Broadcast as episode of The GroundTruth Project's Living Proof podcast - November 2016

Heaton: A murder happened here two weeks ago, in this remote Somali community. It’s not even a village really -- just several houses clustered near a well, surrounded by miles of barren terrain. The men sing in time as they heave up buckets of water for their animals. It’s calm now, but Ali Yusuf Adan, the cousin of the man who was killed, says the changing environment is making people desperate and pushing them to violence.

Ali Yusuf Adan: A decade ago we had more rain than we needed. The climate was good and we didn’t have a lot of conflict. But now the rains come less, and people have begun to fence off grazing land. If people fence off the communal land, and we don’t have much rain, conflict will always be a part of our life.

Heaton: Ali takes us to a clearing close by, where wind whips up huge clouds of dust -- there’s no grass here anymore. The one tree has a gaping chunk blown away: a splintery bullet hole. 

Listen to full episode.

Reporting generously supported by The GroundTruth Project