Somali Refugee Camps "Barely Fit For Humans"
posted by: Natasha G. 109 days ago
Oxfam International is bringing attention to the alarming state of Somali refugee camps in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia, calling them "barely fit for humans."
Plagued by violence and drought, thousands of Somalis flee their homes every month, but refugee camps are astoundingly inadequate. The largest camp in northeast Kenya was designed to hold 90,000 people, but now has almost 300,000, wth 8,000 new refugees arriving every month. In addition, many camps are unsanitary and lack access to basic services such as clean water.
Approximately 1.4 million Somalis are displaced, with over 500,000 refugees in neighboring countries in East Africa. Another startling fact is that nearly half of Somalia's population is in need of aid -- a 77 percent increase since the beginning of 2008. This is partly due to the nation's astronomical inflation, affecting the price of food and other necessities. According to Oxfam, some items' prices have risen by as much as 1600 percent.
In June, Oxfam announced it was increasing aid for Somalia. In one camp near the capital of Mogadishu, workers handed out mosquito nets to recent arrivals, and expanded its water and sanitation system to fully serve the 200,000 camp residents. In addition, Oxfam has started a new community initiative to treat malnourished children. These acts are truly remarkable considering that Somalia is one of the most dangerous countries for aid organizations -- since early 2008, 40 percent of aid workers have been killed.
Oxfam has made continuous requests to the Kenyan government for more land for camps, as well as the U.N.'s refugee agency to take more action to get Somalis much needed assistance. However, spokesperson Robbert Van den Berg recognizes that, "Ultimately, the root cause of the problems in all of these camps is the ongoing conflict, lawlessness and humanitarian disaster inside Somalia. Our governments must put Somalia top of their list and do more than simply keeping the country on life-support. What we need is a different approach and sustained senior level commitment to end this outrageous human suffering that has been going on for over 15 years."
Plagued by violence and drought, thousands of Somalis flee their homes every month, but refugee camps are astoundingly inadequate. The largest camp in northeast Kenya was designed to hold 90,000 people, but now has almost 300,000, wth 8,000 new refugees arriving every month. In addition, many camps are unsanitary and lack access to basic services such as clean water.
Approximately 1.4 million Somalis are displaced, with over 500,000 refugees in neighboring countries in East Africa. Another startling fact is that nearly half of Somalia's population is in need of aid -- a 77 percent increase since the beginning of 2008. This is partly due to the nation's astronomical inflation, affecting the price of food and other necessities. According to Oxfam, some items' prices have risen by as much as 1600 percent.
In June, Oxfam announced it was increasing aid for Somalia. In one camp near the capital of Mogadishu, workers handed out mosquito nets to recent arrivals, and expanded its water and sanitation system to fully serve the 200,000 camp residents. In addition, Oxfam has started a new community initiative to treat malnourished children. These acts are truly remarkable considering that Somalia is one of the most dangerous countries for aid organizations -- since early 2008, 40 percent of aid workers have been killed.
Oxfam has made continuous requests to the Kenyan government for more land for camps, as well as the U.N.'s refugee agency to take more action to get Somalis much needed assistance. However, spokesperson Robbert Van den Berg recognizes that, "Ultimately, the root cause of the problems in all of these camps is the ongoing conflict, lawlessness and humanitarian disaster inside Somalia. Our governments must put Somalia top of their list and do more than simply keeping the country on life-support. What we need is a different approach and sustained senior level commitment to end this outrageous human suffering that has been going on for over 15 years."
Read more: ethiopia, kenya, refugees, human rights, Somalia
comments
The situation is totally out of control in Somalia, the government is trying to keep control of its capital while a lot of provinces are governed by militias. It's the second year in a row that Somalia is voted the most fail country in the world, it's a dangerous situation for somalians and for the rest of the world. Somalians need help! But is it easy to give help to honnest citizens of a country governed by crooked militias?
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All of this is a vicious cycle. No respect for human rights. Writing to the United Nations and demanding justice for these and other individuals who are being oppressed is a good step, sendingour money is good, but action is even better. We cannot be satisfied with this going on.
They need to hear from us all of the time. We need to hold our leadership accountable. Send letters to President Obama, Hillary Clinton, whoever can make a differeence. It won't get done with us just writing post in Care2causes.
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VIVA Oxfam Novib/-They are and has been generous to offer humanitarian assistance to the needy people in Somalia for over 10 years
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Could someone please translate Lamiri M.s comment into English. I would like to be able to read it. I am guessing it is saying something about spending all their money on the military instead of the victims. This is not a slam. I enjoy hearing what people from other countries have to say.
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To Constantine: Saudi Arabia is a selfish, rich country that cares more about its oil, sending terrorists around the world, beating women for not wearing a thick enough veil and refusing to give them human rights, and amassing more money. Osama bin Laden is Saudi. They do not have a good record of community service in their own nation, so of course they are not interested in helping people from other places. Americans and Europeans have a strong Judeo-Christian history of charity and service.
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Tommy H, you are very right. The rich and powerful people in this world look on the less fortunate with disdane. They consider the middle and lower classes as a kind of sub species, that don't really matter, unless of course, these poor people can be used to gain even more money and power, or used to fight their wars-for-profit, such as the Irqui situation, which is all about oil. It is only people like us, the working people, who are now struggling in this rotten economy (caused by the greedy rich), that care about these refugees. It matters little to me that they are Muslims. I don't dictate to others what religion to follow. What matters is that they are human beings, and deserve the same basic comforts that others have...a decent home, food, medical care, education, clean water. We must all stand up and make our feelings about this known. If we don't speak for these people no one will.
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These are the kind of things that happen to innocent people that make very ill but there is not very much we can do about this like they can't do anything about what happens to us United States because they don't live here.
The governments all of the world should get together and stop this abuse but as one big unit not just one country or another but all countries and that will stop TODAY.
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I am not sure how people do not see that people with oney and in power care verey little ab out low income people no matter what the race is. Inside our own country we have so many homeless and starving children that our own Goverment wil;l n ot take of why is that? Does anybody really think we can solve any one elses problems when we can't solve ours. Poor kids start gangs because they have nothing not because they have everything. The US medical plains suck. They are only going to get worse . Can we even stop that??????? T Hawk
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European & other affluent nations profit from arms deals & unfair trade with Africa, many of whose countries are recovering from colonial exploitation. What matter if 'they' are Muslims or Pastafarians or Bokononists? There is one race, human, & they are suffering dreadfully.
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I'm not understand - Why somali refugees attacking Europe?
They are muslims and would be much better asking refuge fron Saudi Arabia and Emirates!!! Same climat,same religion and same culture!!!ASK FOR REFUGE FROM SAUDI ARABIA - they have much money them Europe!GIVE US PEACE!
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