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Saleh Al-Ali, "My sister has not uttered a word since the floods"

Saeeda Al-Ali started suffering a mental disorder after floods in October 2008 destroyed her house and sheep in Husn Mutahhar, Tarim district in Hadhramout governorate Dana Hazeen/IRIN
Saeeda Al-Ali started suffering a mental disorder after floods in October 2008 destroyed her house and sheep in Husn Mutahhar, Tarim district in Hadhramout governorate
    SEYOUN

    Saleh Al-Ali, a 37-year-old Bedouin, lost his house and sheep during the October 2008 floods in Tarim District, Hadhramaut Governorate, southern Yemen.

    Struggling to provide food for his 13-member family, Saleh said he could not afford medical care for his sister Saida, 40, who has been behaving strangely and unable to utter a word since the disaster struck. Saleh told IRIN his sister’s story:

    “Saida got divorced a long time ago and since then she has been living with me. She was very normal before the floods and used to tend to the sheep.

    “It was a shock for her to see our sheep dying and our dwelling collapse. Since then we have noticed her psychological situation gradually deteriorating.

    “Now it’s a struggle to get her to eat with us. When we try to talk to her she starts screaming.

    “She spends her days and nights in this tent. I don’t have a place for her in my place [a nearby brick shelter and tent] as there are 12 of us living there.

    “I struggle to provide food for my family. I lost all my animals - about 55 sheep - in the floods. They were all I had. My relatives gave me some sheep to help me get back on my feet.

    “We are supposed to receive compensation from the government but we haven’t received anything so far.

    “I want to get a doctor for my sister but I can barely provide food for my family. Also, if the doctor sees her living in such miserable conditions, he will be reluctant to help her. He will say that even if he helped her, she would deteriorate if she continued to live in this miserable place.

    “This shelter near the ruins of our place is her only refuge today. I don’t know if she can survive this winter.”

    dh/at/cb

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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