|
|
|
The Lutheran World Federation
Lutheran World Information |
|
| 27.02.2008 |
|
| Thousands of Chadian Refugees in Cameroon Still Afraid to Return Home |
| |
LWF Assists People Sheltered in Churches, Hospitals
KOUKOU, Eastern Chad/GENEVA, 27 February 2008 (LWI) - A representative of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Chad says thousands who fled the capital N'djamena into neighboring Cameroon following the early February fighting between government troops and rebels are afraid to return home, citing fears over security, especially under the current state of emergency.
“Churches, houses and hospitals in Kousseri have been filled to capacity trying to cope with the influx,” says Mr Jaap Aantjes, regional supervisor for recently established LWF Department for World Service (DWS) programs in East Africa including the Chad operations. Aantjes who visited the Cameroonian northern border town of Kousseri 14-20 February, says large groups of refugees were still camping in open public places awaiting processing with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for accommodation in camps under construction.
The attack on the capital left an estimated 160 people dead, many wounded and thousands displaced. After the Chadian army repulsed the rebels, the government declared mid-February a 15-day nation-wide state of emergency.
At the height of the turmoil an estimated 30,000 Chadians sought refuge in Kousseri’s churches, houses and hospitals according to the UNHCR and Cameroon Red Cross. With relative calm since restored, many have returned home, and the number of those sheltering in churches in northern Cameroon had reduced from over 6,500 to around 3,000 refugees at the time of the LWF/DWS visit.
The DWS Chad office is collaborating with Action by Churches Together (ACT) International and the Church of the Lutheran Brethren of Cameroon (EFLC - Eglise fraternelle luthérienne du Cameroun) to provide relief assistance to the refugees.
EFLC president Rev. Robert Goyek Daga says the LWF member church in conjunction with other churches moved in quickly to respond to the situation in northern Cameroon with their limited resources, but external support is still required.
The early February security situation had resulted in the scaling back of DWS operations in eastern Chad and temporary reduction of staff persons, but normal work has resumed, including completion of a DWS mission to the south to assess the situation of refugees from the Central African Republic.
DWS assistance to over 45,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in eastern Chad includes camp management, psychosocial assistance to IDPs, and support to host communities surrounding the Habile and Aradib camps in the border area with Sudan’s western region of Darfur.
LWF/DWS works in 36 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin and Central America, through four regional and 15 country programs and emergency operations.
The LWF is founding member of ACT International, the Geneva-based global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide. (459 words)
|
If you want to edit this article yourself and adapt it to a given format, follow our editing information
|
|
|
|
|
|
