“The pest control is quite cheap as long as they keep the area clean,” said Alston Kamaru, 68, a retired lecturer in agriculture who said he was quoted $140.
Shiriali residents have also complained about the lack of financial assistance from authorities. As a result, they have turned to citizens’ groups to help, and some locals have applied for the program.
Photo
Azar, who works as a security guard, said that her family had sold off their farmland, borrowing money to cover losses, but they were now forced to live with relatives. She and her husband had tried unsuccessfully to apply for a mortgage for their new home, which costs them $750 a month.
She has also applied for aid through a low-interest government loan for her son, of which she is entitled to $10 a month.
“They don’t help us at all,” she said. “The people in the office told us, ‘It’s fine, but there’s nothing I can do. Go away.’ I had to come out here to apply.”
In a new concern for officials, an outbreak of rat poison
