Until
early 2004, Adam Mahamat Dahab, 51, was the president of the
Darfur branch of the Sudanese Red Crescent Society.
One night at 4am in February 2004 his village of Terbeba was
attacked and he fled west, along with his family and many other
people from his village. For six months he lived on the border
of Sudan and
Chad with his three wives and nine children.
Then they were lucky enough to be transferred to the newly-opened
Tréguine refugee camp, run by the Red Cross, and now
home to 14,500 Sudanese refugees from the Darfur region of Sudan.
Since then, Adam’s previous humanitarian commitment has
re-emerged. “When I came here, people needed help. They
still need help. That’s why I am here. So I am working
as I did before I came to Chad.”
In Sudan Adam trained in first aid, learning how to prevent
potentially deadly diseases such as polio, tuberculosis and
measles.
“What I started in Sudan I am now continuing here,”
says Adam, who volunteers with the health service in Tréguine
camp.
“Here we found the same health problems – whooping
cough, fever, persistent diseases. We need to find a solution
to these things. We make sure people keep their homes clean,
that the children wash. We look for children who might need
help, and we take them to hospital.”
“I am a volunteer here because we want to eradicate every
disease that exists in the camp, both among the children and
the adults.”
Adam takes out his Chad Red Cross name badge and says he feels
at home in the organization, even though he has switched from
crescent to cross.
“I saw it was the same activities. The Red Cross and the
Red Crescent are part of the same movement. They have the same
objectives, the same job to do and the same tasks.”
For Adam, representing his village of Terbeba is natural. He
says his neighbours from Terbeba have found it hard to get used
to life in the camp.
Fleeing quickly in the night meant no one could bring many possessions
with them to make the transition easier. And people have few
opportunities to earn money to buy things at the market in the
nearby town, Hadjer Hadid, where people use Sudanese currency
to trade.
Here in the camp, refugees are given the bare minimum to survive:
2,100 calories a person a day. Rations have to last 14 days
in conditions of extreme heat, and with the threat of termites
and other pests. So there is no fresh meat, fruit or vegetables.
Some refugees take a portion of their rations to the market
to sell, so they can buy fresh food or other essentials.
“We are worried because we don’t eat the same things
as before. There are people who don’t eat well because
they have sold their ration to buy things. The vision of all
refugees is to eat more vegetables and meat.”
Even in exile, Adam tries to help settle disputes among his
people.
“In this camp there are lots of people from Terbeba, I
don’t know how many exactly. If there is a problem I try
to calm people. We try to intervene and sort out the problems.”
Eelko Brouwer, head of the International Federation’s
delegation in Chad, says people like Adam are inspiring: “The
human resources of the Movement are the most importing thing
to us and it’s encouraging that people continue to believe
in the principles despite the fact that they have fled because
these principles have been violated.”
“I think this sends a message to all the partners in the
Movement – that we should not stop at borders. We should
co-ordinate our efforts in Sudan and Chad to facilitate the
return of people like Adam,” he adds.
Meanwhile, Adam still has work to do. One problem is especially
bothering him: the flies that swarm over everyone and everything
in the camp. Adam is hoping to find a solution, perhaps spraying
the latrines and tents to repel the pests.
“Anything contrary to the health of people in the camp
is something I just can’t accept.”
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“The
Red Cross and the Red Crescent are part of the same movement.
They have the same objectives, the same job to do,”
says Adam. (p12999)
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Red
Cross volunteers, many of them refugees themselves, are
helping to ensure the health of those who have fled to
Chad, such as here at Tréguine camp’s nutrition
centre. (p13000)
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