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SOMALILAND / REFUGEE SHELTER
STORY: SOMALILAND / REFUGEE SHELTER
TRT: 2.07
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: SOMALI / ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 21 MAY 2012, BURCO, SOMALILAND
1. Various shots, makeshift shelters at the IDP camp
2. Wide shot, Hamsa (IDP women interviewed) cleaning her makeshift tent
3. Wide shot, Hamsa joining the crowd
4. SOUNDBITE (Somali) Hamsa, Displaced Somali:
"Where we were earlier was a place owned by the government. They asked us to leave and we obeyed the authorities. That’s when UNHCR helped us by giving us land here and building these houses for us."
5. Med shot, IDP women include Hamsa celebrating
6. Med shot, Japan envoy dancing with IDP women
7. Med shot, local leaders with delegation at the ribbon cutting ceremony
8. Close up, cutting the white ribbon
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Yoichiro Yamada, Deputy Chief of Mission, Japan
“We want the effects of the project to be a continuous and sustainable so that the communities can sustain their own livelihoods.”
10. Med shot, delegation leaving the venue
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Ayaki Ito, UNHCR Somalia:
“The former refugee returnees, if they may come back to their country of origin, but if they are not able to reintegrate with the social economic basis, then that displacement hasn’t ended. Therefore, by providing these permanent shelters, we are providing a better opportunity for them to be sustainably reintegrated into the community.”
12. Med shot, Hamsa in her new house
13. SOUNDBITE (Somali) Hamsa, Displaced Somali:
“I am very happy that this happened to me. This shelter gives me peace, joy and security where nobody can chase me out.”
14. Wide shot, the new houses
15. Wide shot, women walking
Twenty years ago thousands fled Somaliland into neighbouring countries.
Today peace has returned to this corner of war-torn Somalia, bringing many refugees and displaced back home.
Most initially return to makeshift camps. Their so-called homes, made of old cloth and carton crammed together are far from ideal.
When Hamsa fled to Ethiopia she lost everything, including the four-room house her late husband had built. She returned but was now displaced. Her dream was to own her own home again.
SOUNDBITE (Somali) Hamsa, Displaced Somali:
"Where we were earlier was a place owned by the government. They asked us to leave and we obeyed the authorities. That’s when UNHCR helped us by giving us land here and building these houses for us."
Hamsa’s is one of 50 families who have benefited from a permanent shelter project.
The United Nations Refugee agency (UNHCR) with help from the Norwegian Refugee Council and Japanese Government, have given Hamsa a new home.
SOUNDBITE (English) Yoichiro Yamada, Deputy Chief of Mission, Japan:
“We want the effects of the project to be a continuous and sustainable so that the communities can sustain their own livelihoods.”
UNHCR believes that permanent shelter brings stability to a family. It is a step towards a more dignified life and a way to promote community integration.
SOUNDBITE (English) Ayaki Ito, UNHCR Somalia:
“The former refugee returnees, if they may come back to their country of origin, but if they are not able to reintegrate with the social economic basis, then that displacement hasn’t ended. Therefore, by providing these permanent shelters, we are providing a better opportunity for them to be sustainably reintegrated into the community.”
Hamsa is overjoyed by this opportunity.
SOUNDBITE (Somali) Hamsa, Displaced Somali:
“I am very happy that this happened to me. This shelter gives me peace, joy and security where nobody can chase me out.”
These families own their new homes. They are close to schools, hospitals and other facilities, so they are getting a renewed lease on life and a chance to build roots and again call some place home.
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