18 December 2006

InternaLlY displaced persons in Chad

On December 5, United Nations agencies, along with many of their NGO partners, decided to drastically reduce the numbers of their staff in the field because of insecurity. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) fears the impact of this withdrawal on the refugee populations, which are highly dependent on this aid. Internally displaced Chadians who have benefited from only minimal assistance now face even fewer opportunities to obtain aid. Despite the difficult security conditions, MSF is strengthening its aid program throughout eastern Chad on behalf of refugees, residents and displaced persons.

CONTEXT
Since 2003, nearly 200,000 Sudanese have taken refuge in eastern Chad, near the border with Sudan. They have been housed in refugee camps for three years. However, since the end of last year, this region has also been the site of confrontations among the government army and various rebel groups hostile to Chad’s President Idriss Deby. The rebels are using Sudan as a staging ground.

This violent conflict is increasing in intensity throughout the far eastern region of the country and many people (primarily military) have been wounded. In addition, attacks are targeting Chad’s civilian populations directly, particularly in the Ouaddaï region. They are of varied intensity and range from the theft of cattle to setting villages on fire and killing the populations. Most of the displaced we have been talking to describe their assailants as “Janjaweed” (literally, “thieves on horseback”) or “Arab nomads.” In fact, this term encompasses a wide range of armed actors, including rebels, bandits, militias, etc. These various actors lean on different ethnic groups at a time of strained relationships between nomads and sedentary populations, who are fighting over access to land, water and agricultural resources.

About 50,000 people have fled their homes in the surrounding areas. They are being accommodated by relatives or set up in makeshift huts in the surrounding villages that are considered more secure. There are no precise figures, but we also know that a few thousand have fled to Darfur (2,000 arrived in Habila in November after the attack of Koloye).

The Chadian authorities and the aid system have left these people on the scrap heap with no protection and no assistance. With the exception of MSF, very few humanitarian organisations are bringing assistance to them. Food security and access to water are the two main concerns in the short to medium term as people have fled their home and can’t go back to harvest.

MSF and the displaced
MSF has been working for the displaced since the beginning of 2006. We have medical activities in Dogdoré, Adé, Kerfi, Tcharo and Habilé. We also used to have a program in Koloye but had to evacuate because of insecurity at the end of October 2006. In mid November, Koloye and its surroundings were attacked and our base looted. The residents and the displaced (5,000) have been subsequently forced to move. Some of them went to Adé where MSF are running activities.

In Dogdoré (30 kilometers from the Sudanese frontier), free care and emergency medical treatment are available via a health centre, mobile medical visits and a hospitalisation unit. In addition, 180,000 litres of water are provided daily thanks to a pumping and water treatment station.

In Adé, a mobile team provides medical care and distributed essential supplies to the displaced persons.

In Kerfi, Tcharo and Habilé (near Goz Beida), a mobile team offers medical care.

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