Gilles Lordet
In early January, tens of thousands of people fled N’Djamena, the capital city of Chad and the scene of violent clashes between rebel and government forces. Over 30,000 Chadians made their way to the Cameroon border town of Kousseri, on the other side of the Chari River, which separates the two countries. While most of the families are grouped together at the transit site in Madana just over the bridge leading to Kousseri, many others are sleeping in public places, schools, mosques and museums. Still in a state of shock, the refugees are hungry and cold and need food and water.
From the moment the crisis began, Cameroon Red Cross Society volunteers took immediate action to provide emergency aid to the refugees, with support from the regional office of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
While organizing an initial distribution of relief supplies in partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with the support of Cameroon Red Cross Society volunteers, the International Federation also sent two delegates to assess the situation in Kousseri and launch the operation required.
At the Madana camp
Niels Scott, operations coordinator in Africa, and Benoît Porte, operations coordinator, arrived in Kousseri on Saturday to begin a series of field visits. In Madana, the two assessors made a preliminary tour of the camp and talked to a number of refugees, who told them that they had had just enough time to gather together two or three bags of belongings and are now sleeping out in the open and suffering the cold. Many of the refugees are still very shaken by the violent fighting. A large proportion of the refugees are children, who are particularly vulnerable.
“It is important to record their impressions while they are still fresh in their minds,” explains Niels Scott. “Our mission is to assess their needs and find out what operations partners have already initiated or are set to begin. Work must get underway immediately. In 24 hours, we must have an overall picture of the situation and define the action we need to take”.
On Saturday, Cameroon Red Cross Society volunteers organized an initial distribution of food supplies in partnership with the UNHCR and WFP. “The supplies consist of rice and sorghum, which will meet the most immediate needs of these people,” remarks Benoit Porte. Water and sanitation arrangements in the camp seem to be satisfactory, and medical facilities are already in place.
Field observations in the town
While Niels meets with the Cameroon government authorities and various international organizations, Benoît visits the hospital in Kousseri supported by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The medical centre is overwhelmed, but the NGO has the situation under control. Benoît Porte then heads for the Catholic clinic in the Madagascar neighbourhood and makes some queries: “The authorities and partners like MSF seem to have the medical situation in the town under control. However, it is necessary to set up medical facilities at the Maltam camp. There is a lot to be done there”. The existing camps are only temporary, and the UNHCR plans to relocate the refugees to a camp established specifically for this purpose in Maltam, 30 km from Kousseri. The relocation operation is scheduled to begin on 16 February.
While many refugees are grouped together at the main Madana and CETIC transit sites, there are also families who have taken refuge in public places in the town, in schools, parish halls, churches and mosques. Benoît spends several hours with families out in the street: “Nothing has been done about water in the town. There are many refugees scattered all over the town, which is a burden for the local population. This problem needs to be resolved.”
In the evening, a meeting is held for all the humanitarian actors present under the aegis of the UNHCR, at which new contacts are established and the role of each actor clearly defined. “The aim is to ensure that we complement each other,” observes Benoît Porte. Niels Scott adds that "while there are many of us, this is not a case of humanitarian congestion. It is a situation in which we can carry out an exemplary operation by cooperating with each other”.
Defining action
Niels and Benoît meet up again in the evening and share their observations with each other: “Everyone seems to be focusing on non-food aid. The pressing need now is to supply safe drinking water for those in the town centre, says Niels Scott. It is also essential to provide medical care by setting up a basic health care (BHC) centre at the Maltam camp”. These are the first ideas that they put down on paper. After several hours of recording their assessment and calculating the budget, they have precisely and clearly defined the action required.
The machine has now been set in motion: on Sunday, two emergency response units (ERUs) are put into operation, one to provide drinking water in Kousseri and the other to set up an emergency medical unit in Maltam. They will be operational in four days.
Benoît Porte explains: “A BHC centre treats common pathologies from emergency conditions to minor injuries, which must not be neglected, because they have a strong psychological impact. A BHC centre can treat up to 10,000 people over three months. The supply of drinking water will be ensured by pumping water from the river and treating it. It will then be taken to a number of tanks installed around the town on a daily basis”. The two assessors envisage a six-month operation, which may need to be extended.
Crisis far from over?
“The crisis in Chad is, in all probability, a tragedy that is far from over,” remarks Niels. “We are facing a humanitarian situation that we have already seen elsewhere. However, it must be added that, in this case, we do not really know what is going to happen. Are people going to return to N’Djamena en masse? Will a part of the refugees stay in Cameroon for political, religious or ethnic reasons, which must be taken into account in this crisis? Will the war continue and will we see further influxes of refugees from the other side of the Chari River? We do not have the answers to these questions.
Responses so far signal that humanitarian organizations expect the crisis to continue. They are right to make this assumption! We must be prepared in case the crisis enters a more critical phase. However, this may have the effect of keeping the refugees where they are and will not encourage them to return home. They will remain where they are receiving assistance and, above all, where they enjoy refugee status, giving them the right to physical protection and humanitarian assistance. There is no question that, for some of them, this is an enviable situation! We must therefore carefully gauge the humanitarian response that we provide, which is not an easy thing to do.”