UNHCR News Story: The Story of Mariama

Mariama's life in Somalia was far from easy. She says she spent months hiding at home from militiamen and finally decided to leave her home in the region of Gode when food was too hard to come by and she finally became blind. 
UNHCR/ L. Padoan/August 2011

The Story of Mariama

Mariama Omar is a feisty lady. Although she lost her sight in March this year, she still has a hop in her step and cracks jokes with UNHCR staff who visit her in Dollo Ado, eastern Ethiopia.

She thinks she is around seventy, but she's not worried about being on her own in Ethiopia. Two of her three children died of yellow fever some years ago and she is not in contact with the rest of her family. They're only interested in me when I have money. Now I'm broke, they couldn't care less. I'm better off without them, she laughs, smoothing her hair behind a shawl, keen to look good for the photograph.

Mariama's life in Somalia was far from easy. She says she spent months hiding at home from militiamen and finally decided to leave her home in the region of Gode when food was too hard to come by and she finally became blind. When she first arrived from Somalia, Mariama was severely dehydrated and was suffering from diarrhoea. She now lives in Dollo Ado's newest camp, Hilaweyn, where yesterday UNHCR's community services staff came to bathe her and clean her tent. Her health has now recovered and she feels happy to be in the refugee camp, away from the threat of fighting, with her own tent and new blanket.

Luckily for Mariama, her 15-year-old neighbour, Mohamed, is that rare thing - a caring teenage boy who helps her to put on her sandals and fetches her water every day. UNHCR staff help many vulnerable people like Mariama every day. But for many refugees, the support offered by family and friends is one of the most important services available in the camps.