This
morning, it would be difficult to wipe the smile off Gamar Abdeldjelil
Issa’s face.
As he and his family wait to board the Red Cross truck, sitting
atop their small bundle of belongings, his friends have come
to wish him luck and share in his joy.
“In the seven months since we were chased away from our
home in Darfur, life has been very hard,” he says. “We
have survived without shelter, without food, without clean water
… Today we will finally receive some help.”
Gamar and his family of five are moving to the Red Cross camp
that opened last Monday at Tréguine, specifically to
take care of those Sudanese refugees who have not found a place
in Breijing camp, just a few kilometres down the road.
For months now, 15,000 of these “spontaneous” refugees
have settled in wobbly shelters on the fringes of the official
camp, with only limited access to humanitarian aid.
The truck drives off in a cloud of dust and smoke as the family
waves goodbye to Gamar’s brother Ahmat, who will join
them with his wife and children in the next few days.
The transfer process has been meticulously planned in collaboration
with the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, and the leaders
of the refugee community. Today it is the turn of Gamar’s
bloc, which has been given the name Ryad Nissam Shamil,
or “the North Wind”.
Despite the bumpy ride, the smiles are even broader when the
30 or so refugees in Gamar’s truck, mostly women and children,
are welcomed to Tréguine by volunteers from the Chad
Red Cross.
After a short wait in the shade, Gamar’s family is taken
to the registration tent, where their names are entered into
the database that will allow them to receive food, equipment
and medical attention while they are in the camp.
Then they are off to the medical tent, where a team from the
German Red Cross examines each person for disease and malnutrition.
Gamar’s youngest son, three year old Mubarrak, attracts
the attention of the nurse, who quickly measures the circumference
of his upper arm. The reading reveals that he is suffering from
malnutrition, one of the most common ailments for children under
five.
“For the past month, we have had very little to eat,”
sighs Gamar. “Recently, Mubarrak has lost a lot of weight
and been very listless.”
After taking note of Mubarrak’s condition and the location
of his family’s tent, the Red Cross nurse sees them back
to the truck for the last 200-metre leg of their journey, to
the tent that they will call home - for a while.
Friends and neighbours who were transferred the day before are
there to greet them with tea, while Red Cross volunteers help
them with their bags.
Comfortably installed in his Norwegian Red Cross tent, Gamar
quickly expresses his relief, before his smile disappears and
his brow furrows. His eyes water as he remembers his village
and all that he has lost.
“I cannot sleep much at night from worrying about the
future of my family and our land,” he confides.
After a long silence, he lets out: “When we fled our village,
we were separated from my second wife and three children. I
have not heard from them since. I do not know where they are,
or if they are even alive.” His first wife tries to comfort
him.
“The Red Cross will help us go back to our village,”
she says.
“Inshallah,” is his only reply. “God
willing.”
|
 |
 |
|
|
A
smiling Gamar Abdeldjelil Issa boards the Red Cross truck
that will take him to his new home in Tréguine
camp (p12066)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Between
200 and 400 refugees are being transferred to Tréguine
every day. The camp will eventually be home to around
15,000 people (p12071)
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Gamar's
registration card, which will allow his family to receive
food, equipment and medical care while they are in the
camp (p12068)
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Gamar
and his family stand proudly in front of their new home
(p12067)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
News
