Afar region in north-eastern Ethiopia has had little rainfall for the past six to 10 years, resulting in a prolonged drought that has seen a drastic reduction in livestock, which are treasured by the mainly pastoralist communities. Zahara Abdu, 29, mother of six, a resident of Haitan village in Erebti zone, has left her home to seek refuge in the nearby urban area of Erebti:
"In June, after the drought became severe, I took the children and came to town with them; I left my husband in the village to look after our home.
"Since arriving here at the farmers’ training centre in Erebti, our life has been hard; if you are lucky, you have a sack to spread on the cold floor before you sleep. The children are the ones we fear for the most, they could become ill.
"Although we have benefited from food distributions by the federal government, we have not had help with blankets, mosquito nets, jerry cans and things like cooking oil, salt or spices to help us prepare food. In fact, many children often have diarrhoea because the food is dry and lacks variety.
"I came here because our livestock had died and we had no food, no milk; now life is so difficult. Five years ago we had 50 cows, 30 camels and about 100 sheep and goats; now we have nothing. My husband is now taking care of only 15 goats; we have no cattle, no camels.
"We had hoped the rains would improve but we kept losing animals and food kept getting scarce, I dread to think how the next three months will go; my biggest worry is how I will feed my children."
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"In June, after the drought became severe, I took the children and came to town with them; I left my husband in the village to look after our home.
"Since arriving here at the farmers’ training centre in Erebti, our life has been hard; if you are lucky, you have a sack to spread on the cold floor before you sleep. The children are the ones we fear for the most, they could become ill.
"Although we have benefited from food distributions by the federal government, we have not had help with blankets, mosquito nets, jerry cans and things like cooking oil, salt or spices to help us prepare food. In fact, many children often have diarrhoea because the food is dry and lacks variety.
"I came here because our livestock had died and we had no food, no milk; now life is so difficult. Five years ago we had 50 cows, 30 camels and about 100 sheep and goats; now we have nothing. My husband is now taking care of only 15 goats; we have no cattle, no camels.
"We had hoped the rains would improve but we kept losing animals and food kept getting scarce, I dread to think how the next three months will go; my biggest worry is how I will feed my children."
js/mw
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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