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The crisis in Darfur, one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world, has been on going since 2003. Yet with more than 200,000 dead the situation shows no sign of improving. In the first two months of 2007 alone 80,000 people were forced to flee their homes as fighting continued to spread. As the number of armed groups multiply in the region, Darfur and now neighboring eastern Chad are becoming increasingly dangerous for the people who live there.

The fighting has caused more than two million people, one in three of Darfur’s population, to flee their homes and seek safety in camps, old buildings or in neighboring Chad and the Central African Republic. So severe is the situation inside Darfur that half the population is now completely dependent on humanitarian aid for their survival. But the instability and rise in violent attacks is making it more and more difficult for aid agencies to deliver the help that is desperately needed. Consequently, about one million of the most vulnerable people in the most remote rural areas are without aid. People whose houses have been burned have fled to overcrowded camps often with no personal belongings. Although they may have access to basic necessities such as food and water in these camps, they are still at risk from violence. In many camps, women face danger if they venture out to collect firewood.

Islamic Relief in Darfur

Islamic Relief has been working in West Darfur since 2004 setting up and running the Kerinding II camp for displaced people near the town of El Geneina. The camp provides over 10,000 people with relative security as well as shelter, food, water, sanitation facilities, healthcare and schools for the children. The location was chosen because of the large number of families that were pouring into the town looking for safety from the fighting in their home villages. Many arrived with little more than the clothes on their backs and all were in desperate need of shelter and basic services such as medical care. Although many have been housed in camps such as Kerinding II, the continual stream of people entering El Geniena has forced many thousands to squat on disused pieces of land or in old buildings. These people have little access to any help or basic services and are amongst the most vulnerable people displaced by the instability.

Chad

As the conflict in Darfur has intensified it has continued to push thousands of displaced people into neighboring Chad. Around 200,000 Sudanese refugees have poured over the border and are now living in cramped camps. Tragically, the fighting from Darfur has also crossed the same border and militia violence within Chad is growing, causing over 128,000 Chadians to become displaced.

The internally displaced people are now living in informal camps with even more limited resources than their Sudanese counterparts. The sites where internally displaced Chadians have settled lack in all essential facilities such as shelter, clean water and sanitation. In some places the situation is so bad that people have crossed the Chad border into Darfur to try and access help from the camps within the troubled region.

Heavy Rains

The rainy season has already begun in Chad, making the delivery of aid extremely difficult. The heavy rains have also caused an increase in cases of malaria, especially among undernourished children, triggering fears of a cholera outbreak. There is also a severe shortage of health facilities for displaced people, with many smaller sites having no services at all.

In some of the towns where the internally displaced people have fled, there are only 100 toilets per 25,000 people, well below the recommended international standards. Even before the Sudanese refugees entered Chad’s eastern region, this was one of the poorest places on earth. The increasing numbers of internally displaced people have led to tensions between them and the local host community over scarce resources, such as water and food. Although conditions in the camps for Sudanese refugees are cramped and often unhygienic, they are receiving regular food supplies and are able to access some health and education facilities.

New Office

Islamic Relief set up a new office in Chad in the capital city of N’Djamena in March 2007. We have already delivered emergency items such as tents, blankets, kitchen sets and plastic sheeting to 15,000 people in the town of Haouich, eastern Chad and will continue to provide support to the internally displaced people and host population for the next six months. As well as emergency relief, Islamic Relief will also provide shelter, support income generation activities and provide support to orphans.

A New Home for Thousands

At the beginning of June 2007, Islamic Relief began to relocate 4,000 people who had been living on disused land and in public buildings in El Geneina to Kerinding II camp. The camp cocoordinator, Nermin Silajdzic, explains why this was necessary and what life in the camp can offer.

“The people who have come to El Geneina have all fled violence in their home villages and have settled here because it is relatively safe and close to their homes. When they arrive in the town they find any open space, old or half finished building that they can shelter in, constructing ‘homes’ from straw, plastic sheeting and any other materials they can lay their hands on. A few people have managed to find shelter in buildings belonging to the Sultan of Masalit tribe, the so-called Sultan House settlement.”

Fleeing Home

One of these people is 47-year-old Yousuf who is living in the Sultan House settlement with his family of 13. Like all other displaced people living in El Geneina town, Yousuf and his family do not have access to services such as healthcare, clean water and schools, which are available to those families living in Kerinding II camp. Like the other women in the settlement, Yousuf ’s wives have to walk for about 40 minutes just to get to the nearest water source. This is a journey they have to make several times a day in order to collect the water the family needs. Sometimes Yousuf will pay to hire a donkey to carry the water back from the well, but this is not always possible.

Back-Breaking Work

Yousuf receives monthly food parcels from the United Nation’s World Food Program (WFP) but he must work to buy the extra food that his family needs. Two of the most common activities for the internally displaced community in El Geneina are stone cutting and the sale of mud bricks. Women can often spend eight hours a day digging and mixing mud to make bricks. In his old village Yousuf made a living selling fruit, vegetables and livestock such as goats and cows, he had a horse and enough food to feed both his families and even some surplus in store. Now, like many other displaced people, he has trouble buying even basic items such as blankets and plastic sheets.

Move to Kerinding II

The move to Kerinding II camp for 4,000 people should provide them with extra protection and security. It will also give them access to healthcare, education for their children, clean water and sanitation facilities, as well as essential items such as blankets and sheets.

Each family that moves into Kerinding II is provided with the materials to build their own shelter and special volunteer teams are on hand to help elderly and disabled people build their homes. Extra latrines and showers have also been constructed in the camp to help cope with the influx of new residents and the capacity of the health clinic in the camp has been extended. The relocation that began at the start of June will be gradual so the camp is not overwhelmed by the 4,000 new residents. So far over 480 households have been relocated to the camp. Yousuf ’s family is one of over 600 households from the Sultan House settlement moving to Kerinding II camp. Yousuf is happy about the move but what he would really like is to be able to return to his home village and the life he once had.