Right now, sitting at a tea-table opposite mine is a former minister of Puntland State, who is using a plastic bottle of water washing himself in preparation for Maqrib prayer in one of premium hotels in Puntland Capital City. Momentarily, I felt the temptation for advising him not to do it here. As I had a bowl of mixed fruits, I noticed that the waiter didn’t bring me napkins. Instead of waving up for a waiter to bring me some, I stood up to look for them on other tables in the hotel lobby. I located a bundle on a table in some distance. Again and surprisingly, at that table there was a young man of about 25 years of age, engaged in washing his bodies in the act of hurrying up to prayers. The practice is now a common sight in most Garowe hotels at call for prayers from numerous mosques in town, and most probably, in other establishments elsewhere in the State. Talk now about the necessary 3WWWs ( Wash your hands, Wear a mask and Watch your social distance) in this era of COVID-19.

This untraditional and unhealthy new misconduct and antisocial behavior of using hotel lobbies for washing one’s limbs has to stop immediately.

City governments in Puntland State should have a word with owners and hotel managers to curtail this bad and unhygienic practice.

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9 March 2021 – Source: Radio Ergo – AMISOM MONITORING SERVICE

Fadumo Mohamed Gelle and her husband, Ali Hussein, both blind, elderly, and displaced, have been forced to beg in the streets of the central Somali town of Abudwaq, after losing their lifeline support that used to be sent by a relative abroad. The couple depended on US $100 sent monthly by their nephew, the son of Ali’s brother, who was working in Kenya until April 2020, when he was laid off due to COVID19 and could no longer send money. “We get between US $1-$3 on good days, which we use to buy milk and sugar that we feed on for that day. Other times when we are sick, we stay home,” said Fadumo, who is guided by her grandson when she goes out. The couple lives in Salaam IDP camp, on the outskirts of Abudwaq in Galgadud region. They are also worried about the seasonal rains that are expected to start in April, as they are living in a flimsy hut made of grass that cannot withstand the rain.

As many as 750 families in Salaam camp are facing food and water shortages, with 150 of them dependent on small remittances and donations from charity organisations, as well as local casual labour jobs, that have disappeared as a result of the pandemic. Sahra Abdi Samatar, a mother of eight, depended on US $150 a month sent by her brother-in-law in the United States to support her family. But for the past seven months he has not sent anything. As she gets nothing in the camp, she now survives on dry food she begs from the shops in Abudwaq town. “We survive on one meal a day. Before, we used to cook three times, but since we stopped getting the money, we only make tea during the day and cook at night,” said Sahra, whose husband suffers from a mental health illness. Sahra’s brother-in-law and benefactor was a taxi driver in the US, where his work stopped following the upsurge of the COVID-19 outbreak there. Sahra said that COVID19 had disrupted the livelihood of her family and if their current situation persisted their lives would be miserable. “A relative has given me 10kgs of rice and sugar. We will eke that out until we get more food,” she said.

Those living in the camp who relied on small jobs have also suffered as COVID19 has resurged in Somalia. Abdi Mohamed Dahir earned a living washing cars, but since the new wave of the virus was reported in Somalia his business had dried up. “Car owners parked their cars at a specific spot where we washed them but now there are no cars. Everyone washes their car at home for fear of COVID19,” said Abdi. The chairman of Salaam camp, Indiriis Adan Abdulle, told Radio Ergo that he had formed a committee of 11 people, who are going round the camp helping needy families by providing them with cooked food contributed by others in a better situation. He said organisations had issued aid cards but no food or cash or other assistance had been received for eight months.