Survival for the fittest in refugee camps in Bundibugyo district

Refugees from the DR Congo mingle maize flour at Bubukwanga camp on Thursday. PHOTO BY RUTH KATUSABE. 

By FELIX BASIIME & RUTH KATUSBE

Posted Monday, July 22, 2013 at 01:00 [http://www.monitor.co.ug/SpecialReports/Survival-for-the-fittest-in-refugee-camps/-/688342/1922488/-/fq0uquz/-/index.html]

In Summary

There is a shortage of food, sanitation is poor and many of the Congolese in camps in Bundibugyo do not have shelter.


BUNDIBUGYO

It is almost two weeks ago when Ms Shalote Nakanwagi, 35, fled her home village of Nubili in Njiapanda in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with hundreds of other refugees and came to Uganda’s hilly Bundibugyo District.

They were fleeing fighting between suspected Allied Democratic Force (ADF) rebels and Congolese government soldiers. Ms Nakanwagi and about 65,000 other refugees were settled at Busunga and several other makeshift camps in Bundibugyo. But since July 11 when they came, it has been survival for the fittest as thousands struggle for food, shelter and health facilities.

“Since I was relocated from Bubandi camp on Monday (July 15) to Bubukwanga refugee camp, I have never got food which is supplied by relief agencies,” she says.

Ms Nakanwagi says this is due to the overwhelming numbers at Bubukwanga camp, where the relief organisations prepare communal food in big saucepans, serving porridge at around 10am and lunch at around 4pm each day.

“We queue up for food, sometimes other refugees do not get food because we are many and the food is little compared to the population. The strong ones struggle and get food, if you are weak you can’t get food” Ms Nakanwagi says.

Ms Tazam Nyota, who fled from Butembo in the DR Congo, says when it is time for meals, people fight in the queues, others pitch camp near the kitchen until food is ready to be served and by the time others get information to line up, they find food is over. “I have my two children surviving on the small package (millet flour) I came with from Congo. I cook and serve them, for me I am starving,” Nyota says.

At these refugee camps, the most suffering are the elderly and children, who do not have the strength to struggle for the scare food and other relief items. “Most of us sleep on empty stomachs. They serve us one meal which others fail to get. Others find their own means of eating once they fail to get on the queue. There is no mercy when it comes to time for food. Some people fall down and they end up being trampled on,” Ms Nyota says.

Most of the refugees still spend nights in the cold under trees as the tents are not enough. Others used their blankets and sticks to build makeshift shelters.

Sanitation at the camp is poor. There is a shortage of pit-latrines. Due to the huge number of refugees, some pit-latrines have been filled up within the first four days of the refugees’ influx.

Red Cross staff are busy registering refugees at Bubukwanga camp as truckloads of refugees arrive daily from other camps. However, some refugees have received some relief aid such as blankets, plastic plates, cups and soap. Vaccination of the children against several killer diseases is ongoing.

Some of the refugees are receiving treatment and expectant mothers have received antenatal services. Some women have given birth in the camps as they fled while pregnant. Bubukwanga camp is located about 75km along Fort Portal- Bundibugyo road behind Bubukwanga Sub-county headquarters.

The nearest water source is about 2km away from the camp and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) brings water to the camp using a tanker daily. The refugees are not allowed to light any candle in the camp. They only use touches supplied to them and some other light source is provided outside at night.

Mr Charles Bafaki, a senior settlement officer in the Office of Prime Minister, says they have so far registered 15,000 refugees at Bubukwanga.
“This is for those who have accepted to be relocated, others refused and returned to Congo,” says Bafaki.

Health services

There are three ambulances in case of any emergencies, especially the expectant mothers. The camp is well equipped with local and International doctors and nurses from United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Save the Children, World Vision and Médecins Sans Frontières.

“Our health centre at Bubukwanga is well equipped with drugs and specialists in different sections. Expectant mothers are able to give birth. In case of any referral, our ambulances are fully equipped to transport patients to another hospital,” Mr Bafaki says. Dr Stephen Njoroge Mwaura, the UNHCR health coordinator says 1,180 children have been vaccinated.

“Efforts have been made by Unicef and other organisations, including Save the Children, to provide safe water in the camps with big tanks but water is still a challenge,” Bafaki says.
Pit-latrines in the area are a big challenge because the water table is high and as such pit-latrines are very shallow and fill up quickly.

“We tried to dig up latrines at different camps but the problem is that the area has too much water in the ground. We do not dig beyond 15 feet, we are proposing to use drainable latrines,” Mr Bafaki says.

The UPDF and other volunteers have come in to help in the construction of more accommodation but the numbers of refugees is still overwhelming with fresh fighting reported in DRC on Saturday.

“If the situation persists, I shall notify the Minister of Refugees and Disaster Preparedness so that the refugees be transferred to other refugee camps in Kyangwali (Hoima District) because they are too many and the land is little compared to the population” Mr Bafaki says.

Impact of refugees
There has been a great impact of refugee settlement on the people and authorities of Bundibugyo. The schools in Nyahuka and Bubandi sub-counties, such as Kalera, Busulu, Butoogo, Bubandi, Busunga, and Bughendera have since July 11 closed because they were turned into refugee camps and the latrines are full.

The pit-latrines need to be emptied. Some of the furniture at the schools was used as firewood by the refugees. “In most of the schools the sanitation is not good. These refugees exposed human wastes in some of the places because the population was big,” Mr Bafaki says.
The relocation of refugees to Bubukwanga has also affected 30 families that had their gardens on government land destroyed to pave way for the construction of tents for refugees.

Security in camps
“Security is calm, we have a 24-hour security patrol in the camp but the challenge is that some of the refugees still use charcoal stoves yet they are abolished but we are going to fight it, we fear fire outbreak in the camp,” Mr Bafaki says.

The State Minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, Mr Musa Ecweru, on Friday asked Unicef, World Vision and Save the Children to renovate the affected schools and asked the World Food Programme to give relief aid to the 30 families affected by refugee’s relocation to Bubukwanga.