Tortured In The Selection Of Famine: What Is The Child Lives?
Dadaab, Kenya (AP) - Ward Mohamud Yusuf walked two weeks in his 1-year-old daughter on her back and her 4-year-old son beside him to flee Somalia, drought and famine. When the boy fell near the end of the trip, poured himself a bit 'of a little water to cool off in his head, but he was unconscious and could not drink.
She asked other families traveling with them to help, but none stopped, afraid for their own survival.
Then the 29-year-old mother had to make a choice that no parent should have to do.
"Eventually, I decided to leave behind him on his path to God," Yusuf said in an interview days after teeming refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya. "I'm sure he was alive, and my heart is broken."
Parents who fled the devastating famine walk - with a maximum of seven children in tow - are forced to choose an incredible cruelty: What are the children the best chance to survive when food and water run out? Should be left behind?
She asked other families traveling with them to help, but none stopped, afraid for their own survival.
Then the 29-year-old mother had to make a choice that no parent should have to do.
"Eventually, I decided to leave behind him on his path to God," Yusuf said in an interview days after teeming refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya. "I'm sure he was alive, and my heart is broken."
Parents who fled the devastating famine walk - with a maximum of seven children in tow - are forced to choose an incredible cruelty: What are the children the best chance to survive when food and water run out? Should be left behind?
"I've never faced a dilemma in my life," Yusuf told The Associated Press. "I'm reliving the pain of leaving my son. I wake up at night thinking about it. I am terrified when I see a child of his age."
Dr. John Kivelenge, spending on mental health and the International Rescue Committee is a compulsive extreme stress Dadaab Somali mothers and fathers are in the front.
"This is a normal reaction to an abnormal situation. They can not sit and wait to die, "he said." But after a month, they will suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder, which means they will have flashbacks and nightmares.
Dr. John Kivelenge, spending on mental health and the International Rescue Committee is a compulsive extreme stress Dadaab Somali mothers and fathers are in the front.
"This is a normal reaction to an abnormal situation. They can not sit and wait to die, "he said." But after a month, they will suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder, which means they will have flashbacks and nightmares.
"Pictures of children behind, they abandoned them, and come back to haunt them," he said. "They also have poor sleep, and social problems."
United States estimates that more than 29 000 children under 5 died in the Somali famine in the last three months. An unknown number too low to proceed was left on the trek of sand to help after the food and water ran out.
Sakow Faduma Abdullahi, a widow of 29 years, tried to go to Dadaab with her child and other children aged 5, 4, 3 and 2 days before it reached a refugee camp, his 4-year -old daughter and 5-year-old son would not wake up after a short pause.
United States estimates that more than 29 000 children under 5 died in the Somali famine in the last three months. An unknown number too low to proceed was left on the trek of sand to help after the food and water ran out.
Sakow Faduma Abdullahi, a widow of 29 years, tried to go to Dadaab with her child and other children aged 5, 4, 3 and 2 days before it reached a refugee camp, his 4-year -old daughter and 5-year-old son would not wake up after a short pause.
Abdullahi said he did not want to "lose" the little water that was in a 5 liter container of death when young children need.
And he did not want to wait too long until it was with the other children began to die, so he got up and walked a few steps - put in the hope that young people were actually alive.
After several comings and goings of the march, which eventually left her two children under a tree, not knowing if it could be revived.
Over 12 million people in East Africa need food aid because of severe drought. The UN says 2.8 million of them are in need of immediate assistance to save lives, including over 450,000 in the area of famine in Somalia.
Jafar Ahmed Nur, 50, a father of seven, he was traveling in his 14 year old son and 13 year old daughter in Kenya. But after only two days' journey, they ran out of water. By the third day, you could just sit under the big tree - thirsty, hungry and tired.
Jafar Ahmed Nur, 50, a father of seven, he was traveling in his 14 year old son and 13 year old daughter in Kenya. But after only two days' journey, they ran out of water. By the third day, you could just sit under the big tree - thirsty, hungry and tired.
"The two children could not walk over. So instead of us all to die there, I had to leave to their fate, especially after I thought the other five children and her mother j" I was at home. I thought, "Save your life for the benefit of the other five. Both have their God, '" he said.
"It was the worst I've experienced in my life. It was a moving experience to give my children are part of me," he said. "For nearly three months, my mind was not stable. His photos were in front of me."
Miraculously, the two teenagers rescued by nomads, and they have since made their way back to their mother in Somalia. But Nour said he can not afford to bring the rest of his family in Kenya because it costs too much.
"I was a farmer and had no education, who can help me now to find a job. We are dependent on handouts," he said. "My mind is concerned for them, they will all die, like her mother, or some people survive? This is how I always wonder."
"I was a farmer and had no education, who can help me now to find a job. We are dependent on handouts," he said. "My mind is concerned for them, they will all die, like her mother, or some people survive? This is how I always wonder."
When Nur Elmi faqid 3-year-old son died of hunger and thirst on the road to Somalia, his mother was able to surround his body with one small dead branches to serve the tomb. He could not stop crying - there were five other children to think about.
"Where can I find the energy to dig the grave for him?" he asked. "I just thought, how can I save the rest of the children. God, I gave him first, took him away. So I'm sure a lot of late son. Other lives were in danger."
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