(Dadaab, Kenya) At least 80 000 people, including 30 000 children, died in Somalia in recent months. Should we blame the drought, the worst in 60 years for the deadly drought? It would miss the real story of this huge humanitarian crisis, told our reporter Somali refugees and aid workers who work with victims.
Displaced by a conflict that has lasted two decades. Private there are five years of a husband by the war. Refugee from the famine in four months. Victim of robbers on the way to the refugee camp. And mother of a 2 year old child suffering from malnutrition since last month.
Afflicted by such a torrent of misery, Dukrey (fictitious name), 27, is convinced that it is a miracle if it is alive today. « I did not have dry eyes for 20 years, » says the beautiful Somali under fire.
Sitting on the edge of a dilapidated tent, a child covered in dust on the knees, the refugee, arrived in Kenya four months ago, tells his story in a voice almost monotone. Disillusioned.
Its neighbors in the Dadaab refugee camp were gathered around to hear him speak at the Western journalist. They nod of the hat. The history of Dukrey is also theirs. And of the famine that forced them to flee far.
Blame censored
Who is responsible for this catastrophe falls on their head? Dukrey does not know where to start. One thing is certain, it is not ready to blame the rain refuses to fall for two years as the Somalia as Ethiopia and northern Kenya. « So much, so many people seem to want our skin for 20 years in Somalia. I do not know why God did not called back by his side as he took over my husband, « she said, before going silent. Naming the guilty in the refugee camp is risky. All parties to the conflict have eyes and ears among the 400,000 refugees.
If self-censorship many Somali refugees, humanitarian organizations and human rights, trying to help them, they began to point the finger at those responsible for the famine that threatens nearly 3.7 million Somalis. This hunger is first and foremost political, they say.
« The situation of human rights in Somalia is one of the main factors contributing to famine, notes Ben Rawlence, a researcher for Human Rights Watch. If we have that the drought is terrible, but you can fly to the rescue of the people as is done in Kenya and Ethiopia. But when we are faced with a country without government, largely controlled by Al-Shabab, an Islamist group that refuses to work with the most humanitarian organizations, famine settled, « he continues.
On the eve of publishing a report on crimes against humanity behind the current famine in Somalia, Ben Rawlence tells the story of small farmers in southern Somalia, which, usually, feed the entire country through harvest. « The men of Al-Shabab tax the farmers and force them to their ranks. Even before the drought does his own, the farmers had either fled their villages or were forced to fight. No one has planted! »
Private crop as much humanitarian aid, hundreds of thousands of villagers living in the territories controlled by Al-Shabab fled. But thousands of them were held hostage by Islamist rebels. « They need people they can control and tax, » said Ben Rawlence, who himself has interviewed hundreds of refugees. The equation is easy to do: the civilians who find themselves prisoners on death row. « We are talking about crimes against humanity, » argues the rapporteur for Human Rights Watch.
However, he refuses to wear all responsibility for Al-Shabab. All parties to the conflict that has shaken Somalia, including the transitional government supported by the United Nations and the United States, have committed serious violations of human rights, including the use of heavy artillery in urban areas for fight al-Shabab. Ben Rawlence recalls that the UN troops, supposed to protect Somali civilians, launched an offensive in February, while the contours of the humanitarian crisis tended to emerge. « The fighting has complicated the lives of many civilians. Many had to wait to get away, « says he.
The bells are ringing, nobody hears
The war, however, does not explain everything. According to experts from the humanitarian, the UN system has also experienced tremendous failures in recent months.
« It was a disaster waiting to happen. All NGOs, including OXFAM, sounding the alarm since last February, « said Mr. Audet, Director of the Canadian crisis and humanitarian aid.
UN agencies also have early warning systems. All the bells rang, but the response of the international community has not come. It took the UN declared a state of starvation last month that the checks are starting to return. In dribs and drabs. To date, the United Nations has raised only half of the $ 1 milliardde dollars claimed to deal with the crisis affecting 12.4 million people in the Horn of Africa.
Why do countries have donors as long? To this question, Francois Audet, who works in various humanitarian organizations for 15 years, offers a somewhat cynical response. « There is more political gain to do when you give food to the hungry in feeding them before they are hungry. Prevention, politically, it does not pay. »
xalimasn
