Mogadishu, Somalia -
They are the refugees no one remembers.
About 200,000 rushed to Mogadishu, hoping the capital would provide protection. But when warlords chased away U.S. troops and humanitarian organizations evacuated amid growing violence, these displaced Somalis were abandoned in a half-dozen camps around the city.
At Isbartibo camp on the edge of Mogadishu, there are eight toilets for 10,000 people, and no school or health clinic. Despite the obvious poverty, warlords collected "rent" from the displaced families, burning down the huts of those who refused to pay.
The last time an international aid worker visited was nearly six months ago, camp leaders say.
And whenever help has been provided, such as when the International Rescue Committee delivered plastic sheeting, food baskets and cooking pots six months ago, robbers and looters followed close behind.
"If we get something during the day, it's robbed that night," said Mohammed Abdulkhadir Abdullahi, chief of the camp.
Aid workers describe the Mogadishu camps as among the worst they have seen, largely because of years of neglect and inaccessibility to humanitarian assistance.
Most international groups deemed it too dangerous to maintain operations in the city. Because the camps are located in urban neighborhoods, aid workers feared that distribution of food and supplies would spur chaos by attracting Somalis who did not live in the camps but were still struggling with poverty.
"If we did a distribution, every person and every gunman in the city would show up," said John Miskell, head of CARE International's Mogadishu office.
With the Islamic Courts Union's recent victory over Mogadishu warlords, security has returned to the capital, raising hopes in the Isbartibo camp.
Now some aid groups are mulling a return to Mogadishu.
The city's displaced families "are on our agenda," said Leo van der Velden, in charge of the World Food Program's Somalia mission. The U.N. agency is reviewing whether the city is safe enough to add staff members and launch a school feeding program.
At the same time, however, the recent killing of an Italian nun, who taught at a nursing school in Mogadishu, and a car bomb in Baidoa have given aid groups pause. In September, the United Nations withdrew 47 international staff members from Somalia as a security precaution, though some recently began returning.
The Islamic courts leaders have visited the camp to assess the needs and encouraged local business leaders to help out. "But it's up to the international community and aid agencies to help these people," said Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, who heads the courts council.
Source: LA Times, Oct. 14, 2006