Tuesday August 28, 2018
Over 204,000 people were forcibly removed from their homes
this year, nearly double the same period last year, with many people
made homeless multiple times.
While these women were away from this resettlement camp, their shelters were destroyed. Now they have returned to gather up their belongings from the ruins. They are being evicted by security forces, as the landowner wants his land cleared to prepare for sale or commercial use in Mogadishu. Most people evicted in Somalia, like these women, are given little, or no advance notice before evictions. Due process should be given to all people before they are evicted. January 2018. © NRC
"Tens of thousands of people who fled drought and violence are being
forced from their homes again, only this time from forced evictions.
Many of these families were forced to leave with little or no notice.
Some have been evicted multiple times, without due process. This is
unjust, and violates their rights," said Evelyn Aero, Norwegian Refugee
Council (NRC) Adviser for Information, Counseling and Legal Assistance.
Last year's drought and conflict, plus flooding this April, led to a
massive migration to urban areas. But the shelter situation was already
critical, with limited public land available to establish new
settlements. Many people who ended up as squatters on public or private
land have been evicted in Mogadishu due to a building boom. Displaced
families who occupy dilapidated public buildings also risk being
forcefully evicted, as many are being rebuilt. Most evictions are done
without due process, including without prior notice.
Over 204,000 people were evicted between January and July, almost
double the 122,000 evicted over the same period last year, according to
the Housing Land Property Sub-Cluster of Somalia. This surpassed the
total evicted for all of 2017.
Fadumo Noor, a pregnant mother of four, endured four evictions from
Mogadishu settlements. "This is the worst eviction I ever faced. I was
at my uncle's funeral when my family was being evicted. I came home and
saw all my children outside, holding pieces of our shelter and
belongings. We weren't given any prior warning."
Similarly, Halimo Sidow's family had no time to pack up before
leaving: "I faced evictions twice before, however we expected those.
This one was unexpected and it's very difficult to come to terms with. I
wasn't home when the eviction took place, I came back to see my
children on the street." Halimo a farmer with eight children in
Mogadishu, had fled drought in Lower Shabelle.
"The Somali authorities and landowners must protect citizens' rights
to adequate shelter and housing. Displaced families should not be forced
from their shelters with nowhere to go. They should follow due process,
and be given sufficient advance notice to relocate with dignity. These
families must be resettled to locations where they can access decent
shelter and humanitarian aid. We also urge international donors to
increase shelter and housing funding, so more displaced families will
have secure homes," said NRC's Aero.
While the government has taken note of the crisis and taken steps to
address this problem, more efforts are needed. These include developing
policies and laws on land, improving access to land for displaced
families, and strengthening protection for people displaced.
The Eviction Trend Analysis Dashboard report with statistics can be viewed here: https://bit.ly/2obCnqN