Women say they cannot let their fear of insurgent attacks overwhelm them because, if they do not collect and sell firewood, they will starve \u2013 but they know that every day they go into the bushes it could be their last.<\/p>\n
When you\u2019re starving, not even the threat of being kidnapped or murdered will stop you from going into the bushes and forests to collect firewood \u2013 because that\u2019s the only means you have to make money and get food.<\/p>\n
Displaced women who live in a community camp in Gajiganna \u2013 a border town between Nigeria and Niger in the Nganzai Local Government Area of Borno State \u2013 told RNI that hunger beats any threat, even kidnapping and murder.<\/p>\n
The area is rich in oil but all drilling stopped many years ago because of deadly attacks by the Jam\u0101\u2019at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da\u2019way Wa\u2019l-Jih\u0101d (JAS), more commonly referred to as Boko Haram.<\/p>\n
Maryam Zanna, a displaced woman who relies on collecting firewood for cooking and to sell, told RNI that even though relative peace had been restored, insurgents still posed a major threat.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey live in nearby forests. They are dangerous. They prowl around and, if they find you, they will most likely kill you.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery day we go into the bushes to collect wood we know it could be the last. Many displaced men, women and children have been attacked here. Some were held for ransom. Some were murdered on the spot. Some were wounded.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople ask us why we continue to go out to collect wood. The answer is simple. We don\u2019t have a choice. If we cannot sell firewood, we will starve. We do not have any other means of earning money.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019re hungry, you will do just about anything to survive. We can\u2019t just sit around idly watching our children starve to death.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maryam said often when the women were out in the bushes they heard gunshots in the distance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we know the insurgents are coming and we start running. We even leave our firewood behind. We just want to escape.<\/p>\n
\u201cOften, it\u2019s only the lucky ones who escape. When women are kidnapped, displaced people from the camp search for hours for them. Sometimes it takes days before they return. It is extremely frightening.\u201d<\/p>\n
But, said Maryam, women could not allow their fear to stop them from going into the bushes.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course we are fearful. But we are starving and we can\u2019t allow our fear to overwhelm us. If we don\u2019t get wood to sell, we won\u2019t have anything to eat.<\/p>\n
\u201cInitially, the government used to help us by providing humanitarian aid, including food, but that has stopped. If we don\u2019t look after ourselves, no one else will.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another displaced woman, who asked to remain anonymous, told RNI that in the past the government had delivered relief items to people in the camp.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut for a long time now we have not received any help from the government. Very occasionally a non-governmental organisation comes with food and other essentials. But we can\u2019t rely on them.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd we can\u2019t farm. Boko Haram has warned us that if they catch us farming they will kill us. I know of at least 20 people who have been murdered on their farms.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said sometimes the women had to go quite far from the camp to find wood.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt can take at least two days for us to return. Many of the older children accompany us. By the time we get back to the camp they are dirty, tired and famished.<\/p>\n
\u201cApart from looking for wood, if we find an ant hill we will dig into it to look for crumbs.\u201d<\/p>\n
The woman said it was hard for those who had babies and young children.<\/p>\n
\u201cSmall children cannot go with us and it\u2019s hard because we have to leave them in the camp without any adults to take care of them. Often, when we return, the kids are missing and we have to search for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ashe Mohammed said life was even more difficult during the holy month of Ramadan.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe observe the fast from sunrise to sunset. Once we have collected the wood, we have to try to sell it so that we have something to eat when we break the fast. If we don\u2019t manage to sell the wood, we do not have anything to eat. We go to bed with empty bellies.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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