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Displaced in eastern Chad: One koro of millet to feed thirteen mouths A plough lies in the shade of the straw hut and is a reminder of the time when M. Abdulai was still a farmer. Agriculture didn’t make him rich. Everything that is harvested at the end of the brief vegetation period in Chad’s dry south-easterly region is stored in large clay pots and has to suffice for the rest of the year. But at least Abdulai could still feed his family of 13. At least, he could until militia raided his home village of Faride on 7 November 2006. Many of the approximately 1,000 villagers were injured and the village was pillaged and burnt to the ground. Abdulai fled in haste with the other villagers from the attackers, who were armed with machine guns and, according to him, were Arabic-speaking Chadians. So they travelled to nearby Karo. Then the surrounding villages also experienced violence and pillaging, so the people from Faride set off once more. The population of the whole area has by now gathered in an improvised camp near Goz Beïda. Between 8,000 and 10,000 people are currently waiting at the gates of the district capital, hoping to find a minimum of security.
A koro of millet “We didn’t have time to bring grain, clothes, mats or blankets,” says Abdulai. “We have nothing left except two donkeys.” They help carry kindling from the area around the camp to the market in Goz Beïda. “The money we get from that is just enough for one koro of millet.” Abdulai shows us an empty bowl with a capacity of 3 kg, the contents of which have to feed thirteen people every day. “We see some malnourished children, but not many more than is usual in this region,” says Maximilian Gertler. The MSF doctor holds a surgery three times a week in the camp along with a mobile medical team. “But the people don’t have any energy any more. In combination with other health problems, the number of malnourished children could skyrocket.”
Smelly, muddy water Diarrhoea is an illness that, when coupled with malnourishment, can cause a vicious circle which is particularly dangerous for young children. The main cause is contaminated drinking water. “In terms of water volume, the four wells near the camp are coping surprisingly well with the huge demand of so many people,” says Michel Becks, MSF water and sanitation expert. “But the quality is terrible. The water is muddy and smelly.” So Becks’ team has set up two boreholes with hand pumps while the aid organisation Oxfam cleans the existing wells. A lack of hygiene and bad living conditions in the camp also hide other
potential health risks: there are hardly any latrines and the makeshift huts
made from branches and straw hardly protect against the wind, dust and low
night-time temperatures. Maximilian Gertler says: “The people are sleeping
on the bare ground with no mats or blankets at temperatures of 12 to 15 ºC.
It’s no wonder that we are having to treat more and more people with
pneumonia. Conjunctivitis is neither contagious nor life-threatening and in normal conditions, it is not a serious health problem. “But because of all the dust and the lack of hygiene, I am treating increasingly serious cases every day: babies whose eyes are stuck together and oozing with pus,” says Maximilian Gertler. “This shows that the people urgently need clean water, soap, mats, blankets and better shelters.” No security, no harvest Many organisations specialised in providing water, food or shelter are struggling with the complex logistics offered by the inaccessible area and the lack of security. At the end of January, precisely 11 weeks and two days after they fled home, Abdulai’s family finally received its first rations from the UN’s World Food Programme, which is supposed to be enough for four weeks. Blankets, mats, buckets and plastic sheeting have also been distributed by MSF to over 2,200 families in the camp near Goz Beïda. Most of all, however, Abdulai needs a safe village to return to so that he can tend his fields. If he cannot plant anything in March, he won’t be able to harvest anything in autumn and will then have to be reliant on outside help for another year. But when some of the villagers from Faride returned home at the end of December, seven were shot dead. Attacks are even happening just outside the camp: just a few days ago, Abdulai and two of his children were a few kilometres away from the camp collecting straw when they were shot at. “There were seven riders – four on horseback and three on camels.” South eastern Chad: Stepping up assistance to displaced amid deteriorating securitySince early 2006, attacks on civilians in south-eastern Chad have resulted in the displacement of more than 100.000 Chadians. About 40,000 of them fled their homes in November and December alone when violence peaked. According to many displaced people attacks are generally being carried out by armed militia. In attacks on villages many people have been killed and wounded, belongings and food stores have either been burned or pillaged, sometimes entire villages have been burned to the ground. The displaced are forced to leave their homes with few belongings, they struggle to survive with little food and without the means to support themselves and are prevented from returning to their homes by patrolling gunmen. Many displaced remain in informal settlements in insecure areas where they get no or only little assistance. Increased humanitarian needs due to violence and rising numbers of displaced
come at a time when, in a parallel development, south eastern Chad has become
the scene of confrontations between Chadian military and armed groups opposed
to the Chadian government. The unstable security environment limits many
aid agencies’ capacity to respond swiftly to the humanitarian needs
of the displaced, especially their lack of food, water and shelter. In Dogdoré, MSF has set up a 30-bed inpatient facility
where about 130 cases are admitted every month. Services include paediatrics,
maternal health and nutrition. MSF also runs the local health centre where
about 2,400 consultations are being done every month. Mobile medical teams
regularly visit villages and displaced sites in the area and refer severe
cases to Dogdoré. A water system, including hepatitis E disinfection
with UV light, has been installed and provides about 180,000 to 200,000 litres
of drinking water to the local and displaced population. About 10,000 displaced
have received essential items such as blankets, mats, soap and jerry cans. A medical team based in Goz Beida sees about 1,800 patients every months, the majority of them in the nearby Gassire displaced site where between 8,000 and 10,000 people have gathered in makeshift huts. 3,000 children in the camp have been vaccinated against measles. During weekly visits to Kerfi and Sassebana further south, villagers and displaced receive basic medical care or are being referred to Goz Beida should they need further treatment. Relief items such as plastic sheeting, blankets, soap and buckets have been distributed to a total of 10,000 people in Gassire and Sassebana Further north, a medical team based in Hadjer Hadid reaches out to the Goz Bagar and Goundiang displaced sites where more than a thousand patients are being treated every month during mobile clinics. MSF provides basic health care to about 1,400 displaced who have gathered a dozen kilometres outside of Am Timam. About 1,000 patients are seen per month. Serious cases are referred to the Am Timam hospital which is supported by MSF with drugs and medical material. MSF has also distributed blankets and plastic sheeting among the displaced and provides them with clean drinking water. The violence has not yet directly affected the numerous refugee camps housing some 200,000 men, women and children who fled fighting in Sudan's Darfur region since 2003. MSF provides medical care to a total of about 80,000 people living in Iridimi, Touloum, Farchana and Bredjing refugee camps and to the surrounding Chadian population. MSF also continues to provide health care in the Adré, Iriba, Tiné and Guereda hospitals. MSF has been working in Chad since 1981.
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South
eastern Chad: 