'Worse than an oven': Saudi-funded camp won't be liveable by May

Or somewhere where it's cold".Ahmed Muhammad Ali says his mother sold all her jewellery so the family could start their business [Faisal Edroos/Al Jazeera] Many of the residents told Al Jazeera they were dreading the summer months which are accompanied by the "khamsin", a ferociously hot sandstorm.With temperatures reaching 50 degrees Celsius and wind speeds as high as 60kph, this year's dust storm coincides with the start of Ramadan, the daily fasting period that begins in May.Refugees such as Ali will be hungry, hot and have little to do."When Ramadan comes it will be very bad," said Ali's mother Hayfa, as she served a customer two individual cigarettes."We started buying ice from the capital (two half hours away by boat), so God willing, the chocolates and cakes won't melt". The entire project cost a reported $6.5m, less than the price of five Raytheon Tomahawk cruise missiles [Faisal Edroos/Al Jazeera]The UNHCR, which assists the Djiboutian government in running Markazi, said it was doing what it could to help the refugees, but acknowledged conditions remained primitive."We hope that there will be continuity and the people will stay in the units, and that there will be funding for electricity in the summer," Vanessa Panaligan, the UN's media relations officer in Djibouti told Al Jazeera."But if the refugees head back to the tents they will have to contend with the Khamsin winds and the camps are not built to withstand that."The sand gets everywhere, so they should be better protected with the housing units against the hot winds, the sand and the elements".Trying to keep a brave face, Hayfa said she hoped sustained media coverage would help shed a light on what was happening at the camp."I've spent a fortune starting this business, but for many reasons, I couldn't go forward.