NEWSDESK
Fatima Idriss
I left my village, Falue, which is only 20 kilometres away from here, because of fighting between two rival clans. Some people in the village were killed in the crossfire, so my husband decided it was too dangerous to stay there. We are now in our fifth year here. We have a small compound which is just about large enough for me, my husband, his second wife and our 16 children.
We depend on food aid although we only receive two bags of sorghum each month, which lasts us just two weeks. It is also more difficult to get enough water which is distributed by aid agencies. Now, my husband must take his cart out and collect wood. He walks for three hours, works for three hours then returns home. With the money he earns we buy extra food and water.
In Falue, we had good farmland and lots of livestock. We had a good life, but now we have very little. My husband rented some land here and has grown ground nuts but this is not a good life. I'm hoping to return to my village soon.
Abdulrahim Ali Said
I am a community leader. I have lived in Seleah since 1963 and there have been many changes. People from the surrounding areas started coming here five years ago and because there were so many of them, international aid agencies came to help. One agency was expelled in March and since then we have had a big problem with water. It is no longer chlorinated and is in short supply. More people in the village are getting sick because they are buying contaminated water from traders.
The people who have come to Seleah are from the same tribe as us. We welcome them and are happy to share our resources, but are hoping aid agencies can come back so we have more water to go around.
We feel secure in the village, but it is dangerous to stray too far as there are many bandits. In April, 150 cattle were stolen from a village close to here.
Mohammed Yusuf
I opened my shop in 2004 when people started arriving in Seleah. These people want to buy food so it is good business for me. When people receive their monthly food ration, they sell some of it and then come here to buy dried okra and dried tomatoes which I transport from Nyala. I have been able to increase the size of my shop and now sell coffee from the Central African Republic and rice that I source in Khartoum. Without these people I would not have a business.
Text and pictures: Daniel Dickinson, European Commission Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO)
