Harvests rot in the fields as Lower Shabelle farmers flee airstrikes and ground fighting

(ERGO) – More than 1,700 families have fled their homes and farms in southern Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region since early September to escape repeated airstrikes and ground fighting that are still ongoing. Many fled with nothing, leaving behind crops ready for harvest and other assets.

The displaced families, from villages including Sigale, Malable, Ow-gunji and Bula-alondi, face food and water shortages and a lack of shelter on the outskirts of the agricultural town Janale.

Aweys Abdi Isaaq, one of the displaced farmers, said his family of 12 had been living in difficult conditions since arriving on 2 September. They depend on occasional food given by local farmers that isn’t enough to feed them.

“We have neither food nor money to buy it. We survive on whatever people can give us, including maize, vegetables and bananas,” he said. “Sometimes we eat only at night, and during the day we have nothing. We don’t even have utensils for cooking.”

Aweys said all his children were struggling with hunger, including his youngest, aged four. He has been unable to find casual work on nearby farms to support his family.

The family drinks untreated river water because they can’t afford clean water, which costs $2 per drum. They collect water in containers borrowed from neighbours, carrying it from the river about two kilometres away. Aweys said three of his children had suffered from fever since arriving, with no access to medical care.

“Water is a major problem. We can’t afford piped water or water delivered by donkey carts. The children are sick, and we can’t buy medicine. Hunger has also left them malnourished,” he said.

The family lives in a cramped shelter made from branches and old clothes. The women and children sleep inside, while the men sleep outside. When it rains, they seek refuge in a mosque.

Aweys said the family had enjoyed a better life in Malable, where they farmed three hectares of land. They fled before harvesting their maize crop due to fighting around them.

He had invested $450 in his farm and borrowed money to meet household needs, expecting to repay the debts from the harvest. He is now unable to return to the farm, while creditors continue to expect their money back.

“I cannot sleep at night because I worry whenever the phone rings, fearing it is someone demanding repayment. We left the maize standing in the fields, and some crops have reportedly been eaten by cattle at night. We have nothing now, and our lives have deteriorated,” he said.

Five of his children have dropped out of their Koranic and private primary schools. He couldn’t afford the $10 fee charged for each child.

Amina Hassan Ali, who fled Malable on 8 September, is living with her three children and elderly parents in the home of a family she did not previously know. Her husband, the family’s sole breadwinner, was killed in shelling in Malable in August while guarding their farm.

Amina said the family had been taken in after being found sitting in an isolated area on the day they arrived. They share one room and depend on their hosts for food and water.

“In the morning we are lucky if we get a cup of coffee,” she said. “The children cry when there is no food. Their father used to work and bring home what we needed. Now our situation is very difficult.”

Amina is pregnant and unable to undertake manual labour. With her mother aged 78, her father 90, and her oldest child just seven, there is no one in the household able to earn an income.

They left behind 13 sacks of maize harvested from a one-hectare farm they had rented for $20 for the growing season. They had agreed to pay the landowner with part of the harvest, but fighting forced them to flee before they could do so.

“We spent a night in the bush and left the following morning, but we struggled to find a safe route,” she said. “My children and elderly parents could barely keep up. We live in constant fear because the fighting continues. I don’t know the town well, and there is no work. We can only rely on God.”

Amina has a $50 debt for food and water her husband obtained before his death. The family had expected to repay it from their maize harvest. The creditor continues to ask for the money and she has no means of paying.

She said food shortages, inadequate water and poor shelter had added to the distress of caring for her young children and elderly parents.

Janale district commissioner, Abdirahman Yusuf Ali Al-Adala, told Radio Ergo that a local committee had registered 1,700 families displaced by conflict from at least 25 villages.

Some had arrived with illnesses, including anaemia and malaria. The committee had provided limited food, household items, medicine and cash collected from local businesses.

“The needs are far greater than what we can provide, and we have not received assistance from elsewhere,” he said.

The commissioner said the families had arrived during the rainy season. Some were being accommodated by residents sharing their homes and available resources, while others remained without shelter because of the large numbers.

He added the authorities had raised the situation with the administration and humanitarian organisations and were awaiting a response. Many of the displaced are farmers who could resume earning a living if they received financial support and investment.