NATIONAL MEDIA
29 October – Source: Goobjoog – 291 Words
About 200,000 people have been displaced by floods in Somalia with Hiiraan region most affected, the UN humanitarian agency OCHA has said. In its weekly update, OCHA said Monday an estimated 182,000 had so far been displaced countrywide by the floods which started last week affecting the riverine regions in Hiiraan, Middle Juba and Gedo. Other affected areas are Banaadir and South-West state. “An estimated 182,000 people have been displaced thus far due to flooding, according to UNHCR-Protection Return Monitoring Network (PRMN). Farmland, infrastructure and roads have been destroyed, and livelihoods disrupted in some of the worst-hit areas, the October 28 flash update report indicates. Belet Weyne town is the most affected with displacements recorded at 164,000 the report says noting as of Monday, 85% of the town had been inundated by floods. Three people including two children aged 10 years drowned.
A boat carrying a humanitarian relief team capsized Monday and by evening, two bodies of the ten missing were recovered. The remaining eight who were on board have not been accounted for yet. The worst affected areas in Belet Weyne town include Kooshin and Hawo Tako. In South West, heavy rains in Berdale district town of Bay and over flow from the Juba River has caused flash flooding affecting an estimated 30,000 people, including 12,000 children. Over 30 trucks loaded with commercial goods destined for surrounding districts are now stranded in the town following the ongoing rains, the report says. People in IDP camps in Banadir region which covers the capital Mogadishu have also been affected by the floods. According to the report, 3,000 people have been displaced while 170 shelters and 210 latrines in Kahda district were destroyed by heavy rains.
29 October – Source: Goobjoog – 240 Words
A cyclone is heading towards Puntland and Somaliland, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has warned amid an ongoing humanitarian crisis in central Somalia where thousands of people have been displaced by floods. FAO said in an alert Tuesday cyclone KYAAR will be making headways into the coastal areas of Puntland and inland Somaliland before end week disrupting water transport and could destroy weak structures. “The storm is expected to affect the coastal areas of Puntland in the next 96 hours and spread inland towards Somaliland and the central areas within 24 hours,” the UN body said. Noting the strong winds will be accompanied with light to moderate rains, FAO called for precautionary measures as the tropical storm might also bring down weak structures.
The cyclone is going to affect the Puntland shipping line thus disrupting water transport in the area, the alert read in part. The cyclone comes amid an ongoing humanitarian operation in Beletweyne where thousands have been uprooted from their homes by floods as 85% of the town is submerged in water according to UN OCHA. Other areas affected as South West, Gedo, Middle Jubba and Banaadir regions. Cyclone Sagar killed 25 people in Somaliland in May 2018 and affected over 160,000 families when it landed in Puntland and Somaliland. Around 700 farms were also damaged, according to a statement from Somaliland presidency then. Dozens of livestock were also killed as a result of the cyclone.
29 October – Source: Goobjoog – 124 Words
Bodies of four people who were among those missing when the boat they were in capsized in Beletweyne were recovered Tuesday. Goobjoog News correspondent in the town said rescue teams retrieved four bodies in mid morning adding those who were missing were eight and not 10 as we earlier reported. In total, four people are still missing after the ill-fated boat capsized while transporting aid relief teams most of them from Hiiraan regional administration.
Those recovered are as follows:
Sharif Hassan Ganey- a businessman
Guled Ibrahim- Shibis District youth chairman
Deqoq Abdi Ali-Head of Beletweyne sanitation department
Sharmarke Khalif- Secretary at Hiiraan Mayor’s office.
The four missing are:
Abid Abdinan- an official at mayor’s office
Dahabo Hassan – HirShabelle presidential advisor
Maalim Nur Alaale
Boat helmsman
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
29 October – Source: Anadolu Agency – 120 Words
Turkey on Tuesday offered condolences to Somalia after heavy flood capsized a boat in Shabelle River city of Beledweyne, killing 15 people on Monday. “We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life and extensive damage caused by the heavy flooding in the city of Beledweyne in Somalia,” Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “We share the grief of the friendly and brotherly Somali people, wish Allah’s mercy upon those who lost their lives and extend our condolences to their families,” the statement added. Some 72,000 families became homeless due to the flood caused by heavy rains in the Hiran region for 5 days. During the rainy season in Somalia, occasional boat disasters occur in the rivers.
29 October – Source: UNHRC – 438 Words
More than 4,800 Somali refugees have now returned home from Yemen since UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, commenced an Assisted Spontaneous Return (ASR) programme in 2017. In the latest departure, a boat carrying 114 Somali refugees left the Port of Aden on Monday and arrived at the Port of Berbera in Somalia today. With Yemen experiencing prolonged conflict and civilians facing life-threatening conditions, the situation for refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in the country has deteriorated significantly. In addition to the dangers posed by ongoing hostilities many refugees are now encountering increased hardship, lack access to basic services and struggle to cover basic needs and sustain themselves given limited work and economic opportunities. UNHCR and humanitarian partners also face significant challenges in ensuring safety, humanitarian assistance and access to essential life-saving services for refugees and asylum-seekers in the country. Some of the refugees returning home in yesterday’s ASR movement told UNHCR they were optimistic about a new life in Somalia and were hopeful that they will be able to secure their livelihoods by starting businesses. One father told UNHCR field staff that he aims to open a small business once home and provide a better life for his four children, including his one-year-old daughter who was the youngest passenger on the boat.
As a long-standing refugee host nation and the only country in the Arabian Peninsula which is a signatory to the Refugee Convention and its Additional Protocol, Yemen hosts the world’s second-largest Somali refugee population, some 250,000 people. Refugee movements from Somalia to Yemen have been taking place since the 1980s They continued following the outbreak of civil war in Somalia, with many fleeing generalized violence and individualized fear of persecution in addition to the consequences of drought and a lack of livelihood opportunities. “An increasing number of Somali refugees have been approaching us for help to return home. After years of life in exile, the decision to return is a difficult one to make but given prevailing conflict insecurity and deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Yemen many tell us they are ready to go back and are hopeful about the future,” said Gwendoline Mensah, UNHCR’s Assistant Representative in Yemen. Thirty-seven organized departures have now taken place from Yemen to Somalia since the ASR programme commenced two years ago. The program is facilitated by UNHCR in cooperation with humanitarian partners and authorities in Yemen and Somalia. Those returning home are assisted by UNHCR and partners, including the International Organization for Migration (IOM). They are helped with documentation, transportation and financial support in Yemen to facilitate the journey, as well as return and reintegration assistance in Somalia.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“We need to shift from … livestock to fisheries,” says Mubarik Ibrahim, Somaliland’s Director-General of planning and national development. “We have more than 500 miles of coastline and small fishing communities that we can develop. We want to send fish to the rest of the world.”
27 October – Source: Ozy – 672 Words
Danish shipowner Per Gullestrup had been through the trauma of negotiating the release of his vessel and crew — hijacked by Somali pirates — when he decided to tackle the problem at its source by developing alternative opportunities for local communities. He established Fair Fishing, a nonprofit organization aimed at creating jobs, driving economic growth and improving nutrition and food security, all through fishing. War-torn Somalia wasn’t an option, so he started operations in Somaliland in 2011, with support from its stable government. Unlike Somalia, Somaliland has no history of fishing outside the small coastal city of Berbera. But seven years after Gullestrup’s decision, Fair Fishing isn’t alone. The self-declared state that isn’t recognized as an independent entity internationally is emerging as the unlikely home of a fishing industry that’s generating jobs, drawing back Somalilanders who had left for other countries, empowering women and changing diets. Mustafa Abdullahi grew up in Somaliland and recently sold a successful taxi business in England. He returned to start a fish distribution and retail business, called Horn Foods, six months ago. He employs more than 40 people and already has 11 shops. Haqabtire, a fish wholesale business, began exporting to Ethiopia last year and plans to export to Djibouti. Fair Fishing has created 3,000 jobs across the fishing value chain. And in Burao, a couple of hours from the coast, women now sell and fry fish in the market, while some are also leading businesses. In an impact report this year, Nordic Consulting Group, an independent group of consulting organizations, found the income for those in the fishing industry grew more than 300 percent from 2013 to 2018.
Meanwhile, climate change is making the shift to fishing even more urgent. Livestock contributes more than 30 percent to Somaliland’s GDP. But, more frequent droughts, including one in 2017 that killed more than half of Somaliland’s goats, sheep and camels, are devastating the economy and threatening the survival of pastoral families. “We need to shift from … livestock to fisheries,” says Mubarik Ibrahim, Somaliland’s Director-General of planning and national development. “We have more than 500 miles of coastline and small fishing communities that we can develop. We want to send fish to the rest of the world.” Despite that long coastline, Somalilanders have traditionally eaten meat, not fish. Convincing them to change their diet wasn’t easy, says Fair Fishing’s program manager, Yusuf Gulled. “There was a perception that fish was only for poor people, partly because of its smell. No one knew how to keep it fresh or prepare it.” Yet opportunities for the fishing industry are immense. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimates fish stocks in Somaliland are between 180,000 and 200,000 tons and that 20 percent could be harvested sustainably. Currently, only 10 percent is fished. That’s the potential these nonprofits and businesses want to tap. Fair Fishing teaches technical skills to fish and swim, repair nets and boats, clean and fillet, store and sell and cook fish, while also educating the community about the nutritional benefits of fish. Supplies are sold at cost, and a handful of boats have been donated. |
