Liberia: “We Are Suffering,†Slum Dwellers Battle Flood Impacts
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Loading... - Effia Essel
- 17 Aug 2022
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Life has not been easy for Doris Kettor in Doe Community, one of the country’s largest slums, as she grapples with increased criminal activities, difficult access to safe drinking water, and the offensive odor of open defecation.
But heavy torrential rains have made matters worse for the 53-year-old, who is a mother of four and a widow. The rain resulted in damage of L$60,000 (US$400) worth of goods rendering Kettor, who had used her last savings to invest in a small provision shop, without any source of income.
“We are in fear. How do we manage in this rainy season? When it rains we cannot go out. Our homes get full of water as well as the entire community. What are our options during this wet season?” she wonders. “Whenever it rains, water fills up all of our homes and the neighborhood. We are losing a lot.”
"I lost my mattress, my phone, an ice box, and two bags of 25kg rice to the water that entered my house last week,” Jessica Pah, another flood victim, laments. “We were sleeping and woke up in the water. We are suffering and looking at the rain, how are we going to manage?”
According to the UN Refugee Agency, weather-related disasters drive millions of people from their homes each year, and 70 percent of those who are internally displaced due to war come from nations that are among the most vulnerable to climate change. Read More...
