DISASTER AFTERMATH

The winter place of Tserendoo, a herder women from Uvurhangai province in Central Mongolia, consisting of two ghers (a traditional, round shaped, nomadic dwelling) and a cattle shelter, hides deep in a mountain valley.  

Around the gher one can see white bones of cows and horses, signs of the dzud disaster of the last winter which decimated more than two million livestock

“Winter is over, but we still have hard time,” says Tsenddoo poinitng ot the carcasses of dead sheep and goats nearby. “Everyday we count new losses.”

Just few months ago Tserendoo’s family was among the wealthiest in the Zuil area of Uvurhangai province, but the last winter disaster decimated her almost 1,000 strong herd. Most of money she collected by years of hard work went out to buy forage and fodder.

“In January we had to move away cows and horses that were freezing alive in a deep snow. It was so cold, below - 40 Centigrade. My elder son and uncle herded the cattle to other place but returned after a month losing all the animals. The only good thing is that they were alive themselves.”

“I remained with the family amidst a snow sea with three sons, my daughter-in-law and her four kids. In the morning all liquid in the gher would be frozen. We had nothing to burn except animal dung. But even that was hard to find as the snow was waist deep. I had to crawl in snow occasionally sneaking my hand though the snow blanket hoping to spot a piece of dung. Never knew whether I will find one or not. To return with empty hands was out of question because kids needed food and warmth. And this was repeated day after day.“

“I was crying why these kids are destined for such a misery. I do not know how we survived. My sons are still young. But they all worked as grown up men, day and night. I have seen many things in my life but have never heard from elders of anything like this when white and black dzud come together.”

The dzud disaster affected all 1,009 families in the Zuil locality. Out of 132,000 livestock they owned only about 40,000 remained, and even they are now too weak to survive the remaining month until the fresh grass comes up.

Pastures with all their grass wiped out last summer by a severe drought, now looks as a black blanket. Only sand and small stones can be found in stomachs of dead animals. And the occasionally striking spring storms and snow blizzards are more deadly for the livestock already weakened after long and scarce winter months.

Even nowadays there are snow blizzards that claim not only lives of animals but people

Children did not go to school since December. How they can get to school if all our horses closed their eyes forever,” says quietly Tserendoo and only her intense gaze focusing somewhere inside betrays her anxiety. Elders say that the pain went into the heart.

Tserendoo was widowed when she was 27 and left with four small kids and 12 year old younger brother of her husband. All the property she gathered during the years of hard work, as  well as her hopes to educate younger sons were taken away by the dzud.

In the gher corner about two dozens of lambs and the only calf stretch their heads towards warmth radiating from the stove on top of which a pot with a couple of sheep heads and feet is boiling. All their reserves of dried meat, flour and sugar were all gone long time ago as the family shared it in an attempt to save the newly born animals.

Today more than half a million herders are being stricken with the dzud disaster losing more than 2.5 million animals. This sad legacy continues to raise every day leaving many without any hope for future. For more than 1,000 families who lost all their animals food shortage has become a reality.

There are 187,000 herder families in Mongolia tending 33.4 million livestock and 80% of them own less than 200 animals which allows to earn about US $ 250 per year. Half of this income comes from pensions, occasional side jobs and social allowances. Practically, herders live by husbandry alone, selling milk, meat, hides, wool and cashmere. Almost 90% of herders do not have insurance for their animals.

Dispersed across wide stretches of steppes and mountains, herders retaining nomadic lifestyle remained out of the socio-economic progress. Only one family in ten has electric generator or a TV set. Only one in 25 families owns a car or a truck, though motorbikes are more common with each fourth family having one.  The lion share of school drop outs occur in rural areas.

The dzud disaster which affected two thirds of the country speeded up the ongoing polarization of herders into rich and poor.

Presently, the government and the international aid organizations pledged more than US $ 4.0 million in recovery programs under which affected herders will be given livestock.

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