Tuesday is InternationalYouth Day; and UNICEF, the UN children's agency, is using the occasion tohighlight the effects of climate change. UNICEF says young people in Somaliacan help curb the effects of global warming to help ensure a better future.
HannanSulieman is the agency's deputy representative for Somalia. From Nairobi, shespoke to VOA English to Africa Service reporter Joe De Capua about how thecountry has been affected by climate change.
"Ithink it's been seriously affected. If you go to any part of Somalia, be it inthe north, where it's been more settled and peaceful and less affected by theconflict, we still see an annual occurrence of drought. And it's an issuethat's been going on for several years. There are certainly ways that can beimproved by looking at strategies such as rainwater harvesting, ground watermanagement, which are all affected by the climate as well," she says.
Sulieman explains how youthcan help. "We believe that young people, especially in countries like Somaliathat are suffering from civil conflict, can play a major role. They are usuallythe ones who are most active in their families. They're the most mobile in thefamily. They can take the initiative and start to do environmental programswithin their communities. They can talk to their peers. They can talk to theirfamilies and at the same time they can talk to their teachers and othercolleagues. They have a bigger outreach than the elders, who are taking care offamilies?. They the ones who have more flexibility to move around," she says.
TheUNICEF official adds that young people in Somalia are more in tune withtechnology. She says, "They have access to the Internet. They have access toknowledge and they can use that in a much quicker manner than other segments ofthe population. And they're the future. They're really the future of thecountry and they have to take that initiative."
However,there's a great deal of conflict in Somalia, the scene of one of the worsthumanitarian disasters in the world. Sulieman agrees, saying it's especiallybad in central and south Somalia, where most of the population is. But shesays, "In the rest of Somalia, it's relatively peaceful and we have been ableto do some development programs. Now, we feel that even in areas which areaffected by the conflict, and we know this from first hand knowledge, youngpeople are looking for an outlet. They're looking for ways that their lives canbecome normal."
Shesays that many of the street children in Mogadishu say they want an educationas a means to escape their current circumstances and that they are fearfulabout their future. "So I think (with) that extra energy and motivation,there's always space to bring that out. And that's why young people are such aresource," she says.