UNHCR starts relocation of 3,500 Sudanese refugees in Central African Republic

News Stories, 16 November 2010

© UNHCR/N.Rost
Sudanese refugees at the Sam Ouandja site in north-eastern Central African Republic. UNHCR is helping relocate the refugees to the south.

BAMBARI, Central African Republic, November 16 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency and the Central African Republic (CAR) government have begun relocating some 3,500 Sudanese refugees from a camp in the country's far northeast to Bambari in the safer south-centre.

The refugee airlift began last Wednesday and will take about a month to complete. UNHCR is running four daily flights using 35-seater Dash-8 planes – larger aircraft can't land on the airstrip at Sam Ouandja camp. So far some 500 people have been moved.

Most of the refugees at Sam Ouandja originate from Dafak, a town some 200 kilometres away in Sudan's southern Darfur region. They fled across the border on foot in June 2007 to escape fighting and have been at Sam Ouandja ever since, but in conditions that over the past two years have become increasingly difficult.

"I am very happy to have moved here with my children. I really hope that it will be different from Sam Ouandja and that we will be allowed to start a peaceful new life," said Mariam, who walked for 13 days to reach CAR after fleeing Darfur.

Two main factors have made the move necessary. The first is insecurity. Sam Ouandja lies just 80 kms from the border with Darfur in an area with almost no government presence – the camp has found itself being frequently visited by fighters. The presence of armed bandits and rebels, and the withdrawal of UN peace-keeping troops securing the camp, are further reasons for the move.

Secondly, UNHCR faces extreme logistical difficulties in monitoring and assisting refugees in this remote part of CAR. Poor road conditions have limited UNHCR's ability to transport aid to the camp. Instead of monthly distributions, the food and aid has been delivered every two or three months. During the rainy season, it takes, on average, 10 days for the trucks loaded with aid to cover the 950 kms between the capital, Bangui, and Sam Ouandja.

The new camp lies just outside Bambari, which is located 380 kms north-east of Bangui and is more accessible. The camp has ample capacity for the people being moved there. On arrival refugees stay at a transit centre for five days while constructing new family shelters with kits provided by the UNHCR office in Bambari.

"Here we will live in peace and in dignity," said Ahmat, a man in his seventies who was on the first relocation flight. "Here it is really different from Sam Ouandja. There are trees everywhere. My children and I will be able to restart our lives without fear," added Awa, a widow relocated with her four children.

In Central African Republic, UNHCR helps protect and assist some 25,000 Congolese, Chadian and Sudanese refugees and 192,000 internally displaced people. The three main groups of concern to UNHCR are internally displaced people in the north and in Haut-Mbomou; the Sudanese refugees now being moved from Sam Ouandja; and refugees in urban areas and Haut-Mbomou.

By Djerassem Mbaiorem in Bambari, Cental African Republic

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International Women's Day 2013

Gender equality remains a distant goal for many women and girls around the world, particularly those who are forcibly displaced or stateless. Multiple forms of discrimination hamper their enjoyment of basic rights: sexual and gender-based violence persists in brutal forms, girls and women struggle to access education and livelihoods opportunities, and women's voices are often powerless to influence decisions that affect their lives. Displaced women often end up alone, or as single parents, battling to make ends meet. Girls who become separated or lose their families during conflict are especially vulnerable to abuse.

On International Women's Day, UNHCR reaffirms its commitment to fight for women's empowerment and gender equality. In all regions of the world we are working to support refugee women's participation and leadership in camp committees and community structures, so they can assume greater control over their lives. We have also intensified our efforts to prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based violence, with a focus on emergencies, including by improving access to justice for survivors. Significantly, we are increasingly working with men and boys, in addition to women and girls, to bring an end to dangerous cycles of violence and promote gender equality.

These photographs pay tribute to forcibly displaced women and girls around the world. They include images of women and girls from some of today's major displacement crises, including Syria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali and Sudan.

International Women's Day 2013

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