SOMALILAND

THE NOMAD’S FINAL JOURNEY

The last 3 years of drought have completely affected the nomadic communities in the Horn of Africa. Not even the oldest within the nomadic communities can remember a drought as severe as this.

In Somaliland, livestock has almost disappeared. Along with malnutrition and disease, this has resulted in nomads finding themselves forced to leave the rural areas and migrate towards the cities. 90% of Nomadic communities in Somaliland now live in Internally Displaced Person Camps around the cities. Some have been there since 2015.

Without their livestock, the nomads feel trapped. They have trouble integrating society, they feel ill equipped for the urban environment. They depend on NGO and other donations to live. Most of them would rather go back but without livestock, it is an impossible dream.

 Many men, women and children suffer from mental health problems. Families have lost hundreds and thousands of livestock. It is an unbearable situation and coping mechanisms are weak.The mental hospital in Burao is now full. Those suffering mentally and unable to receive treatment are often chained up in the IDP camps and in the villages for their own security. There is risk of these people escaping and being violent or sexually abused. There are many cases of sexual assault with particularly women being at high risk of attack.

Only a small number of Nomads have been able to adapt to city life and find jobs. They have lost hope of ever returning to their previous way of living and have sold their goats in order to pay for training to become seamstresses, sellers, guards...

Twenty years ago, Nomads were wealthy people walking freely with goats, sheep, cows and camels. Today nomadism is on the cusp of survival, A direct consequence of climate change.