The mass and rapid return of up to 70,000 ethnic Uzbek refugees to Kyrgyzstan from Uzbekistan has brought a new set of challenges for the Red Cross Red Crescent. Up to 300,000 people left their homes earlier this month in the wake of inter-ethnic clashes that left hundreds of people dead and thousands more wounded, mainly in and around Osh, the second largest city in Kyrgyzstan.
Some 70,000 of these are registered as refugees in Uzbekistan and were housed in camps and public buildings. It is believed that just 395 of the original caseload remain in the border area, most of them wounded or sick. Another 15,000 people, who did not register as refugees, are thought to be living with host families.
The launch of the preliminary emergency appeal of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), in support of the considerable efforts of the Red Crescent Society of Uzbekistan within its own country, generated significant support in kind, cash and technical assistance.
The Red Crescent Society is currently in discussions with the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan about modalities that would permit the re-allocation of remainders of the aid received to the same group of people facing significant needs and vulnerabilities as recently returned citizens of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. Meanwhile the IFRC operation in Uzbekistan is being re-evaluated to see how it is resourced in country and the wider region.
The IFRC FACT (Field Assessment and Coordination Team) based in the Uzbek city of Andijan, close to the border, visited many of the camps in recent days and confirmed that they were emptying rapidly.
Some FACT members will move from Andijan to the Uzbek capital Tashkent, leaving key personnel (health, shelter and information management experts) in the border region. Some 27 tonnes of aid donated by the Uzbek diaspora and wealthy local people is being readied for transportation to the border, where it will be received by the Red Crescent Society of Kyrgyzstan and distributed to those most in need.
The activities of the Red Crescent Society of Kyrgyzstan, initiated immediately after the outbreak of violence, is been supported by an allocation of 171,625 Swiss francs (154,437 US dollars or 124,546 euros) from the IFRC’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) for delivery of assistance to some 2,600 beneficiaries, or to replenish disaster preparedness stocks.
The IFRC’s representative in Kyrgyzstan, Eric Michel-Sellier, is in contact with Kyrgyz Red Crescent staff in Osh and Jalalabad, the locations where the majority of the refugees and displaced fled when clashes broke out. He reported that the situation in Osh is calm today, and returnees are visiting their properties, settling back home or finding shelter with relatives.
The Uzbek and Kyrgyz Red Crescent Societies are participating in coordination meetings with the ICRC and IFRC in both countries, and with other major humanitarian partners. Contingency plans are being made in case of new population movements, and the IFRC, alongside other components of the Movement, is following developments closely in order to be prepared for such an eventuality.
The ICRC and volunteers from the Kyrgyz Red Crescent have distributed food rations in the city of Osh and in Osh province, along the Kyrgyz–Uzbek border. Over 200,000 people have so far received rations of wheat flour and oil. Kitchen and hygiene items have also been distributed to 1,700 families. Last week, food was delivered to around 1,000 people being held in places of detention in Osh and Jalalabad. In addition, the ICRC is working with the Kyrgyz Red Crescent to restore contact among family members separated from one another by the recent violence, and advising the authorities on handling mortal remains in a way that facilitates identification.