Reuters AlertNet Lite - The shadow of a mountain: Both refuge and darkness for people displaced by conflict in Darfur

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FROM THE FIELD

The shadow of a mountain: Both refuge and darkness for people displaced by conflict in Darfur

10 Jan 2007 17:03:00 GMT
Source: ACT/Caritas - Darfur
By Charlotte Brudenell, ACT-Caritas field communicator

Website: Website: http://www.act-intl.org/actcaritas

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• Darfur conflict

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By Charlotte Brudenell, ACT-Caritas field communicator

Nertiti, Jebel Marra, January 10, 2007-As the sun rises from behind the mountain, boys in long, white shirts, known as "jelabia," hurry through the streets of Nertiti, kicking up the dust with their feet.

The healthy chatter of their youthful voices fills the quiet of a town where the common mode of transportation is either donkey or foot. (The only motorized vehicles that venture off the main tarmac road are those of humanitarian agencies, government authorities or armed forces).

The boys are hurrying to get to school on time. In the yard, those who arrive late for morning assembly try to strategically dodge past the teacher standing at the gate.

"I want to learn so that I can help develop my country and help my mother and my community by getting a job," says 15-year-old Abaker, a student at the school.

Abaker, like all the boys who attend "Northern Camp" school, lives in a camp for internally displaced people (IDP). He is one of more than 30,000 people living in two camps in Nertiti.

The school's headmaster explains: "After the conflict broke out in 2003, and their villages were burnt by armed militias, people flocked to Nertiti in the hope that the town would provide them with safety and protection."

The school was set up three years ago by ACT-Caritas partner Sudan Social Development Organization (SUDO), as existing government-run schools could not cope with the steep rise in student numbers due to the influx of IDPs.

The cost of sending their children to private schools could never be met by the displaced families who have lost both their homes and livelihoods.

"Northern camp" school provides education at a third of the cost of government schools and also provides free materials to the students and teachers. Originally it accommodated both boys and girls, but due to the number of students, another school for girls was created with the support of an international non-governmental organization.

"If this school wasn't here, and these children could not learn, then they would purely be victims of the conflict," says the headmaster.

In Nertiti, SUDO also runs a community center and a health care clinic,which provides free services and medication. At the community center, adult education classes provide men and women with the opportunity to learn a range of skills from basic literacy to Islam and English.

Small-scale income-generating activities are also carried out at the center,and a group of men have been trained to make shoes.

Ousman, one of the shoemakers, says, "This center is good for us. We are now able to work and get a small amount of money from what we sell."

"We were all farmers," says his colleague, Yusef, "but in three years I have not gone outside the town." As he explains, "It is not safe. We cannot go outside due to the spread of weapons." There is the sound of gunfire. No need to say more. But he does. "Everyday we hear gunshots."

Nertiti is located in the southwest foothills of Jebel Marra mountain, a stronghold of one of the largest factions of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA)and perhaps the most strategic location in the whole of Darfur.

Geographically difficult to access, it is also the most fertile area in Darfur.

With rebel groups just 2 to 3 kilometers up the mountainside, there is a large military base below the town, a strong police presence, as well as a base of the African Union (AU). The AU does not patrol around the camps, but soldiers from the government of Sudan army do.

And yet, "at sunset we never feel comfortable," says Hawa, a woman at SUDO's community center. "We don't leave our homes after sunset, not even to visit a neighbor. If we go outside, we can be beaten and robbed. This is normal."

In the shadow of Jebel Marra mountain, the IDPs report that because they are all originally from areas under the control of the SLA, they are treated as if they too are rebels.

"They say the Fur tribe is finished," reports one woman.

"Only the NGOs here make us feel safe. We trust the NGOs; they provide all the services, food, water, health care, household items. They have given us everything," says another woman.

However, due to the presence of armed militias to the east, the United Nations has declared the road from Nertiti to Zalingei a "no-go" route. A military escort is recommended for travel along the road.

With SUDO's nearest office in Zalingei, the lack of security could reduce the delivery of humanitarian assistance and services at any time.

"Without the NGOs, without SUDO's center here, we would do nothing. We would just suffer," states Hawa.

(ends)

Action by Churches Together (ACT) International and Caritas Internationalis (CI) are working together in a joint response to the Darfur crisis.

ACT International is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide.

Caritas Internationalis is a confederation of 162 Catholic relief,development, and social service organizations present in 200 countries and territories.

For further information, please contact: Caritas Internationalis Media Officer Nancy McNally (phone: +39 06 698 797 52)

[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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Last updated:Wed Jan 10 17:13:58 2007