World Food Programme Field Manager, Irene Del Rio (far right in photo below), has just returned from the refugee site of Dar es Salam (Lac Region), home to a growing number of Nigerian refugees escaping escalating violence in their country.
There are some 4,000 refugees at the site, who arrived in a first wave in January this year. Since then, there have been small groups arriving almost every day – they are either transported by UNHCR and CNARR (the national agency that takes care of refugees and returnees) or some find their own means to get to the site. You can imagine that after spending several weeks on their journey, including days on the boat, across Lake Chad, they arrive in a critical condition. They are exhausted, distressed, weak and hungry. With the recent escalation of violence, including attacks on Chadian soil, we expect that refugees would continue arriving at the site, seeking safety.
The site is in a desert area, about 9-10 km outside of the town of Bagasola, and some 5 km from a military camp. It is close to a small village, and it is not enclosed. The site spreads across a vast area and there is quite a lot of space between the shelters. According to UNHCR, the site can accommodate about 15,000 people. Most refugees are staying now in family shelters. Only the newly arrived share a common shelter. There is a temporary clinic, a space for children, and a school under construction. The site has a similar feel to the nearby village, except the evenly-spaced, plastic shelters that dot the desert area.
What is needed the most at the site?
Being in the desert, the first need is water. There are some wells, but they will soon not be enough. Plus, we are heading towards the hot season. In March, the temporary plastic shelters will start getting too hot during the day, and having enough water will be a major concern. Access to health services is also crucial. Most of the wounded were initially transported to the capital, but the health and nutritional status of the people on the site - majority women and children - is far from ideal. Of course, there is a need for food.
How has WFP been helping?
We have been providing food. Gradually, we intend also to distribute cash and vouchers to both the refugees and the host community; the latter is also under a lot of stress. However, this will depend; the markets are under pressure due to the security situation at the border. And we need financial resources to carry out our activities. Nutrition activities are also in place. We provide ready-to-use therapeutic food for malnourished children and pregnant and nursing women - both refugees or from the host communities. We work in partnership with the International Medical Corps, and the screening of the malnourished children takes place in the temporary clinic - a tent. Following the attack on Ngouboua village by armed militants from Nigeria in February, we have been also providing food to the families who lost their homes in the fire, during the attack. The number of displaced population is also on the rise following this latest escalation of violence.
When did you last visit the site?
I was there yesterday, to help with the planning of the distributions for this month. Until we open an office in Bol, we are managing everything from Mao, which is 4 hours away from the site, and about 5-6 hours away from the border with Nigeria.
What has struck you the most?
Several things. The extreme exhaustion you read on people's faces, in their whole demeanour. They have spent three weeks traveling from island to island on Lake Chad just to arrive to the site. The second thing was the stories I heard from them. Families recounting how they had to split in the chaos of the flight, a teenage girl telling us that the militants had gathered her whole village, and then picked her father to kill him, along with other men. She was angry when telling us this, but at the same time so extremely tired that it almost sounded normal. What struck me also yesterday, compared to previous visits, was that with the newly arrived, there are more and more women and children, and less and less complete or almost complete families.
How do you think the situation will evolve?
In terms of the humanitarian situation, we do expect more refugees to arrive, and more people to be displaced inside Chad. There are still refugees stuck on the islands, and the incidents and subsequent insecurity along the border are affecting more and more the local population. If the security situation stabilizes over the year, we might be able to put longer-term activities in place; there are lowlands, for example, in the area that have potential for agricultural production.
How is this different from other refugee situations?
Some of the refugees have been fleeing from successive attacks in villages closer and closer to the Chadian border. And once in Chad, they found another major obstacle - the lake. For some of them, it has been a two-month trip, and despite the measures put in place by the local authorities, people are still concerned about their safety. They have also arrived in a very different place than what they know – they are far from water, and in the desert. We have a lot of fishermen who do not know what to do, and traders who used to do business with Chadian merchants who are now on this side, and they say this is just not what they expected.
How can we assist the 7,000 refugees living on the islands?
It is extremely difficult to arrive to some of these locations, and local authorities are encouraging all these refugees to move inland; also because of the security situation, as they are closer to the border. We have some nutritional activities on the islands, at a smaller level, and involving very complicated logistics. However, the only way that we can guarantee that their needs will be fully covered is if they accept the government's offer to be relocated inland.
What is next for WFP?
We are trying to scale up our activities as much as funds allow. In terms of food insecurity, we knew that this would be a difficult year, and we know that lean season will start earlier than usual, so we have been preparing some options to assist vulnerable populations through asset creation before the lean season hits. From April/May, we are preparing a combination of food distributions in the most remote areas, and cash and voucher distributions where it is possible.
Note: By the end of 2015, WFP is planning to provide food and bring relief to about 40,000 people, including 30,000 refugees and displaced Chadians, as well as vulnerable members of the host community. To make this possible, WFP requires an additional US$10.4 million. WFP has been able to respond by borrowing resources from other programmes but requires urgent funds to continue providing assistance to the growing number of Nigerian refugees and displaced people in Chad.
Photos: Miguel Tomas/WFP
