To Whom It May Concern
Urgent Appeal
Dear Sir/ Madam,
Mogadishu Somalia- This urgent appeal intends to bring your
attention to the plight of the over 360,000 families in the IDP camps of
Mogadishu. These camps have become a place where famine entrepreneurs, clan
militias coupled with the non-existence of Rule of Law and gross human rights
violations occur on daily basis. We, as the traditional elders of the Digil and
Mirifle Clan, would like appeal to you to help these families repatriate back
to their communities.
Today there are over 360,000 families populating the IDP
camps in Mogadishu. Over whelming majority of these families come from the
southern farming communities of the Lower Shebelle, Bay, Bakool, Gedo and
Middle Juba regions. Historically these regions have always been the
breadbasket of the country and as these once productive families languish in
these camps a great opportunity in food security and therefore peace for
Somalia is being lost. These camps have become poverty, rape and crime infested
areas and worse yet it is the prime recruitment center for Al-shabab resulting
from the abundance of disparate idle youth. Unfortunately, Since 2010, the IDPs
lacked access to power and decision making, income generating opportunities and
do not enjoy protection provided by the dominant sub clans of the host clans.
Additionally, gender based discrimination and violence, particularly rape of
young girls and women is widespread.
Unfortunately, these displaced people have not met with the
humanity they deserved when they arrive the camps. The IDPs have been put into
camps whereby the famine entrepreneurs in the form of local NGOs use them
through an enriching schema. After some investigation the elders found that the
food donation from the international community have mostly been squandered in
the following way;
First, the food is being received on behalf of the IDPs by
the local NGOs, while some of these do deliver the food in an honest way,
however, majority of the NGOs are in the business for lining up their pockets.
For example, a camp has been assigned to receive 100 ton of food immediately
the IDPs will be summoned to sit on the food and their picture taken. After the
picture is taken the food would be taken back with force by the gatekeepers and
their militias, then the NGOs sells 95% of the food to businessmen.
Second, in some cases IDPs receive a resettlement grant from
INGOs e.g. UNHCR and various Islamic relief organizations. The first action is
to shut down that particular camp and load the families on trucks in order to
satisfy the charity organization. Then IDPs are taken only to the outskirts of
Mogadishu and sold to another NGO and his/her gatekeepers as new IDP for a
nominal fee. Often each family is allocated US$ 3000 towards their
resettlement, unfortunately only 10% (or US $300) goes to the family and the
rest will be divided between the NGO, gatekeepers and middle men.
Third, the beneficiaries of this schema are currently
campaigning for relocation of these IDP camps into the outskirts of the
Mogadishu rather than repatriation to their original locations. The traditional
elders of the Digil and Mirifle have in the past advocated that this is a
wrong- headed policy that only recycles the current squalid existence of the
IDPs in Mogadishu. Moreover, Somalia’s peace and prosperity will be hindered by
this policy and we believe that it will create ghettoized shanty towns that
only produce crime, poverty and human rights violation.
Therefore, the traditional elders of the Digil and Mirifle
would like to take this opportunity to thank those that donated to help the
IDPs. Unfortunately, however, their kind donations have created underground and
illegal mafias who benefitted and continue to benefit the misery of the IDPs.
In order to curb this continuous problem the following remedial strategies need
to be adopted so that donations are spent in an effective way;
The donors and INGOs to involve the traditional elders and
the intellectuals of the clans populating the IDPs, in this case the Digil and
Mirifle clan. Currently, the donors come and meet with an exclusive people in
places like the Mogadishu Airport and receive a beautifully drafted report and
without any attempt for verification they accept it. By engaging the elders it
will increase transparency and accountability and they will ensure that IDPs
benefit the donated food and cash.
The traditional elders finalized profiling exercise where
each elder enumerated his clansmen in IDPs in Mogadishu camps and they are in a
position to share their findings with relevant stakeholders identifying. As significant
number of families are ready for repatriation we recommend that the traditional
elders be involved in the repatriation process so that they could identify
people who opted for repatriation and assist them resettle back into their
communities.
We recommend that the government take dual track process in
dealing with IDPs in Mogadishu;
a) IDPs who are not willing to go back to be given plot of
land and assisted with essentials instead of being relocated to government
controlled camp.
b) Those want to go back to their communities they should be
assist and not subjected to the relocation exercise.
Digil and Mirifle Council of Elders
Thank you in advance for your generous support.
Sincerely,
Muumin Hassan
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