Dutch Minister: famine refugees urgently need help
The Dutch Minister for Development Cooperation and European Affairs Dr Ben Knapen has visited the Dadaab refugee camps in North Eastern Kenya. The Minister was on a mission to assess the current situation of the Somali refugees crossing into Kenya. Mr Ben said he‘s happy with the progress made so far in containing the situation. The Minister hopes to raise awareness about the situation in the Netherlands and generate funds to assist the refugees.
By Kassim Mohamed
In an assessment tour, the Dutch Minister for Development Cooperation and European Affairs Dr Ben Knapen visited Dagahaley Primary where he met children learning under trees as their classes were full due to new arrivals.
The Minister said, he wanted to see with his own eyes what’s going on at the Dadaab refugee camps.
“The number of refugees coming in every day is rising and it can cause a serious crisis here. This camps were built for one hundred thousand people but now there are close to four hundred thousand people. So something has to be done to expand capacity.”
Children
It isn't uncommon at the Dadaab camps to hear tales of mothers having abandoned their children on their way from Somalia to Kenya while fleeing the double crises of an endless conflict and a ravaging dry spell.
Meymuna Abdullahi, a Somali refugee woman is troubled and vexed; life without her three year old girl Farhiya is meaningless.
Ms Abdullahi abandoned emaciated Farhiya after collapsing in the outskirts of Dobley, a remote village in southern Somalia, while the family was trekking towards Dadaab refugee camps.
“I can’t sleep at night neither can I eat what UNHCR gave me. I always see Farhiya in my dreams,” she told Radio Netherland World Wide.
Ms Abdullahi herself a young mother, had another six month old baby strapped to her back while they were crossing into Kenya.
Though she is now safe at the crowded Dagahley, one of the refugee camps in Daadab, Ms Abdullahi bears a big burden, that of a disturbed mind.
At this point in time, mentioning the name of her daughter torments this poor and helpless mother. Her daughter’s unforgettable demise will remain permanently at the forefront of her mind and and leave a scar on her heart.
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Constant struggle
The Dadaab refugee camps have become a centre of hope for thousands of refugees crossing from Somalia but the camps present a different reality when the frail and emaciated families arrive. Shelter, food and water are scarce and it has become a constant struggle to access even the most basic of needs.
Aid organizations say resources are stretched to the limit. World Food Programme sub-office head at Dadaab says, the agency can only feed the refugees for the next three months.
“We have food at the moment until October but beyond October we would need to have some food to feed the refugees. Beyond October we do not have enough to sustain. So we are appealing to get help so that we can be able to provide food to the refugees,” pointed out Lourdes Ibara of WFP.
Awareness
According to Dr Knapen, a number of NGOs in the Netherlands have come together to raise public awareness in order to generate funds and remain committed to the situation in Dadaab.
“I go home with the impression that a lot has to be done and a sense of urgency has to be explained and on the other hand I go back with a sense of security that there are good people who are dedicated to make the lives of these poor people a little bit easier.”
So far the Netherlands has pledged 15 million euro’s for the refugee crisis.