Somalia: Life in transit

03 September 2008

Once they reach the border, they are taken to Liboi transit camp. A group of people arrived here 10 days ago from Liboi, dazed, confused, and dealing with shattered expectations. They had stayed in the transit camp for 15 days. There the children are vaccinated and everyone receives some bland food. There is water and shelter, but not much of either, or much of anything else. I think this is the point at which people start to realize that their lives are not going to get any easier. Some reported that they heard in Mogadishu that there were houses for everyone here, with water, healthcare and food. I suggested that they find the people that told them that, and I got a chuckle out of some people. It was funny, but the kind of black humour based on an unpleasant reality.

After 15 days at Liboi, the group was transferred to Ifo camp, a few kilometres from Hagadere. Plots of land were staked out, 12m by 15m, for each family. There are about 120 plots to a block, up to 12 blocks per section, and many sections that make up a camp of tens of thousands of people. (You can see Ifo camp using Google Earth. It is located at approximately 0.064 N 40.18 E. Zoom in and see the crowded plots; then zoom out and measure the total size of the camp. But note that these photos were taken before the large population increases of the last few years)

Read more accounts from Steve's journey to the camps, based on conversations with camp residents...

Intro
Fleeing atrocity
A constant struggle – Life in the camp
Dying a little every night

MSF worked in the Dadaab camps on a permanent basis from 1991 until 2004 when we handed over to other medical NGO's. Since then we have assisted the population during recent flooding and cholera emergencies. This report was taken during a recent exploratory mission with the mandate to assess the needs of the newly arrived refugees.