Djibouti Nomads
Two thirds of Djibouti's population of under 800,000 lives in the capital Djibouti, the rest are mainly nomads scratching out a living through herding. Over the past few years droughts across the Horn of Africa have rendered already poor agricultural land largely unusable and hundreds of thousands of animals have died through lack of water and food.
Despite efforts by the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) to build wells to help support Djibouti Nomads, many are being forced to change their way of life simply to survive. There has been some criticism of the humanitarian aid offered to those suffering in the Horn of Africa on the grounds that providing food relief in itself creates new problems rather than addressing underlying issues.
When food aid is delivered it tends to be delivered to traditional nomad families who have sought out 'parked' population centres to receive this food, making the spreading of diseases more widespread.
There are also concerns that the 'flooding' of the area with foreign foodstuffs is undermining the development of the local food economy and releasing governments from making the necessary reforms required to ensure sustainable communities with an effective food chain.
Additionally many of the Djibouti nomads, by definition, are inaccessible and there have been reports of nomads fighting nomads to secure food supplies provided by this aid. This video documentary explores the lives of nomads in Djibouti and vividly illustrates the near extinction of their lifestyle as they set out to literally find greener pastures; greener pastures that on a daily basis are turning to dust.
TAGS: Djibouti Nomads, Nomads in Djibouti, Djibouti Nomads Video, Djibouti Nomads Documentary, Lives of Nomads in Djibouti, Djibouti Nomads Droughts