Ayuda socotra / help socotra

SPANISH / ENGLISH

La isla de Socotra, también conocida como la isla de los genios o la isla de la felicidad, se encuentra en el mar Índico, a casi cuatrocientos de las costas de Arabia. Este aislamiento ha preservado más de 800 especies de fauna y flora singulares, que no existen en ningún otro lugar del mundo, como pueden ser el aloe socotrino, el árbol del dragón, el árbol botella o el árbol del pepino. Por esto es motivo de protección especial y es Patrimonio de la Humanidad desde el año 2008.

En la isla viven 40.000 personas que todavía conservan su modo de vida tradicional y sobreviven en condiciones duras, en muchos casos sin electricidad y en casas de barro y piedras, cuando no directamente en cuevas en las montañas.

En Socotra el acceso al agua se realiza mediante la extracción en pozos diseminados por toda la isla, y en muchas partes aún funciona el sistema de truque por el cual los socotris se intercambian favores o productos diversos. Es uno de los lugares donde la palabra "comunidad" adquiere su sentido más real.

Socotra ha permanecido aislada para el mundo durante muchísimo tiempo y sólo ha sido accesible desde hace pocos años cuando se construyó un aeropuerto y una carretera que la rodea. El resto de caminos son de tierra y el acceso a algunas partes de la isla es realmente complejo.

Una gran parte de la población vive de la ganadería y de la pesca y otra parte vivía del turismo incipiente, pero desde el mes de marzo, cuando Yemen se vio inmerso en una guerra atroz, la isla, igual que el resto del país, vive un bloqueo total que impide la entrada o salida de productos y de personas.

Ha desaparecido el turismo y con él una de las fuente de ingresos para los locales, la pesca no se puede exportar y han dejado de llegar por vía aérea desde Sana'a, capital de Yemen, los productos básicos como arroz, huevos, vegetales o harina, que semanalmente llegaban. La isla no es cultivable, lo que la hace dependiente en un 90% de los productos del exterior.

Si todo este panorama ya era desolador para los socotris, el dia 2 de noviembre el ciclón Chapala, un ciclón tropical muy raro en esta parte del mundo, asoló la isla devastándola por completo, y 8 dias después, otro ciclón, el Megh, ha destruido lo poco que quedaba en pie.

Más de 5000 casas destruidas, 16.000 personas desplazadas en la isla, cientos de desaparecidos, 3 muertos más los ocupantes de 30 barcas que fueron literalmente engullidas por el ojo del huracán, centenares de barcas de pesca desaparecidas con todo el material de pesca que ayuda a la supervivencia diaria, muchisimas cabras muertas (las cabras son la base del sustento socotri),todos los caminos arrasados y pérdidas enormes en la ganadería y la flora del lugar. El fondo marino de corales destruido y varios árboles únicos en el mundo arrancados de la tierra.

Ahora mismo en Socotra la situación es muy muy grave. La mayoria de personas se han quedado sin nada, duermen en las escuelas y necesitan desde comida hasta mantas y todo tipo de ayuda.

Desde Solidarios sin Fronteras llevamos 8 meses ayudando a las familias de Yemen que están viviendo una guerra, mediante la compra de cajas básicas de comida, agua y productos de higiene, que nuestro equipo en la capital reparte entre las familias con niños hospitalizados. Ahora hemos decidido ampliar nuestra ayuda también a la isla de Socotra, abriendo esta linea de donaciones específica para ella..

Con el dinero que se consiga se  ayudará a la reconstrucción de las casas, se comprarán cabras y algunas mantas y utensilios de cocina que desaparecieron en el desastre.

Socotra es un lugar ÚNICO en el mundo y muy poco conocido. Su aislamiento lo ha mantenido inalterado por el paso del tiempo, pero a la vez también hace que cuando sucede algo así de terrible, no sea noticia.  Los que amamos a este país y a esta maravillosa isla y a su gente, debemos unirnos para ayudarles. Ahora nos necesitan. No pueden esperar.

Al final, un lugar es mágico por las personas mágicas que vivien en él. 

Fotografías de Jordi Esteva, Oriol Alamany, Albert Buendia y Ahmed Suliman.

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The island of Socotra, known also as the “Island of Djinns” or  the “Island of Blest”, is located in the Indian Ocean, two hundred and fifty kilometers from the Horn of Africa and nearly four hundred from the Arabian Peninsula. The island, has preserved more than 800 species of endemic fauna, such as the socotrian aloe, the dragon blood tree, the adenium or bottle tree or the cucumber tree among others. For this reason, in 2008, was declared a World Heritage Site that deserves special protection and care. It belongs to Yemen.

About 40,000 people, who still retain their traditional and uncontaminated traditions and old language, live in the island. Many of them survive in harsh conditions, without electricity and houses of mud and stones, or even in caves in the mountains. 

Socotra obtains mainly its water from deep wells scattered throughout the island. In many places its inhabitants still barter their goods.

Socotra has been isolated to the world for centuries untill the commercial airport was built recently. Some roads exist at the north of the island, but most of the transport is done using dirty tracks, and access to some parts of the island is really complex. A large part of the population lives of livestock and fisheries. Tourism was starting but since the month of March, when Yemen was immersed in an atrocious war, the island, like the rest of Yemen, lives a total blockade which prevents the commerce or movement of the population. Tourism has disappeared completely as well as the export of fish. The weekly flights to Sana were interrupted and commodities needed like rice, eggs, vegetables or flour, no longer arrive in the island. The island is dependent on 90 percent of products from abroad. 

The situation was very bad and bleak for the socotris. But worse things were going to happen! On the 2th of November, the Chapala cyclon, a tropical phenomenon that is very rare in this part of the world, ravaged the island devastating it completely. 8 days later, another cyclone, the Megh, has destroyed what little remained standing. As a result, more than 600 houses were destroyed, 16,000 people were displaced from their homes, hundreds are missing, and a least half a dozen people was killed. More than 30 boats were literally swallowed by the eye of the hurricane: hundreds of fishing boats disappeared with all the fishing equipment that helps the daily survival. All roads of the island had been destroyed and the livestock losses are really huge. A lot of precious and unique trees were also destroyed as well as the coral seabed and several unique uprooting trees 

Right now in Socotra, the situation is very serious. The majority of people have been left with nothing, sleeping in schools, and need from food to blankets and all kinds of help.

Solidarios sin Fronteras  has been helping Yemen since months ago. We are helping the families of Yemen who are living a war, through the purchase of basic food, water boxes and hygiene products, that our team in the Sana, the capital, distributes to families with hospitalized children. 

Now we have decided to extend our help also to the island of Socotra, opening this specific line of help. 

Socotra is a unique place in the world and very little known. Its isolation has kept it unchanged by the passage of time. It was living bad times since the war erupted in Yemen, but now with the cyclons that have devastated the island, the situations is really terrible. 

The people that love this wonderful island and its people, must make efforts to help. They do need us now. Time is running up.

The island of Socotra, known also as the “Island of Djinns” or  the “Island of Blest”, is located in the Indian Ocean, two hundred and fifty kilometers from the Horn of Africa and nearly four hundred from the Arabian Peninsula. The island, has preserved more than 800 species of endemic fauna, such as the socotrian aloe, the dragon blood tree, the adenium or bottle tree or the cucumber tree among others. For this reason, in 2008, was declared a World Heritage Site that deserves special protection and care. It belongs to Yemen.

About 40,000 people, who still retain their traditional and uncontaminated traditions and old language, live in the island. Many of them survive in harsh conditions, without electricity and houses of mud and stones, or even in caves in the mountains. 

Socotra obtains mainly its water from deep wells scattered throughout the island. In many places its inhabitants still barter their goods.

Socotra has been isolated to the world for centuries untill the commercial airport was built recently. Some roads exist at the north of the island, but most of the transport is done using dirty tracks, and access to some parts of the island is really complex. A large part of the population lives of livestock and fisheries. Tourism was starting but since the month of March, when Yemen was immersed in an atrocious war, the island, like the rest of Yemen, lives a total blockade which prevents the commerce or movement of the population. Tourism has disappeared completely as well as the export of fish. The weekly flights to Sana were interrupted and commodities needed like rice, eggs, vegetables or flour, no longer arrive in the island. The island is dependent on 90 percent of products from abroad. 

The situation was very bad and bleak for the socotris. But worse things were going to happen! On the 4th of November, the Chapala cyclon, a tropical phenomenon that is very rare in this part of the world, ravaged the island devastating it completely. 5 days later, another cyclone, the Megh, has destroyed what little remained standing.

As a result, more than 5000 houses were destroyed, 16,000 people were displaced from their homes, hundreds are missing, and a least half a dozen people was killed. More than 30 boats were literally swallowed by the eye of the hurricane: hundreds of fishing boats disappeared with all the fishing equipment that helps the daily survival. All roads of the island had been destroyed and the livestock losses are really huge. A lot of precious and unique trees were also destroyed as well as the coral seabed and several unique uprooting trees 

Right now in Socotra, the situation is very serious. The majority of people have been left with nothing, sleeping in schools, and need from food to blankets and all kinds of help.

Solidarios sin Fronteras  has been helping Yemen since months ago. We are helping the families of Yemen who are living a war, through the purchase of basic food, water boxes and hygiene products, that our team in the Sana, the capital, distributes to families with hospitalized children. 

Now we have decided to extend our help also to the island of Socotra, opening this specific line of help. 

Socotra is a unique place in the world and very little known. Its isolation has kept it unchanged by the passage of time. It was living bad times since the war erupted in Yemen, but now with the cyclons that have devastated the island, the situations is really terrible. 

The people that love this wonderful island and its people, must make efforts to help. They do need us now. Time is running up. 

Photos by Jordi Esteva, Oriol Alamany, Albert Buendia and Ahmed Suliman.