#complexemergency

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@balazsgardi for @icphotog | Ebei Edapal, Esekon Eipan, and Ebulon Louyongorot stand on the #Todonyang plains near a watering hole in northwest #Kenya on February 11, 2014. The teenage #Turkana boys started carrying guns as early as seven years old to protect their herd from the frequent attacks of the rival Daasanach tribe. With the changing climate the Turkana herdsmen, who traditionally practice a nomadic pastoralist lifestyle in the arid northwestern tip of Kenya, struggle to cope with the harsh consequences of the prolonged #drought. Across the border in Ethiopia the Daasanach are pushing into Turkana territory as their government handed most of their traditional lands over to large-scale farming developers. Competing for the fishing grounds of Lake Turkana and the pastures around it, the rival communities are trapped in a vicious cycle of conflict as they struggle to survive. #watercrisis #drought #climatechange #complexemergency #nextwar #Africa #Azdarya #everydayeverywhere

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@balazsgardi and @azdarya for @icphotog | Amuria Pooron carries a 5-gallon jerrycan of water about one and a half kilometers from her home in Lowarengak village in northwest #Kenya on February 10, 2014. Amuria fetches #water for washing and cleaning from the pond four times a day on top of two other trips to fetch drinking water from the nearby #LakeTurkana. #watercrisis #drought #climatechange #complexemergency #nextwar #Africa #Azdarya

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@balazsgardi for @icphotog | An elderly Turkana fisherman carries his catch on the shore of Lake Turkana in the city of Kalokol in northwest #Kenya on February 12, 2014. To cope with the famine caused by the reoccurring drought the #Turkana, traditionally semi-nomadic pastoralists, are increasingly turning to the lake for survival. Although the fish tolerate the highly saline lake waters they migrate north to breed in the estuary of the Omo River that brings nutritious sediments and fresh water supply to #LakeTurkana. As the fish population has decreased drastically in the past decade due to overfishing the starving people often hunt for food in the Omo delta where disturbing the breeding grounds further contributes to their dwindling numbers. In recent years the attacks by the rival #Daasanach tribesmen are more frequent and aim to scare off the Turkana from their land in order to gain access to their fisheries. The attacks are becoming increasingly brutal and the killers often leave behind the valuables indicating the retaliatory manner of the attack. #watercrisis #drought #climatechange #complexemergency #nextwar #Africa #Azdarya #everydayeverywhere

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@balazsgardi and @azdarya for @icphotog | Turkana fishermen sail behind a small boat belonging to Kenya’s Maritime Police Unit in #LakeTurkana, #Kenya on February 10, 2014. The Maritime Police Unit was recently deployed to the village of Lowarengak to protect the #Turkana community from increasing attacks from the rival Daasanach tribe by patrolling the Omo River delta along the Ethiopian border. Although this small boat is used in situations that require quick reaction the Marines keep its engine in their barracks to prevent possible theft. #watercrisis #drought #climatechange #complexemergency #nextwar #Africa #Azdarya

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@balazsgardi and @azdarya for @icp | Mary Aweet and Ekidor Eweet stand with their children in front of their makeshift home in the Nayanae Kaabaran settlement in northwest #Kenya on February 10, 2014. The #Turkana couple fled the village of Todonyang after the rival Daasanach tribe destroyed it during a massacre in 1994. The displaced community lives near the lake but further south of the border hoping to stay out of reach of their enemy. #watercrisis #drought #climatechange #complexemergency #nextwar #Africa #Azdarya #everydayeverywhere

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@balazsgardi and @azdarya for @icphotog | A young #Turkana boy drives his goats towards a temporary camp the semi-nomadic herdsmen set up to protect themselves and their livestock from a possible attack by the neighboring Daasanach tribesmen from across the Ethiopian border in northwest #Kenya on February 9, 2014. Animal theft is common between the rival tribes but the intensity of the violence has dramatically increased in the past year due to the readily available small arms. #watercrisis #drought #climatechange #complexemergency #nextwar #Africa #Azdarya #everdayeverywhere

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@balazsgardi Ana @azdarya for @icphotog | A Turkana fisherman eats a #crocodile before heading out to fish on Lake Turkana, #Kenya on February 9, 2014. Due to the reoccurring and prolonged drought grazing land in the region is diminishing leaving little to support the Turkana's traditional semi-nomadic pastoralist lifestyle. Although as part of their culture fishing is considered a lowly occupation practiced only by the poorest, left with no alternatives to secure food for their families more and more #Turkana are turning to the lake for survival. The rough waters of Lake Turkana aren't the only danger to the poorly equipped fishermen, the rival #Daasanach tribe from neighboring Ethiopia frequently attack the Turkana fishermen to gain access to their fishing ground and to steal their equipment. #watercrisis #drought #climatechange #complexemergency #nextwar #Africa #Azdarya

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@balazsgardi of @azdarya for @icp | The plains of Todonyang lay west of the northern tip of #LakeTurkana, the world's largest desert lake, close to the Ethiopian border. Throughout this week I am going to share images and stories I gathered earlier this year while visiting with Turkana communities living next to the porous Ethiopian border. The Turkana herdsmen, who live a semi-nomadic pastoralist lifestyle, struggle to cope with the harsh consequences of climate change in the arid northwestern tip of Kenya. Due to the reoccurring and prolonged drought grazing land in the region is diminishing leaving little to support the Turkana tribes. Just a few miles north, across the border in Ethiopia the Daasanach are pushing into Turkana territory as their government handed most of their traditional lands over to large-scale farming developers. Competing for the fishing grounds of Lake Turkana and the pastures around it, these rival communities are trapped in a vicious cycle of conflict as they struggle to survive. #watercrisis #climatechange #complexemergency #nextwar #Kenya #Africa #Azdarya