Following the request of the Government of Chad to IOM for assistance on the humanitarian situation in Tissi, IOM’s Chief of Mission in Chad, Dr Qasim Sufi participated in a joint IOM-UNHCR assessment mission of the Chad-Sudan border area surrounding Tissi from 17-22 April. The Technical Advisor of ECHO and Expert from the Ministry of Pastoral Development and Animal Production also participated in the mission.

The team travelled from N’Djamena to Koukou by air (UNHAS Flight) via Abeche on 17th April and from Koukou to Tissi by road on 18th April. The journey from Koukou to Tissi lasted for 8 hours on a non-asphalted road and without mobile network coverage. The road passes through 21 deep valleys, which become impassable during rainy season. Rains are expected to start in two to three weeks this year.

The main objective of the assessment mission was to gather information on the displaced population through: 1) meetings with national authorities, i.e., the Governor of Sila, the Prefait, the CNARR Representative; 2) discussions with humanitarian agencies, i.e., UNHCR, MSF, ICRC, etc.; and 3) site visits, key informant interviews and focus group discussions with the affected persons.

There are an estimated 50,000 displaced persons in the area: 20,000 Chadian returnees, 30,000 refugees and a number of internally displaced persons (IDP) who have yet to be counted. The biggest number of displaced persons has originated from Darfur, Sudan; however, there are also returnees and refugees from the Central African Republic (CAR).

Key informant interviews in Haraza have revealed that the Chadian returnees fled violent conflict in Chad in 2006 and settled down in Darfur, where they established their livelihoods. They are predominantly female-headed households who fled the conflict with their children, leaving their husbands or male relatives behind to defend their homes and farms.

The main cause of the displacement is the inter-communal fighting between the two Arab ethnic groups of Misseria and Salamat around the gold mines of Djabal-Amir in Darfur that started in January and has since spread across the area.

“We have left all our properties behind us as we had to escape with our lives. Our fathers have been killed. Our properties have been burned,” one witness states during the interviews.

“Currently we are facing a lot of problems in our daily life. We survive by doing small daily jobs in Haraza but that is not enough. We are hungry. We need your assistance so that we can take care of ourselves,” says a female head of household.

Urgent needs expressed by the returnees are: food; livelihood; potable water; education; health care; and various items such as. mats, bed sheets, mosquito nets, cooking utensils, etc.

“Our relatives are ready to receive us; however, they themselves do not have the means to support themselves as we were supporting them by sending remittances while we were in Sudan,” says Abdelkerim Adam Bourma.

“We are ready to go back to our places of origin if we are assisted, as we lack the means to reach our destination and reintegrate ourselves into the communities that we left behind since 2006.”

IOM Chad is currently conducting registration and profiling exercises. The data will be used as the basis for food provision in coordination with the World Food Programme and provision of additional and individual assistance such as specialized transportation for beneficiaries with specific vulnerabilities. Preparations are being made to provide urgent life-saving assistance, including voluntary transport of the stranded population from the border region to their home communities. NFI supplies are already en route to Tissi. The setting up of the transit centre, office, and storage facilities have begun.

IOM is urgently appealing for further funding to effectuate live-saving support for the displaced and stranded population in this border area with Sudan and the Central African Republic but also for the influx of returnees at the borders with Libya and Nigeria before the rainy season. Moreover, the continuation of the violent clashes in Darfur could contribute to a further influx of returnees and refugees into the area.

The assessment mission was made possible through the efforts of IOM together with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the European Commission - Humanitarian Aid & Civil Protection, the National Agency for Refugees and Returnees (CNARR), and the Ministry of Pastoral Development and Animal Production.

Contact:

Dr. Qasim Sufi
Chief of Mission, IOM Chad
Office: +235 22 52 53 59/60 (Ext 111)
Mobile: + 235 62 90 06 74
Fax: + 235 22 52 53 61
Email: qsufi@iom.int