Post date: Feb 22, 2012 1:59:32 PM
MOGADISHU, SOMALIA (REUTERS) - On the outskirts of Somalia's capital Mogadishu, a daily caravan of trucks loaded with people and belongings flows into the city. The people here are following in the footsteps of hundreds of thousands who have fled before them.
Numbers displaced by conflict in Somalia continue to grow as the world's largest refugee camp in Kenya near the Somali border marks 20 years since it opened to deal with the influx of people from the start of the country's two decade long civil war.
They arrive with tales of hardship, hunger and brutality from areas in the country ravaged by drought and torn apart by conflict.
"We are fleeing from Elasha Biyaha (on the outskirts of Mogadishu) and all people are moving from Hawa Abdi and Lafole villages because the fighting broke out on the outskirts of the city," said Ali Mohamed, a displaced man speaking on the side of a dusty road as buses and trucks thundered past.
The mass movement of people across Somalia and over the border to Ethiopia and Kenya has long been a symbol of Somalia's 20 year civil conflict. The fact numbers have shown no sign of stopping, is one of the clearest indicators there is that the war and effects of famine and drought are far from over.
Nowhere is the situation more pronounced than in Dadaab refugee camp in northern Kenya. Home to almost 500,000 refugees it was set up to deal with the influx of people from Somalia at the start of the conflict.
This year Dadaab marks 20 years since it was established.
Somalis make up the bulk of inhabitants and new arrivals and according to a report released by Medecines Sans Frontier (MSF), levels of malnutrition among those fleeing Somalia are still critical.
In the feeding centre parents bring their children to be weighed and checked by the doctor before collecting food supplements.
Outside the hospital refugees rely on handouts by camp authorities and those who can't afford to buy more to supplement their rations go hungry.
"In here, the few kilos of food we are given is not enough to live on. It's not enough, not even for a day's breakfast or dinner," said one mother, whose child is recovering from acute malnutrition.
On the maternity ward doctors and nurses are also struggling. Women and their new born babies lie in the stifling afternoon heat, the shortage of beds mean some are forced to rest on the floor or are sent back to the camp early.
According to Josiah Oyieke, an MSF obstetrician, staff deliver up to 16 babies a day.
"This is the 10th day of the month and we have had already close to 80 deliveries so on average we deliver about eight mothers a day, yesterday we reached about 16 but in terms of complications of the eight in a day I would say one or two babies are going to have problems in breathing because of the difficulties," he said.
But its not just cramped conditions and basic medical facilities the women here have to cope with.
"There is a special case, a mother who is a 25 year old female who had two previous deliveries. She almost had a delivery now, she is almost at time for the baby to be delivered. Yesterday at 9pm she was bitten by a scorpion and the scorpion bit her on her right ankle. The day after she was in excruciating pain expectedly and she was brought to the hospital about five hours later," Oyieke said.
The recent kidnapping of international and Kenyan aid workers in Dadaab has further put a strain on the camp operations, forcing organisations including MSF and the United Nation's refugee agency UNHCR to withdraw some of their services until security improves.
Both organisations are appealing for more resources and money to deal with Dadaab's ever increasing size.
Meanwhile the Kenyan government and leaders from Britiain, America and Europe have said the only way to reduce numbers in the camp is to tackle the problem at its source in Somalia.