Camels search their herders in the urban, but national electoral commission consider them an element for attacks
Saxafi Media Network
M. Amin
For decades, SOmalilanders were pastoralists, but nowadays things have changed dramatically.
According to the governments statics about before 1980 about 80% of the people lived in the countryside as pastoralists.
However, after a decade of war and social destruction, the whole live of the population transformed from rural to urban.
Several indicators contributed such kind of transformation.
Pastoralists experienced difficult livelihood in the last two decades, because they do not receive enough rains. Also they lost most of their animals, after they sold in the market to change livelihood food stuff, as well as long drought that caused their animals to die for lack of pasture.
“We can’t live in rural areas, because our animals were lost in the drought, and the remaining we want to sell it, because we do not know how to rear anymore, for the recently climate change we experienced” Said a father of ten children who live in the southern Hargeisa, the capital of the republic of Somaliland. “I am now moving to Hargeisa to search for livelihood” he added
Not only this father but thousands of his co-pastoralists moved to the town, and according to UN OCHA about nearly hundred of Internal displaced persons live in most of the Somaliland urban centers. “These people lost their animals, after long drought, caused by the climate change” Said, Mohamed Diriye, Former Director General of the ministry of Rehabilitation, re-integration and resettlement(MRRR) of Somaliland on last January 2010. “We do not know what the future will be” He added
Eventhough the government, as well as it’s local and international aid organizations are working to assist the IDPs, but another problem has acquired in the screen. Animals also started to move in the city searching livelihood.
“Hundreds of animals enter in the city daily” Said urban dweller in Hargeisa, speaking about the issue. “Even some times when they are crossing in the high ways, all the city transport stops” He added.
The most strange
In last January 2010, two camels came to Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, searching where their herders live. While they were searching they found reached the National Electoral Commission. Without having knowledge, the guards of the national electoral commission thought it is carrying an explosive things, because in Somaliland in October 2008, more than 20s person were killed in attacks carried out suiciders. “We wonder why they are here, because we are afraid that camels can be used such kind of attacks” attributed one of the Somaliland police soldiers guarding the national electoral commission.
However, they forced the camels to run in the high beside it at Imperial hotel.
Have look the camels running from the national electoral commission to Imperial Hotel
I hope that I can use this story in the competition
Mohamed Amin Jibril
Freelance journalist based in Hargeisa, Republic of Somaliland
