EXTERNAL AFFAIR HIMATIKA ITS| 18 MEI 2019 | VOL O4
Ramadan becomes a struggle in cyclone-hit northern Mozambique
Muslims in the region spend their Ramadan trying to rebuild their lives amid shortage of food and damaged mosques.
Piles of debris lie where thatched mud huts once stood in the village of Guludo in northern Mozambique Broken pieces of furniture and muddied books litter the landscape and many like Asma Mushillah, 53. The country's central region was still reeling from Cyclone Idai that made landfall over two days in mid-March causing devastation across three Southern African countries, killing over 1,000 people. Then on April 25, Cyclone Kenneth hit the already water-logged country killing an estimated 45 people impacting 375,000 people who remain in need of emergency assistance, according to the UN. in an ordinary year, the villagers would be observing the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, fasting from sunrise to sunset and praying, but this year, life seems extraordinary difficult.
'I should be fasting' I should be fasting, but I can't do it very well. It's a fast without order, some days I eat because I don't know when next I will get food. I'll fast properly if we get more food aid, then I will know I have something," she said.
'A very difficult time' It's the month of Ramadan and it's an obligation to attend prayers especially on the holy day [Friday], but now people are facing a very difficult time so it's understandable that not many people come for prayers. With the island's electricity supply damaged, Ahmad uses a megaphone for the call to prayer, but his voice can only be heard for a few blocks.
Faith in prayer "I put my faith in Allah during this time, it is a time of struggle but it is also a special time for prayer. Though we have nothing in our house, I need to keep strong in my faith so that things will be all right in the end," she told Al Jazeera.
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