Asmaa El-Husseini and Mohamed Amin El-Masri visited an Egyptian-run medical facility in Mogadishu Zahra Moallem clutches Soben, her two-year infant, and waits. Soben is the only child she has left, three others having died of hunger during an arduous 250km trek from the southern town of Bidawa to the capital Mogadishu. One after another, the children fell to the ground, to be eventually abandoned by the side of the road. Soben, weighing less than half an infant his age should, suffers from pneumonia, severe stomach ache, and a fever. Zahra's is only one of many families decimated by months of drought, fighting and famine. In theory, there should be no shortage of humanitarian supplies. Almost all Arab and Islamic countries have sent shipments of food, but much of the supplies ended up in areas controlled by the anti-government militia known as Shabab, which wasn't in a mood to share with the rest of the population. Zahra, who is receiving treatment at the Zamzam, an Egyptian hospital run by the Arab Doctors Union, tells horrific stories about a march conducted under a scorching sun with no food or water. Next to her sits Norta Mohamed carrying Maria, her sick girl. Norta's story is very similar to Zahra's, both having escaped from Shabab-controlled areas in south Somalia. Maria, who also suffers from pneumonia, is too weak to take her mother's proffered breast. In the hospital, the common ailments are related to malnutrition. Some children have lost their sight because of the lack of vitamin A. The unexpectedly high rate of cancer took Egyptian doctors by surprise, until they were told by locals that nuclear waste was being dumped in their country. "Things are better now. Earlier, we used to see dozens of people die every day. But Mogadishu may become the world's largest refugee camp in the next few days, especially if the rainy season begins," says paediatrician Mustafa El-Batriq. He has learned Somali and can now speak to the patients without an interpreter. "Some of those who died could have lived had they been given a single meal. The diseases I see here are ones I only read about before. There are children who went blind because of vitamin A deficiency... Eating dirt is common among the refugees, and it is associated with severe anaemia and parasitic diseases," El-Batriq adds. He has noticed that thousands of children have died of measles because they were not vaccinated on time. "The health situation here is disgraceful by any human standards. How can we allow a child to die because he cannot find a vaccination that costs a few pennies? Polio can be just as bad, leading to a whole generation of crippled people. Cholera has already appeared and will take its toll once the rainy season begins." Internal medicine doctor Ahmed Hassan warns of polluted water and the lack of hygiene, saying that nearly 80 per cent of Somalis suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney infections, and skin diseases. Paediatrician Ahmed Samir Fouda says that Somalia's health problems have turned from chronic to acute and will get worse unless Arab, Muslim and international efforts succeed in returning the refugees to their original areas. Fouda is particularly worried over the crowded conditions in the camp, where bathrooms are inadequate and up to 10 people sleep together in one tent. "How will they face the rain season when they are sleeping on the ground without any protection from the rain. The tents here are very rudimentary, mostly made up of plastic and worn fabric," Fouda adds. He pointed out that malaria, yellow fever, cholera, liver infections, and measles are widespread. Driving south from Mogadishu, we passed through miles of refugee camps. Everywhere we looked, we saw emaciated refugees standing in long lines for food and water. Aid workers are working overtime to supply them with the most basic of their needs. Relief teams from Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Sudan, Algeria, Turkey and Iran are all providing much-needed humanitarian help. Most of the aid so far has come from Arab and Islamic countries, international relief organisations having responded to this crisis on a much reduced level than expected, relief workers tell us. Mohamed Suleiman, director of the Arab Doctors Union, says that Egyptians donated LE12 million to Somalia last Ramadan. Egyptian doctors started working in the camps in August, before setting up their own hospital, Zamzam. Zamzam contains four wards and receives nearly 500 cases every day, more than half -- children. About 30 operations are carried out every day. According to Suleiman, the hospital will continue to work for a year and has enough medical supplies for the next six months. The hospital staff is made up of 15 Egyptian doctors, rotated every three months, and 65 Somali supporting staff. Internal medicine doctor Ahmed Hassan Ali tells us that initially he wanted to donate money for Somalia, but the donation box had already been closed by the time he arrived at Qaed Ibrahim Mosque in Alexandria. He contacted the Arab Doctors Union to offer his services, and his offer was immediately accepted. Still, he didn't expect to see so much suffering. "I was horrified to discover that people had to walk for tens and hundreds of kilometres to come to our hospital. Some, after going back home, make the same trip once more just to say thanks." The experience has changed the way Egyptian relief workers view the world. Omar Al-Ayat, chief of the Egyptian non-governmental mission, says that Egyptians should sort out their problems at home and pay attention to the needs of their region. Abdel-Aziz Sharafa says that Egypt should do more to mediate a political solution in Somalia. Until recently, Mogadishu was under control of Shabab militants, and is still a target for their random bombings, relief workers told us. Doctors told us that the situation used to be a lot harder when they first came to Somalia. The scale of the crisis was bigger than what all relief organisations, singly or combined, could handle. Only after weeks of round-the-clock work, did things start to stabilise. A ray of hope is timidly coming to Somalia, hopefully one that will survive the rigours of continued fighting and the difficulties of the rainy season.
