Authorities fear the new 'Ifo II' could be overwhelmed, reports Emily Dugan from Dadaab

Monday, 25 July 2011

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For years Bula Buqtu was the place where residents of Kenya's Dadaab refugee camp dumped the dead bodies of their parched animals. The graveyard acted as a physical reminder of the devastation that drought has wrought on the region.

Map showing Dabaab camp: Click to download (16k)

Victims of war and drought are at the mercy of bandits as they trek miles across the desert to seek UN help. Then corrupt officials demand starving families pay for food

Matteo Fagotto
The Observer, Sunday 24 July 2011

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"It has been a terrible experience. There were eight of us and we had to survive on just a few kilos of flour for five days. Hunger and thirst haunted us during the whole journey."

Photos from Dadaab

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Fatuma Noor wins top journalism prize

As a Somali woman writing investigative stories, I face regular threats and my family's opposition

Fatuma Noor
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 3 July 2011

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Kenyan journalist wins CNN 2011 award in postzambia.com
My Encounter with American-Somali Jihadist in Nairobi in nairobistar.com—her article that won her the prize.

It's not always easy being a female investigative journalist, even in the west. But imagine going to do an interview and not being able to shake hands with the interviewee or indeed even being able to sit in front of him to ask questions.

Nearly 1,300 people, including children, are arriving daily at the Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya.

By the CNN Wire Staff
June 30, 2011 -- Updated 1058 GMT (1858 HKT)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• About 10 million people are at risk of starvation in the Horn of Africa region
• The region faces the worst drought in 60 years, according to the United Nations
• "Children have made long journeys in terrifying conditions," aid group says

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BY NDERITU NDEGWA

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 20 - Safaricom and Ericsson have launched an initiative that will allow refugees who have been separated from their families, search and find their relatives.

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Ericsson MD Craig Hosken says the application has been used in other countries and has proven very reliable.

By Pete Greste
BBC News, Somalia

Despite reports that the humanitarian crisis in Somalia is easing after 20 years of war, it remains the ultimate failed state—a land of banditry and piracy, where crop failures and a shortage of food force people into the violent city of Mogadishu.

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The mayor of Mogadishu insists his city is not the most dangerous place in the world.

Photo: A Somali refugee woman who just arrived at the Dagahaley camp, walks past makeshift shelters, in Dadaab, near the Kenya-Somalia border, April 3, 2011. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoy

Source: alertnet // Katy Migiro

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NAIROBI (AlertNet) – A humanitarian emergency is unfolding in the world’s biggest refugee camp in Kenya, where malnourished children arriving from Somalia wait unsheltered in the desert for an average of 12 days to be given food, medical charity Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) said in a report on Thursday.

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… the issue [in Somalia and elsewhere] is female genital mutilation (FGM), a hellacious practice in which at least 150 million women and girls in Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia and, yes, America are horribly mutilated. (In case you didn't know, it, the operation is performed on 6,000 girls in America every day). The issue was recently brought to my attention at a screening of Desert Flower, which is set to open in movie theaters soon.

(AFP)

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GENEVA — The UN refugee agency made an urgent appeal to Kenya Wednesday not to turn back Somalis fleeing across the border from fighting between a pro-government militia and Islamist Shebab fighters.