The bitter internal crisis which has rocked the Central
African Republic (CAR) since December 2012 has moved from the pages of the
newspapers but is the displacement of thousands of ordinary citizens is continuing.
Those who fled have been forced to abandon their houses and home areas, often
moving into rapidly-established camps, living in dismal conditions. The UN Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warns of household food and income sources
remaining significantly disrupted in CAR, “leaving affected households,
particularly IDPs, with food consumption gaps equivalent to Crisis (IPC Phase
3) or higher”. FAO notes that ongoing harvests offer some relief, but
“approximately 1 million people may require assistance by the 2015 lean season
(May to September).” Very high levels of acute malnutrition and mortality
persist at CAR refugee camps in Cameroon. Refugees and IDPs both need urgent
assistance to help households meet minimal food requirements and treat acute
malnutrition. The conflict is not over. October and November were marked by new
waves of violence in the capital, Bangui. Witnesses said political battles were
still being fought out on the streets, with the anti-Balaka militia
particularly prominent. French military sources warned of growing delinquency,
armed gangs taking part in looting sprees and robbing civilians at gunpoint.
There are still 31 refugee camps in the capital. The biggest
is still at M’Poko, near the airport. The airport became a critical refuge for
thousands of Bangui city-dwellers, mostly from the 3rd, 5th and 6th districts
of the city, fleeing renewed outbreaks of violence in which fighters from both
the former Séléka coalition and the anti-Balaka militias were implicated. At
the peak of the crisis, the airport camp played host to 60,000-70,000 people.
According to Dana Mcleod, director of communications for US-based NGO Refugees
International, "aid agencies deliberately scaled back their services in
order to discourage people from settling here." Numbers at M’poko are now
down to around 20,000, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). But despite the collective efforts of NGOs,
residents still describe conditions as “catastrophic”.
"I have been here since December 2013", Ndouga
told IRIN. "I was attacked by a group of armed men. My house was looted
and burned, so I fled here. If I go back home I would not know where to
sleep." Ndouga spoke with bitterness about his daily life. "We have
been abandoned here. We have been given water and latrines, but to have anything
to live on you have to go back to your home area and find a bit of work and ask
friends and family to get you something to eat."
"There is no security on this site, no doors for the
tents," explained Ruthe, a widow and mother of seven. "Thieves come
at night to rob us. The airport landing strip is a 'red zone' where you come
across criminals ready to rob people who go there." "We are seriously
suffering here," Ruthe told IRIN. "We have had no food aid for the
past eight months."
Martin Boua, a teacher, expressed concern about the role of
anti-Balaka militias, originally presented as popular self-defence units, but
later accused of serious human rights violations.
"When there is some kind of justice to be administered
it is often the anti-Balaka who fill the gap," Boua noted. "But some
of them engage in extortion, taking money and property, engaging in group rape
and armed robbery."
As visitors approach M’Poko, they see what looks like a
village, dotted with thousands of tents and other forms of shelter. The site is
divided into 11 zones, like city districts, which then divide into 80 sections.
Each zone is run by a president backed by a five-strong committee, handling
special issues for women and youth, working on conflict resolution and trying
to improve water and sanitation conditions. International NGOs, including the
International Committee of the Red Cross, Save the Children and Mercy Corps,
run individual programmes. IRIN recently witnessed Mercy Corps leading an
awareness-raising campaign on hygiene, activists going door to door from Monday
to Friday, then holding a mass meeting on the Saturday where messages were
relayed on basic health precautions, like using good water, washing with soap,
maintaining toilets properly and sleeping under mosquito nets. The NGO Première
Urgence takes care of administration and coordination. While the NGOs get a lot
of thanks for their efforts, some residents have strong reservations about
their role. For Martin Boua, "some NGOs are doing great work, but others
lead activities which have no impact, are late and ephemeral." Boua
suggested some NGOs disappeared from view, only coming back into the picture
when donors came visiting. "It is a whitewash," Boua complained.
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