Aamusnaan Maya Initiative

Empowering Local Media Engagement in Internally Displaced Peoples Camps in Hargeisa

Aamusnaan Maya Initiative, meaning ‘Silent No More’ in Somali, is a collaborative project between the Third Generation Project at the University of St Andrews; SOM-ACT, a journalist collective in Hargeisa, Somaliland; and Transparency Solutions, a research and logistics-oriented organisation based in Hargeisa and Mogadishu.

The ultimate intent of the project has been to survey and analyse the needs and challenges faced by residents of internally displaced persons (IDP) camps around the city of Hargeisa and produce recommendations to address these needs. Ultimately, our research has found that Somalilander civil society has been critical in providing issue, with severe droughts continuing to surge the IDP population around Somaliland’s major cities.

Our survey of 100 residents of Digaale IDP camp, one of the largest in the country, shows that little infrastructure is in place to provide basic socio-economic necessities such as daily education for children, public health facilities – particularly those tailored for women, and reliable streams of food and fresh water into the camp.

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, our study has found that the dire situation facing IDP camps has been exacerbated. Our report recommends a better coordinated effort between government, international NGO, and civil society actors to address what is a major humanitarian crisis.