Refugees

an example from Eastern Chad

Since 2004 a quarter of a million refugees from the Darfur region of Sudan have fled over the border into Eastern Chad.  In 2008 thousands are still arriving.

CORD has been in Chad since the crisis unfolded; we currently work with 82,600 refugees living in the four camps of Gaga, Farchana, Treguine and Bredjing.

Sixty per cent of the refugees are children and young people under the age of 18. Many are orphans of the conflict, left fending for themselves and trying to care for younger brothers and sisters. The traumas of what theywitnessed and endured remain prevalent in the daily struggle to survive in the arid climate; where food remains scarce, water is rationed and the camps have no access to electricity.  

Most people arrived with nothing but a few clothes and possibly a cooking pot.  There seems little hope of returning to Darfur in the foreseeable future; meanwhile, rebel insurgency in Chad itself has led to fierce fighting and hostilities surrounding the camps, making it difficult to travel between sites because of banditry. Rebel recruitment of young refugee men to join their cause is a worry.

All of these problems make our programmes even more imperative in providing a structure to their young lives, and the chance to experience some normality amidst constant uncertainty.