A desperate choice: War or starvation
BURAO, Somalia — With its disastrous economy, a population shattered by decades of conflict and now a looming famine, Somalia might not seem the most obvious destination for an immigrant.
Yet tens of thousands of refugees have moved to the country and the self-declared republic of Somaliland in the past two years, even as drought has destroyed crops and killed livestock.
In an echo of Europe’s migrant crisis, they have sailed in an unofficial flotilla of boats across the Gulf of Aden — fleeing war in Yemen, only to find hunger in their new home.
“There is a saying in Somalia: ‘Choose between one of two hard things’ ” said Hassan Cabdoo, one of the new arrivals, who has settled with his family in the Somaliland town of Burao. “In Yemen, there is war. Here in Somalia, there is no good employment but at least there is peace.”
Families in Yemen face an unpalatable dilemma: stay put and risk their lives in battles between rebels and a Saudi-led military coalition or gamble on the treacherous crossing to build a new life in a failed state.
Somalia is now at high risk of famine, with aid agencies warning that hundreds of thousands of people face potential starvation.
About 33,000 refugees have fled Yemen for Somalia since 2015, according to the UN’s refugee agency, the UNHCR. Julien Navier, an agency spokesman, predicted this “regular influx” will continue.
“Due to the political situation in Yemen, more and more are coming,” he said. “They face big challenges when they arrive.”
It is crucial that potential refugees are made aware of the deteriorating conditions in Somalia before they decide to migrate, he said. “We need to be sure proper information is delivered. We can’t allow people to come to Somalia with no knowledge about the situation, which includes dramatic issues with the drought.”
Cabdoo was born in the Somali capital of Mogadishu but has Yemeni parents. He had been living in Yemen with his wife and children for a decade when the fighting broke out. “I saw bodies in the street,” he said. Fearing for their lives, the family crowded with at least 300 others into an overloaded boat for the two-day crossing. The sea was rough, there was not enough food to go around and it was very cold at night. “We were all afraid the boat would sink,” Cabdoo said. “It was not safe.”
There is no fighting in Burao, where the family now lives, but times are hard. The population is mostly nomads who have lost eight in 10 of their livestock to the drought. The hospital is full of malnourished children.
Cabdoo, who is a tailor, earned about US$15 a day before the drought. Now, he is lucky to earn $5. “Sometimes it is enough, sometimes it is not enough,” he said. “Sometimes we are hungry. Life is very tough here.”
Even in this town, the Cabdoos are not the only new arrivals. Abdikarim Saleh also fled from Yemen, with his wife and their seven children.
In Yemen, he was relatively welloff: a long-distance truck driver who owned his own house. Here in Burao, he works 15-hour days selling homemade food in the market, making about $7.
They abandoned their house in Yemen when the fighting came to their door. As the war wears on, there is no prospect of selling it. Saleh now rents and cannot afford to send any of his children to school. “I worry all the time that they’re not in school,” he said. “They are losing their future.”
Still, in the grim trade-off between possible death and guaranteed deprivation, Saleh thinks he made the “right decision.” As long as other Yemeni parents feel the same, more boats are likely to sail for this most unlikely of havens.