Life in Somalia’s largest camp for climate refugees is tough. Here, in the south of Somalia, nearly 360,000 displaced people live in 500 locations around the small town of Baidoa. And that number keeps on growing: every day, new IDPs or ‘internally displaced people’ come to Baidoa to seek shelter, medication, food and water.
Yet for Shukri (14), Mohamed (14) and Fadumo (17), this has been their home for years. They all came here during previous droughts, and have never returned to their original homes. To let people know how children are impacted by the effects of climate change in Somalia, which is going through the worst drought of the past 40 years, they have decided to team up and become climate activists.
Shukri: "I wanted to understand what is happening to Somalia, to know why our country is facing this heat. I then found out that the climate is changing, not only because of the cutting of trees, but also because of pollution of cars and factories. I have also learned that in our country, we don’t even have that many dirty cars and factories compared to the rest of the world. This makes me sad. It feels very unfair to me that we are facing the consequences of climate change. We are paying the price for something we have not caused."
Mohamed: "The drought affects us all and the drought is here because of climate change. We had to leave our homes and come to this settlement. Even here, the heat is sometimes too much. At times, it is so hot we cannot stay in our classrooms, and we have to go outside. When the winds are coming, even our houses that are made of fabrics are not providing enough shelter. There is sand everywhere, it is hot and it can hurt your face, your eyes. There are many children that have to work for their parents to earn some money. They do odd jobs like collecting firewood, or washing other people’s clothes. That is also a result of climate change, as people have lost their livelihoods."
Fadumo: "As Somali children, we don’t get a platform to share our perspective. We can never raise our concern, it’s like our voice doesn’t matter. Parents or teachers often make decisions for children, even without consulting them. I believe that change can come if we raise our voice and come up for our own rights. That’s why I want to share my stories about how climate change has affected me and other children like me. I believe that through my activism, change can come for the children of Somalia."
Read the full story (in Spanish) here, on the website of newspaper El País.
Climate crisis