Puntland Drought
Friday, 8. May 2009, 11:53:34
In my post on Somalia is Burning - and We Have no Water I mentioned that the harbour Eyl in Puntland is seen as the Somali pirate capital. I also mentioned the harsh desert and the continuous drought as one among other possible reasons (including civil war) for todays piracy. The humaitarian situation is not getting any better.
Puntland was declared an autonomous state in 1998. A third of the Somali people live in Puntland.
Puntland is on the brink of a humanitarian crisis following poor rains that have created severe water and food shortages. Puntland has experienced a third consecutive seasonal rainfall failure. Most of the population relies on livestock, but poor rainfall has left them struggling to make ends meet. In some places 30 to 40 percent of the livestock has died, and what little livestock is left is so weak it cannot even be sold, and much less used for milk and meat.
Seen the humanitarian situation it does not come as a surprise that many people try to flee from the country. According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) the number of those who crossed to Yemen in 2008 was 50,000, of whom more than 1,000 people died during the journey. Apart from piracy there is therefore also money to earn from smuggling fugitives out of the country. Smugglers are reportedly charging each migrant US$100 for the trip to Yemen, but sometimes the smugglers do not even take them anywhere near Yemen. They take them on their boat, wander around the Somali coast for a night and dump them near a Somali town telling them it is Yemen.
• http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=84248
• http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/49f969be1b.html
Puntland was declared an autonomous state in 1998. A third of the Somali people live in Puntland.
Puntland is on the brink of a humanitarian crisis following poor rains that have created severe water and food shortages. Puntland has experienced a third consecutive seasonal rainfall failure. Most of the population relies on livestock, but poor rainfall has left them struggling to make ends meet. In some places 30 to 40 percent of the livestock has died, and what little livestock is left is so weak it cannot even be sold, and much less used for milk and meat.
Seen the humanitarian situation it does not come as a surprise that many people try to flee from the country. According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) the number of those who crossed to Yemen in 2008 was 50,000, of whom more than 1,000 people died during the journey. Apart from piracy there is therefore also money to earn from smuggling fugitives out of the country. Smugglers are reportedly charging each migrant US$100 for the trip to Yemen, but sometimes the smugglers do not even take them anywhere near Yemen. They take them on their boat, wander around the Somali coast for a night and dump them near a Somali town telling them it is Yemen.
• http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=84248
• http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/49f969be1b.html
WIDGETIZE