Dying for Water in Somalia's Drought

An estimated 2.1 million Somalis are in need of emergency aid, including food and water for drinking, washing and cooking. But it is often hard to distribute food and water in treacherous areas of Somalia because aid convoys and water trucks are frequently attacked or forced to pay enormous tolls at checkpoints set up by militias.

On Tuesday, at least six people were killed and three injured when rival militias exchanged gunfire after a U.N. aid convoy was held up near Baidoa. The convoy was trying to deliver food to drought victims near the city when the militiamen began fighting over fees they assess for safe passage, according to the United Nations.

Even businessmen who have hired security guards for protection say working in Somalia is risky because of gang violence and a buildup of weapons in ordinary households.

"Before I go anywhere in Somalia, I pray. If someone is thirsty, they can shoot you for a glass of water. There's no police to come and no government to say anything," said Sheik Ibrahim Khail, 53, who operates a transport company for the World Food Program. "In other places they may just want to rob the driver or take the food and sell it. But here they want the water, too."

Long-term solutions to fighting drought include collecting what little rainwater that does fall, building modern irrigation systems and using new water exploration techniques, water experts said. But that kind of effort typically requires the coordination and enforcement of a central government, said Zlatan Milisic, the World Food Program's country director for Somalia.

"Somalia at heart is a water crisis that has turned into a food crisis," Milisic said. "The effects here are worse than anywhere else because there's no government, there's no stability. To me, this is the most unstable place in the world that is currently suffering a drought."

Fights over water break out even in places with a healthy supply.

In one such place, the town of Wajid, a 36-year-old man was executed after he killed a man in a fight over a well last month, according to town authorities.

Somalis who fled the drought and are living in makeshift shelters on the edge of town said the story of the death terrified them. They had come to Wajid to find water and hoped they could do so without being subjected to violence.

Isha Aden Hussein, 38, whose husband was killed in the War of the Well in Rabdore, walked more than 100 miles to reach this town. She and her husband once had a farm and spacious huts for their 10 children. Now she lives in a shelter made of thin, oily kitchen rags.

She described her life as "miserable" and said she just hoped to survive the drought. In the slightly cooler mornings and evenings, she collects firewood and tries to sell it. But the temperature rises to 115 degrees during the day, so she spends most of her time in her shelter.

"I just sit in there. I pray to God and wait for my paradise to come. In paradise, I'll be shading under a thick mango tree. I will be fat. My children will be dressed in smart uniforms for school. They will be reading me very nice stories," she said. "The most important is that they won't have thirst. Our mouths will always be wet. We'll drink in peace. "

Researcher Robert Thomason contributed to this report.