a food distribution point at Dadaab refugee camp. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images)
A Somali man accesses a water point at the Dadaab refugee camp on July 4, 2011. With a population of 370,000, Dadaab is the world's largest refugee camp even though it was built for just 90,000. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images
A Somali girl being treated for severe malnutrition pushes away a cup as a woman tries to feed her at a hospital operated by the International Rescue Commission. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
A Somali refugee waits to receive a food ration for her and her family at a food distribution point. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images
Somali refugees sit in the yard of their makeshift shelter, fenced in with thorny branches, in Iffou 2, an area earmarked for refugee camp expansion, but yet to be approved by the Kenyan government, outside Dadaab, Kenya, Monday, July 11, 2011. U.N. refugee chief Antonio Guterres said Sunday that drought-ridden Somalia is the "worst humanitarian disaster" in the world, after meeting with refugees who endured unspeakable hardship to reach the world's largest refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
A Somali woman walks past the frame for a sparsely-covered makeshift shelter in Iffou 2, an area earmarked for refugee camp expansion. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
A carcass of an animal lies on an empty road, near Lagbogal, 56 kilometers from Wajir town, Wednesday, July 6, 2011. The worst drought in the Horn of Africa has sparked a severe food crisis and high malnutrition rates, with parts of Kenya and Somalia experiencing pre-famine conditions, the United Nations has said. More than 10 million people are now affected in drought-stricken areas of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda and the situation is deteriorating, (AP Photo/ Sayyid Azim)
Sixty-year-old Suban Osman sits with two of her malnourished grand children at a clinic run by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) at the Dadaab refugee camp on July 4, 2011. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images
Two-year-old, Aden Salaad, looks up toward his mother, unseen, as she bathes him in a tub at a Doctors Without Borders hospital, where Aden is receiving treatment for malnutrition, in Dagahaley Camp, outside Dadaab, Kenya. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
A Somali boy uses a wheelbarrow to carry two jerry cans filled with water to a tent that he and his family call home at the worlds biggest refugee camp. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images
Two-year-old Shiniyo looks while bundled in her mothers arms while they stay at a clinic run by Doctors Without Borders. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images
A Kenyan doctor looks at the IV drip on a child suffering from severe malnutrition at a clinic run by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) at the Dadaab refugee camp on July 4, 2011. With a population of 370,000, Dadaab is the world's largest refugee camp even though it was built for just 90,000. According to Doctors Without Borders, the number of people seeking refugee keeps swelling and Dadaab will house 450,000 refugees by the end of the year, or twice the population of Geneva. With serious drought in the Horn of Africa, thousands of Somalis have arrived in recent weeks in search of food and water. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images
Children walk down a dusty street in Dadaab refugee camp on July 4, 2011. Fatimah who fled violence in Somalia with her family one year ago says that she does not venture outside the camp to look for firewood because it is too dangerous. With a population of 370,000, Dadaab is the world's largest refugee camp even though it was built for just 90,000. With serious drought in the Horn of Africa, thousands of Somalis have arrived in recent weeks in search of food and water. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images
Fonte
Corno d’Africa, Unicef: “Due milioni di bambini malnutriti”
Dì continuo si sente parlare di crisi, di mancanza di lavoro, di difficoltà nel coprire le spese del mese, ma basta pensare che in alcune parti del mondo la situazione sia nettamente peggiore per accorgerci di quanto siamo fortunati. Secondo gli ultimi dati Unicef, nel Corno d’Africa sono oltre 2 milioni i bambini malnutriti e a rischio di sopravvivenza. Ad aggravare la situazione di queste popolazioni, che vivono nell’estrema povertà, è la forte siccità che sta colpendo il paese, una delle peggiori dell’ultimo secolo.La mancanza di piogge compromette i raccolti, gli animali muoiono e molti bambini lasciano le scuole per aiutare la famiglia a trovare del cibo. Molto spesso non si riesce a coprire nemmeno un pasto al giorno. Le zone più colpite dall’aridità sono Kenya, Somalia, Etiopia e Gibuti, e le persone in pericolo di vita sono oltre 10 milioni, tra i quali 2 milioni di bambini al di sotto dei 5 anni di cui 500mila in pericolo di morte o di avere gravi forme di malformazioni fisiche e mentali.Nonostante la situazione critica secondo le stime Unicef ogni settimana arrivano 10 mila profughi tra la Somalia e il Kenya dove la malnutrizione raggiunge anche il 40%, nella speranza di trovare una situazione migliore. Il Fondo delle Nazioni Unite fa sapere alle comunità internazionali che servono 31,9 milioni di dollari per arginare la situazione e nutrire le donne e le piccole vite in pericolo, almeno per i prossimi tre mesi.
“E’ davvero umiliante trovarsi qui, la gente ha attraversato tante difficoltà per arrivare e si trova in pessime condizioni”, ha commentato il direttore Unicef per l’Africa orientale e meridionale, Elhadj As Sy, durante una visita a Dadaab, al confine tra Kenya e Somalia.
E’ stato lanciato più volte lo stato d’allerta da parte della FAO e sono stati creati diversi programmi per affrontare le emergenze, sono stati creati dei corsi per insegnare a contadini e pastori ad adattarsi e affrontare il costante ed estremo cambiamento climatico sempre più frequente, soprattutto nella previsione che la siccità durerà sino al prossimo novembre.
Fonte
http://www3.lastampa.it/esteri/sezioni/articolo/lstp/411418/
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