Almost straddling the border of Darfur and Chad, and less than 30 kilometres from the Central African Republic, the town of Um Dukhun perfectly illustrates the increasingly regional nature of the Darfur crisis, spilling over into neighbouring countries.
Before the conflict it was a small town famous for its market that attracted traders from all over the region. Today, as well as people seeking refuge from violence and attacks on villages elsewhere in Darfur, thousands of refugees from Chad have sought shelter here. In recent months refugees have also arrived from the CAR.
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Almost straddling the border of Darfur and Chad, and less than 30 kilometres from the Central African Republic, the town of Um Dukhun perfectly illustrates the increasingly regional nature of the Darfur crisis, spilling over into neighbouring countries. Before the conflict it was a small town famous for its market that attracted traders from all over the region. Today, as well as people seeking refuge from violence and attacks on villages elsewhere in Darfur, thousands of refugees from Chad have sought shelter here. In recent months refugees have also arrived from the CAR. Initially the Fur and Masalit tribes made up the majority of the town’s inhabitants, but in the late 1980s other tribes suffering from famine – both African and Arab – moved into the area, increasing competition for natural resources. Oxfam has been working in the area for three years, providing essential water, sanitation and public health education. |
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As part of Oxfam’s hygiene promotion projects, we organise regular community clean-up campaigns in the camps. Three times a week dozens of women gather early in the morning to sweep the dusty camp from top to bottom in traditional style, singing as they brush. Faeces from donkeys are one of the biggest problems. “The faeces spread diarrhoea and other diseases, particularly among children,” says Yousif Jabir Abdalla, Oxfam’s public health organiser in Osher camp. “Ideally the donkeys could be kept far away from the homes – but then they would be stolen by bandits, so people have to keep them close to the family. Clean-up campaigns such as this help to remove the faeces.” “When we first arrived here, our children often got sick,” says Halwa, a refugee from the Central African Republic, where her village was attacked and destroyed. “But now everybody is healthy, there are less flies, very few cases of diarrhoea and we can let our children play without worrying.” |
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| As well as providing water and sanitation, Oxfam also distributes essential supplies such as blankets and jerry cans. On this afternoon, more than 500 blankets were distributed to families in Osher camp, following previous distributions before the winter months set in. At this time of year, the nights in Darfur can be bitterly cold – especially for people in the camps sheltering in huts made of grass and bamboo. |
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Wherever possible Oxfam works with materials that are locally available, sustainable and make use of local skills and expertise. “We have built hundreds of latrines in the camps here,” says Abdelmomin Mohammed Adam, one of Oxfam’s public health team. “They need reinforcing to ensure that they don’t collapse. But brick structures are very expensive and take a long time to construct. “However, bamboo structures are equally strong and the grass grows close to the camp, providing livelihood opportunities for local people. “We have trained craftsmen from the camps and town to make the structures, and then Oxfam buys them directly from them.” |
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Another source of income comes from making clay pots, which can be used for carrying water and also for making traditional sand filters that purify water collected from the muddy pools around the camp. The water is poured through pots filled with sand, coal and gravel, which sift out harmful bacteria and make the water safe to drink. “I make about six pots a day,” says Eisha, a refugee from Chad who came to Um Dukhun when militia groups from Darfur began crossing the border to attack and intimidate Chadian villages. Oxfam then buys the pots from her to make into filters. “We mix mud and water and then mix it with millet and sawdust to make it stick together,” she says. “We scrape a shallow hole in the ground, in which we spin the pot around, beating it into shape. Then we put it in the fire to dry. It’s quite a simple process and it only takes about half an hour. It gives me money to support my children, and I like feeling that my work is benefiting the whole community.” |
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With more than two million people displaced in Darfur and sheltering in camps, it is often overlooked that there are other communities also affected by the conflict and in need of assistance. Oxfam is working to provide water to the people in Um Dukhun town as well as the surrounding camps. Here, the Oxfam drilling team is setting up a new borehole to provide water to 60 families in Sheric – an eastern suburb of the town. Since April 2006, Oxfam has constructed more than 50 such boreholes in the area. According to drilling team leader Jackson Kioko Nzioka, “Many of the people living in Sheric are traditionally nomadic, travelling frequently between Chad and Darfur. But these days it is too dangerous for them to move around and many are settling in the town. We are working to ensure that they have a plentiful supply of clean water.” “There are many villages around Um Dukhun that are still inhabited and desperately need assistance,” says Jackson. “We began drilling boreholes there as well, but in recent months there have been large numbers of heavily armed Chad rebel groups and Arab militia roaming the area, making it too dangerous for us to operate.” |
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At Gharib camp, on the western edge of Um Dukhun, families of refugees from Chad continue to trickle over the border every day. Idris and his large extended family arrived in Um Dukhun this morning. They headed for Um Dukhun as they have family already here in the camps – but they don’t know where. Until they find them they are sheltering under the trees. “Another tribe came and attacked my village,” says Idris. “They killed my brother and stole all my cattle. We walked for four days from Chad to get here. More are on their way – maybe another 60 or 70 families from my village. It is too dangerous there, we cannot stay.” |
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| “We place great emphasis on coordinating our work with the communities that we are trying to help,” says Charles Dashe, Oxfam’s manager in the Um Dukhun area. “That way we can make sure that we are really addressing their needs. We have set up community health committees to ensure our hygiene promotion messages are properly disseminated. We also regularly meet with women’s groups. As in most camps in Darfur, women make up the majority and are traditionally responsible for cooking and cleaning, and therefore have the most influence in keeping people healthy.” |
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Maintaining programmes in the town and camps requires transporting large amounts of materials and equipment – everything from bricks and pots to piping and jerry cans. And sometimes this is not as straightforward as you might think. “It would be easier to use our own vehicles to take all these things to the camps,” says Charles Dashe. “But at the moment in Darfur, vehicles are being hijacked almost every day. We just can’t take the risk. Instead we use local donkey carts – much slower but far less attractive to hijackers! It also supports local enterprise and helps involve the community in all steps of our work.” |
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Recently in Um Dukhun, two armed men broke into the Oxfam compound and assaulted the guard. All over Darfur, such attacks on humanitarian workers and offices are becoming both more frequent and more violent. As a result of this, our programmes were temporarily suspended for one week and non-local staff withdrawn to Nyala – the capital of South Darfur. As NGO vehicles are increasingly being stolen or hijacked by bandits and the numerous different armed groups in Darfur, we had to remove the wheels from the vehicles to reduce the risk of them being stolen while staff were away. Photo credit: Alun McDonald/Oxfam |