20 Dec 2010

DJIBOUTI / SOMALI REFUGEES

Hundreds of exhausted Somalis cross into Djibouti at the Loyada border point every week to escape the horrors of war in their country. UN Refugee Agency’s Antonio Guterres visits Ali Addeh camp which hosts 13,000 Somali refugees. UNHCR

Posted at: December 20, 2010 12:57 pm

Duration: 02:27

Available in: SD

DOWNLOAD

Full script

STORY: DJIBOUTI / SOMALI REFUGEES
SOURCE: UNHCR
TRT: 2.27
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: SOMALI/ OROMO/ ENGLISH/ NATS

DATELINE: 4, 5 DECEMBER 2010, LOYADA BORDER POINT, ALI ADDEH REFUGEE CAMP AND OBOCK COASTAL DEPARTURE POINT FOR MIGRANTS, DJIBOUTI

SHOTLIST:

1.	Aerial shot, Loyada border point, Ali Addeh refugee camp
2.	Various shots, refugees crossing border into Djibouti
3.	Various shots, refugees walking in HCR local office
4.	Various shots, Deka and her children's
5.	SOUNDBITE (Somali) Deka, Somali Migrant: 
"The will to survive and not being killed by a bomb (in Mogadishu) was stronger than the fear to undertake this difficult trip (to Djibouti)."
6.	Med shot, Deka meeting a UNHCR representative.
7.	Tracking shot, Deka walking out 
8.	Various shots, Ali Addeh refugee camp
9.	Med shot, High Commissioner driving in the camp Wide
10.	Med shot, High Commissioner meeting refugees
11.	SOUNDBITE (English) Antonio Guterres, High Commissioner For Refugees: 
"I think it's impossible to come here and not to feel very emotional with people who have been in this deserted place for the last 20 years and see no future for themselves."
12.	Various shots, Ali Addeh refugee camp
13.	SOUNDBITE (English) Antonio Guterres, High Commissioner For Refugees: 
"So, to fight for solutions, to prevent crisis is the best answer we can give to the dramatic circumstances faced by these refugees here."
14.	Various shots, Ali Muhadin walking
15.	SOUNDBITE(Oromo) Ali Muhadin, Somali Migrant: 
"I know very well that maybe I'm going to die. Some of my close relatives and friends have already died. But I have to try."
16.	Various shots, High Commissioner meeting refugees
17.	Various shots, UNHCR staff providing supplies to refugees

STORYLINE:

Hundreds of exhausted Somalis cross the Loyada border point between Somaliland and Djibouti every week. They walk for days on dangerous roads carrying few belongings to get away from the horrors of war in their country.

Their first stop is the Djiboutian Government/ UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reception centre.

Deka, who is six months pregnant, arrived two weeks ago with two of her children. Along the way she was separated from her husband and her other three children. She has no idea where they are, or whether they are even alive.

SOUNDBITE (Somali) Deka, Somali Migrant: 
"The will to survive and not being killed by a bomb [in Mogadishu] was stronger than the fear to undertake this difficult trip [to Djibouti."

Her hope is to get refugee status, and move into a camp like this one.

Nestled beneath a mountain range, Ali Addeh camp hosts 13,000 refugees. Refugees find security here, but not an easy life, lacking water, education and stable employment.

High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres recently visited the camp and received a warm welcome.

SOUNDBITE (English) Antonio Guterres, High Commissioner for Refugees: 
"I think it's impossible to come here and not to feel very emotional with people who have been in this deserted place for the last 20 years and see no future for themselves."

Guterres says solutions must be found for those who flee; either resettlement or some measure of local integration.

SOUNDBITE (English) Antonio Guterres, High Commissioner for Refugees: 
"So, to fight for solutions, to prevent crises is the best answer we can give to the dramatic circumstances faced by these refugees here."

But for some migrants the safety of Djibouti is not enough. Hundreds of Somalis and Ethiopians leave every month, desperate to get to Yemen or Saudi Arabia.

They walk for weeks across deserted lands to reach the coastal town of Obock, and from there they catch smugglers' boats.

Ali Muhadin is one of those migrants.

SOUNDBITE (Oromo) Ali Muhadin, Somali Migrant: 
"I know very well that maybe I'm going to die. Some of my close relatives and friends have already died. But I have to try."

UNHCR warns the migrants about the dangers they face. Some are sent back, some die of exposure; others are killed by the smugglers.

But still they go, ready to risk everything to escape their war-torn country and find a better life.