Resilience takes root in eastern Chad

By The United Nations Development Program - PNUD / Chad

Visiting Chad from 14 to 17 September, the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Helen Clark, traveled to the Sahel region of Dar Sila, located in the east of the country, to witness the implementation of a new program of resilience.

 

UNDP and its partners, civil society and the Chadian government are working together there to reduce the vulnerability of communities in all of its dimensions in the village of Goz Beida.

 

In Chad, our new program of resilience empowers local communities to provide health, education and rule of law services

 

 The area is extremely fragile due to its exposure to natural disasters, land degradation and loss of productivity, compounded by climate change and large flows of displaced populations that have added pressure to the local environment and its ability to provide services.

 

Taking advantage of a period of relative peace and stability in Dar Sila, the new approach aims to heal wounds by bringing people together into the same development programme.

 

"The dividend of greater stability has to come in the form of meeting the aspirations of the people for education for their children, proper health care and an opportunity to have a proper livelihood," said Helen Clark in an interview with Radio Sila, a local station that advocates daily for peace and harmony.

 

The program is directly helping to stabilize communities, but also working with local authorities to help people build a better future by generating new sources of revenue and getting access to basic services.

 

In its conflict prevention component, the programme has mobilized local radios, caravans of peace and religious and traditional authorities that have sensitized 65,000 people on issues relating to human rights, violence against women and community conflicts.

 

About 150 mediators, including many women, have helped solve 42 inter-community conflicts using traditional techniques, sometimes covering up to 70 miles on donkeys to promote dialogue and prevent violence in all the surrounding villages.

 

Mobile legal clinics have also helped to promote access to justice by teaching 130,000 people about principles relating to land tenure, marital and community law.

 

Thanks to this relative stability, the programme will encourage local communities to develop, and grow nutritious food, while allowing them to generate new sources of income from it.

 

The initiative will give them access to energy through the installation of generators that are able to complete the most difficult tasks, such as husking grain. One thousand women are being trained in marketing local products and have already contributed a total of US $8000 to run their associations.

In parallel, the program has developed solar panels that will light up homes at night.

 

"This program is wonderful for our women. We re-started our lives from scratch. We have gained a lot of confidence," said the head of the women's groups.

 

The programme also supports the resilience of local and national institutions, increasing their capacity to provide health, education and rule of law services and expand social protection and economic opportunities.

 

The municipality of Goz Beida itself now has 21 elected officials, including two women, and its budget increased tenfold in two years, from US $16,000 to $160,000.

 

For more visit www.undp.org

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When it rains in Mali, it pours

By Anouk Delafortrie, Regional  Information Officer in Dakar, ECHO

“I am worried about my parents. I’ve not spoken to them since we came here. They’re old. Travel is difficult for them so they stayed behind. My husband tells me they’re fine but I find it hard to believe. I would like to return but we have no money. My husband goes out every day to find work in town. If he finds some we eat, if he doesn’t we don’t,” says Assa with a grave expression while her daughter huddles up to her.

 

Assa shares a dilapidated room with her four children. Her husband, his second wife and their six children live in the room next door. She’s afraid to sleep after the first rains sent mud flowing down the walls. The wooden sticks that form the ceiling look dangerously bent as if they could collapse anytime. But they can’t afford to move to a safer place, they already owe two months’ rent as it is.

 

 

Funded by the EU, teams of Handicap International (HI) are on their daily round of visits in Sévaré, a garrison town on the crossroads between the country’s north and south, close to the town of Mopti. Some 40 000 Malians sought refuge here as conflict up north dislocated their lives. Sévaré itself nearly fell into the hands of non-state armed groups in January 2013 when fighters launched a bold offensive and advanced within 20 km of the town in an apparent effort to take control of its military airport. Fears of a ‘push through’ to the south were what triggered France’s military intervention on 11 January.

 

Six months later people in Sévaré seem to be going about their business except for many of the displaced families who feel stuck in a place that has shown them remarkable hospitality, yet isn’t home. With the onset of the rainy season the window of opportunity to cultivate their land in time for the harvest is slowly closing and with it comes the realisation that they may be dependent on aid for many more months to come.

 

When Assa’s family fled their village in the region of Douentza, with fighters on their heels, they didn’t take any belongings nor did they remember to bring identity papers. Their new neighbours gave them clothes, cooking utensils and a washbasin, but without papers they weren’t able to officially register as ‘internally displaced’ and are thus excluded from certain types of assistance.

 

 

The European Commission´s humanitarian aid and civil protection department (ECHO) funds Handicap International to seek out the most vulnerable families like Assa’s and connect them with services and actors in order to improve their housing situation and provide access to food assistance and health care. HI also helps individuals with physiotherapy or mental health needs. During the visit Assa mentions she has a belly ache.  This could be a consequence of the unpurified water she drinks or a psychosomatic reaction to the stresses of her new living conditions.

 

HI’s psycho-social advisor Laetitia Rancillac has hired five mobile teams, each composed of a psychologist and a social worker, to identify people with specific needs. “It is common for people who’ve lived through armed conflict to experience troubles related to loss and mourning. They’ve lost their bearings, their property, their status; some have witnessed violence which can result in post-traumatic stress disorder,” Laetitia explains.

 

When one of HI’s psycho-social duos visits Fatoumata she complains about a humming in her head, as if continuously reliving the bombardments on the armed group’s  base close to her home. Barely audible she recounts the events: “I was out at the river doing the laundry when the bombing started. Shells were flying over our heads. I saw a woman faint. After that, I couldn’t do anything for three days.” Fatoumata also recalls other events that made a profound impression on her, like when the neighbour’s boy picked up a grenade, threw it in the air and by doing so wounded his friend who, conscious of the impending danger, had started to run away.

 

She took her two children to her brother’s home in Sévaré while her husband stayed behind in Gao to take care of the house. “At first I felt a lot of anger, I felt violated. Now, I’m just sad,” she says listlessly casting her eyes down. Fatoumata’s brother seems happy with HI’s suggestion for her to join a group where she can discuss and share her feelings with people who’ve had similar experiences: “We don’t want her to go back like this. We want her to get better first.”

 

In Mopti, ECHO funds Handicap International to ensure the most vulnerable among the displaced people get the assistance they need. The organisation also provides help to people with mental health or physiotherapy needs and engages in explosive ordnance disposal.

 

For more go to http://ec.europa.eu/echo/
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Crisis leads to unexpected opportunities for displaced children in Mali

By Alex Duval Smith

The conflict in northern Mali may have changed the lives of Fatoumata and Djeneba Touré forever – for the better.

The two girls, ages 5 and 3, are among 527,000 people who have been displaced by the crisis in northern Mali, according to the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). They have lost businesses, harvests and even their homes. Many are living in refugee camps in neighbouring countries, primarily Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger. But the majority are from families like the Tourés – enduring cramped conditions while living with relatives or in rented accommodation in central and southern Mali. Most of the people displaced are women and children.

Life was straightforward in their hometown of Niafunké, near Timbuktu. “We lived in a house with a sheep, a goat and a horse – a white horse,” says Fatoumata.

For Malian children displaced by crisis, early learning centres provide

a chance to learn – and to heal.

In April 2012, the family was forced to flee when fighting broke out between the army and separatist rebels. Their house faced a military camp. “Men with guns jumped over the wall [into our yard], and they made a noise, ‘boom, boom’,” says Fatoumata.

Integrated Learning

Set up under a straw roof in the playground of Siribala community pre-school,
this early learning center is one of 18 in Mali and acommodates 60 pupils.

A year later, despite their parents’ financial hardships brought on by displacement, Fatoumata and Djeneba are enjoying life as they rarely did before. Every morning, they put on pink tunics and set off for an early learning centre here in the Ségou region of south-central Mali.

The centre was funded by UNICEF and built by partner NGO Plan Mali. Set up under a straw roof in the playground of Siribala community pre-school, it is one of 18 such centres in Mali and acommodates 60 pupils.

Integration with the host community is a primary objective, so two-thirds of the pupils are displaced children, while the rest are local, including six with physical or mental disabilities. Attendance is free, and everyone receives a mid-morning bowl of porridge – a real benefit in a country where kindergarten is a costly luxury generally reserved for children of urban professional families.
The school's director, Kadiatou Sylla, says it’s clear that hosting the early learning centre has been the right move. “These children are really traumatized,” she says. “Often, if you make a noise near the displaced children, they don't like it. They run away.”

One teacher notes that she has seen displaced children run and hide when they see a plane in the sky.

Addressing needs

Educational games provided by UNICEF are a big attraction for the pupils. There is singing and clapping, and the current focus is on learning the names of animals. To ensure that the children’s full range of needs is addressed, the centre's three teachers – all local mothers – have been trained to identify signs of trauma and to address these issues through playing games.

Children receive a free meal at the early learning centre, an added incentive
for parents to send them there. Teachers are also trained in spotting
signs of malnutrition

Accountant Aliou Sidibé, the grandfather of Fatoumata and Djeneba, hosts the girls at his home in Siribala, and he welcomes the early learning centre.

“It is quite something for these girls from Niafunké,” he says. “Not only are they experiencing education at an early age, which they would not have been able to do in the north, but they are meeting local children, and their trauma is being addressed.”

He notices how his grand daughters have suffered. “I have seen them have nightmares and jump out of bed at night. Their mother also has been affected and is not best-placed to support them, because she has become overprotective,” he says.

Extraordinary opportunity

UNICEF Education Officer Souleymane Traoré has helped set up 10 early learning centres, and he sees them as an enormous success. “We had worked on an estimate of 50 children per centre, but in some of them up to 75 children are attending,” he says. “Not only do they receive a meal, which acts as an incentive for parents to send them there, but we have provided the teachers with training in spotting the signs of malnutrition, so we are closing a gap there.”

He believes that for girls like Djeneba and Fatoumata, attending an early learning centre can be a life-changer.

“In the northern Malian context, where early marriage remains a reality for girls, this chance for them to be awakened to education is an extraordinary opportunity,” Mr. Traoré says. “It could well impact positively on their parents’ decisions for them in the coming years.”

For more go to www.unicef.org

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For Malian Refugees, Peace Deal Does Not Guarantee Safe Return

By Alice Thomas, Refugees International

Under a corrugated metal roof at the Goudebou refugee camp in Burkina Faso, eight or nine families huddle in small groups awaiting a food distribution. These are the “new arrivals,” a UN Refugee Agency worker explains – people who recently fled Mali, Burkina’s northern neighbor, and arrived at the camp in recent days.

 

As I study their faces, I notice the rich ethnic diversity reflected in their eyes, skin color, features, and dress. A group of Songhai women sit silently, their eyes taking in their new surroundings. Next to them, a young Tuareg woman prepares tea for her husband and mother while two small children toddle about. But while their language, religions, and ethnicities may be different, they share a common nationality – Malian.

 

Malian refugees wait for a food distribution in Goudebou camp, Burkina Faso
Credit: Refugees International

 

Goudebou sits on the outskirts of the town of Dori in northern Burkina Faso, and at the edge of the Sahelian zone – a semi-arid landscape where tree cover and water are scarce. Opened last year, the camp is now home to 10,000 refugees who have fled violence between the Malian military, Tuareg separatists, and Islamic extremists. A French-led military intervention in January succeeded in retaking the north’s major towns, but led to additional displacement.

 

I ask the Songhai women when they arrived. “Last night,” the daughter, who is about 18, replies in French. When I ask why they fled, she shifts her eyes about nervously, looking to see who is around her. I ask her again and she looks away, not wanting to answer.

 

Later, I sit under a large tent talking to a group of Tuareg men who fled Mali last March. We talk about the peace negotiations taking place in Burkina’s capital city that day, which produced a provisional peace deal between the Malian government and the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), a Tuareg separatist group.

 

I ask the men if they will return to Mali if an agreement is reached. They scoff at my question, shaking their heads. “We cannot return – it is not safe.” 

 

One of the men recounts a story. “Two or three months ago, two Tuareg traders who had been with us here in the camp decided to return to Mali to check their herds,” he says. “We heard that they were killed by members of the Malian army.” Another adds, “Several weeks ago, a young man who was recently married decided to go back to check whether it was safe to bring his wife back. We heard he was also killed. He has not come back. His widow is here in the camp.”

 

A Tuareg man from Mali now living as a refugee in Goudebou camp
Credit: Refugees International

“Don’t you see?” the man explains, “We are guilty by implication. If we return, the Malian army will assume that we fled because we are MNLA. ” Though their individual stories of retribution cannot be confirmed, they fit a troubling pattern of abuses by Malian soldiers – as well as Tuareg rebels – against civilians documented by human rights groups. The very act of return makes these refugees suspect, so creating a safe environment for return could be long and difficult; perceptions will have to change and trust will have to be rebuilt.

 

The next day, I discuss the refugees’ fate with the head of an aid group which has assisted displaced Malians since the crisis began. “There is a great deal of distrust now,” he said, “not just between the Malian army and the Tuaregs, but among local populations – those who fled and those who stayed.” Civilians who sympathized with, or merely submitted to, Islamist groups could also be viewed as collaborators, leading neighbor to turn against neighbor. We discuss whether the implications of this distrust have been fully recognized by the international community as it seeks to move forward with a peace deal and elections in late July.

 

The recent agreement between Mali and the MNLA is certainly a welcome step towards ending the Mali conflict. But the ethnically- and religiously-charged violence that exploded last year not only left deep wounds but also sowed suspicion and distrust, meaning the road to lasting peace in Mali will be a long one.

 

Abuses by all sides must be fully investigated and prosecuted. The UN peacekeeping mission that is now being deployed must also ensure that civilians are protected and peace enforced. But this must be accompanied by a robust reconciliation process led by civil society that has the full support of the Malian government and the international community.

 

Alice Thomas is the Climate Displacement Program Manager at Refugees International, a non-profit organization that works to end displacement and stateless crises worldwide and accepts no government or UN funding.

For more visit http://www.refintl.org/

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Au Niger, d’un camp de réfugiés maliens, une voix se fait entendre

Par Shushan Mebrahtu, UNICEF

 

 

Alors que le conflit au nord du Mali s’est aggravé, Fadimata Agali, 15 ans, a été obligée de partir de sa maison de Menaka, abandonnant sa famille et ses amis.

 

Fadimata et sa grand-mère se sont enfuies à pied au Niger. Elles se sont installées dans une tente improvisée au camp de réfugiés de Mangaize, à proximité de la frontière. Aissata, 12 ans, la sœur de Fadimata, les a rejointes plus tard.

 

Cette petite famille est en train de s’adapter à la vie de ce camp de réfugiés du Sahara balayé par la poussière.

 

 

 

« Nous sommes tous séparés les uns des autres »

 

Selon les estimations du HCR, plus de 50 000 réfugiés maliens ont traversé la frontière pour se rendre au Niger. La plupart ont été accueillis dans des camps de réfugiés ou des communautés d’accueil, dans des régions durement touchées par des pénuries alimentaires répétées et où l’accès aux prestations sociales est difficile.

 

Dans le camp, Fadimata se sent suffisamment en sécurité, à l’écart des traumatismes qu’elle a subis au Mali. Elle est en train d’apprendre à vivre avec la douleur causée par la séparation d’avec sa famille, ses amis et son foyer dans un pays étranger, dans des conditions de vie difficiles.

 

« Au Mali, j’étais dans ma propre maison, » dit-elle. « Ici, je vis sous une tente très mal protégée du soleil. »

 

« Mon père et ma mère sont à Bamako, » ajoute-t-elle. « Le reste de ma famille est toujours à Menaka. Mon père a fui Menaka quand la guerre a commencé. Il est allé à Bamako et y a trouvé un travail… »

 

« Nous sommes tous séparés les uns des autres ». Chaque semaine, Fadimata va voir les nouveaux arrivants qui viennent de Menaka pour essayer d’avoir des informations sur sa famille, pour savoir s’il ne se passe rien de nouveau.

 

« Je ne veux pas manquer mes cours »

 

Fadimata fréquente l’établissement scolaire de second cycle de Mangaize qui est proche du camp et où elle est en huitième année. « Quand j’ai commencé les cours à l’école, je me suis sentie perdue, dit Fadimata. Je ne connaissais personne. » Au fil du temps, elle s’est fait de nouveaux amis parmi la communauté d’accueil.

 

« Je sais que certains enfants ne vont pas à l’école et préfèrent rester au camp, dit-elle. Mais je ne veux pas manquer mes cours. »

 

Fadimata raconte ses journées. « Les jours d’école, je me réveille tôt, autour de six heures du matin, dit-elle. Je prépare le petit déjeuner et nous mangeons. Je pars pour l’école à 7 h 10. La classe commence à 8 h. Pendant la pause, je prends mon déjeuner à l’école avec mes camarades. À 13 h, je retourne à notre tente. Si ma grand-mère est malade, je prépare à manger pour l’après-midi. Si elle se sent bien, elle prépare un repas et nous mangeons ensemble. »

 

« Pendant les week-ends, je vais dans le village chez mes camarades ou bien ils viennent ici au camp, » dit-elle.

 

Pouvoir aller en cours signifie que l’éducation scolaire de Fadimata connaîtra moins d’interruptions. Mais, pour elle et les autres enfants du camp, l’école apporte aussi un sentiment de structure qui contribue à rétablir une routine ; en retour, elle permet d’atténuer les effets persistants du conflit et de la vie au camp.

 

Une grande ville et la nostalgie du foyer

 

Fadimata et sa grand-mère se sont récemment rendues à Niamey, la capitale du Niger. Là, pour la première fois depuis qu’elle a quitté le Mali, elle a vu sa tante. Cela a aussi été sa première visite dans une grande ville. « Niamey n’est pas comme Menaka, ce n’est pas comme Mangaize, ce n’est pas comme Gao, » dit-elle. « À Niamey, il y a de nombreux véhicules et beaucoup de gens qui circulent dans la ville. »

 

Fadimata a été heureuse de reprendre contact avec sa tante et d’explorer la ville. Tandis qu’on la conduisait à travers les rues de Niamey et qu’elle achetait des cadeaux sur les marchés importants pour les envoyer chez elle, à sa famille, elle se sentait envahie de sentiments mitigés. Alors que les jours et les mois se sont écoulés le désir de voir sa famille n’a fait que croître.

 

Peu après sa rencontre avec du personnel de l’UNICEF, Fadimata pu se rendre à Menaka pour rendre visite à ses parents qui sont rentrés chez deux. Elle est actuellement en congés scolaires pour une période de deux mois. Fadimata retournera à Mangaize quand, en septembre, l’école rouvrira ses portes.

 

L’UNICEF, en partenariat avec le HCR, des ONG et le Gouvernement d Niger, continue d’apporter une aide humanitaire aux réfugiés venant du Mali. Au nombre des interventions, figure l’apport de prestations concernant la santé, l’alimentation, l’eau, l’assainissement et l’hygiène. L’organisation investit aussi dans l’avenir des enfants par l’accès à l’éducation et la protection de l’enfance.

 

L’objectif est que 11 500 garçons et filles puissent poursuivre leur éducation scolaire dans les camps et les écoles des communautés d’accueil, que 15 000 enfants bénéficient d’une prise en charge psychosociale grâce à des espaces amis des enfants et que 1010 650 personnes disposent d’eau potable et d’installations sanitaires. L’UNICEF exprime sa reconnaissance envers les donateurs pour leurs généreuses contributions qui ont rendu possible l’intervention actuelle.

Pour plus visitez www.unicef.org

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Defusing the Sahel time bomb – ECHO Director General visits the Sahel

 

At the beginning of the 2013 lean season in the Sahel, when people´s resources and food reserves start running low, ECHO´s Director General, Claus Sørensen, visited the region. Here is what he found on the ground.

 

 

 

For more go to http://ec.europa.eu/echo/
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Mohammed: Great cost to go to secondary school 

By Mohammed, a teenage boy living in Mentao refugee camp, Burkina Faso / Through Plan

 

Displaced by the Mali conflict, Mohammed’s family has borrowed all the money they can to send him to school, while they stay in Mentao refugee camp, Burkina Faso.

21 March 2013: I am extremely excited today, like every Friday afternoon. I am going back home to spend the weekend with my family. This is my life now here in Mentao.

Since we arrived in this part of Burkina Faso, fleeing the troubles in Timbuktu, I have been somehow parted from my parents. That was the only solution for me to stay in school. In the Mentao camp, where we live, there are no secondary schools - only primary schools run by Plan. The closest secondary school is in Djibo, about 50 kilometres from the camp.

At the beginning of the school year, we discussed it with my dad. He said I had to go to Djibo to study but that means I would have to become “more independent” and learn to be “on my own”.

Learning to survive

This is so new for me. With dad and other parents of the camps, we found a house to rent in Djibo. There are 6 of us in this small 3 bed house. The rent is paid by our parents and there is a woman from the camp who is coming once or twice a week to cook for us.

When we started living on our own, I just thought, ‘this is great, this is what I have always wanted to have - my own place’. Over the past months, I have learnt that there are strings attached to this gift.

The simple things I was not bothered to think about are now all mine. From turning the light off while leaving the house, to making sure doors are locked, taking care of bills and liaising between the landlord and my parents.

Education cost

My dad said it is a learning curve and that it is how I learn to become adult. Perhaps he is right. I don’t care that much because I strangely discovered a new passion for my studies here in Mentao.

I have always been quite good in school. But now I have a strong reason to be studious. My dad has paid over 140 000 FCFA (US$254) to get me and my brother into the private school I am attending. There was no place left in the overcrowded government-owned Lycée provincial in Djibo.

My parents sold a lot of our belongings and borrowed money from friends and relatives to make it happen. I feel there is an extra pressure on me to perform. I have been reading my lessons and doing my homework every day without failing.

So proud

I was so proud when I brought my first term results and I had so many good marks. I think my dad was relieved too. I heard my dad talk about next year and his worries about his ability to keep us in school, because of the high fees. I am worried too.

Many of my friends in Mentao camp don’t go to school anymore. They have dropped-out because there is no secondary school in the camp and their parents cannot afford the fees of the private schools in Djibo, plus the rent.

They spend all their days doing nothing in the camp. That is really sad. I know I am lucky. I often share my school experiences with them and I can see they envy me somehow. We all hope things will get better and all of us will be able to attend school.

Plan support

Like many secondary school teenagers in Mentao, my brother Abdul and I have applied for a bursary with Plan. We are praying we will receive the money to help our parents, who are clearly struggling to make ends meet.

My friend Muhammed, is hoping this bursary will help him go back to school - he hates staying at home all day long doing nothing.

The other day we were discussing about this school thing during our weekend stay in Mentao. A friend said he overheard his parents talking about a Plan project to build a new school building in the government owned Lycée provincial in Djibo, so that there are spaces for all of us.

Things are looking great thanks to all these projects going on. I now envy my friends who are enjoying a gap year in Mentao camp and will certainly be back to school when the new school year starts in October next year.

For more go to http://plan-international.org/
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Mali: Conditions remain hard, the needs acute

Photo gallery by ICRC

Northern Mali has been the scene of armed violence for almost 16 months. Conditions remain hard, and the needs acute. To continue to help the hundreds of thousands of people suffering the effects of the conflict, the ICRC has launched an appeal for an additional CHF 40 million.

 

 

For more visit www.icrc.org

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L'insécurité, un problème majeur pour les habitants de Douentza au Mali (Photos)

Par Koffy Dominique, Danish Refugee Council

L’insécurité oblige la population à s’orienter vers d’autres points pour s’approvisionner en eau potable

 

Suite à l’insécurité liée aux coupeurs de routes et aux vols de bétail dans la zone transfrontalière entre le Mali et le Burkina Faso, les éleveurs ne peuvent plus conduire les animaux vers les marres pour s’abreuver. L’on observe alors une grande affluence vers les autres points d’eau existants, ce qui provoque, d’une part, des tensions intercommunautaires et, d’autre part, des conflits entre éleveurs et population locale.

Le lycée de Douentza détruit au cours du conflit armé

La destruction par bombardement des bâtiments du Lycée de Douentza a perturbé l’année scolaire de plus de 3 500 élèves du second cycle.

Quand est-ce que les obus seront enlevés pour soulager la population ?

Beaucoup de débris restent encore visibles sur la route entre Mopti et Douentza, ce qui pose un problème de sécurité pour les familles qui vivent à proximité.

 

 

 Pour plus allez sur http://www.drc.dk/home/
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Un autre regard sur la situation des femmes déplacées au Mali

Par Habibatou Gologo,Coordinatrice Média et communication, Oxfam GB Mali

Kadidiatou Yara est chargée de programme Education et coordinatrice d’un projet d’Oxfam destiné à maintenir les filles scolarisées dans la capitale du Mali, Bamako, depuis 2010. Elle a fait partie de l’équipe d’Oxfam qui a conduit une évaluation en février 2013 dans les régions de Mopti et de Ségou, au centre du Mali. Elle nous raconte ci-dessous le déroulement de cette mission d’évaluation et le choc qu’elle a eu lors de ses rencontres avec des femmes déplacées.

L’objectif de notre mission était entre autres de mesurer l’impact du conflit en cours au Mali sur la population déplacée, les communautés hôtes et les personnes aux revenus faibles.

Notre équipe était composée de sept personnes représentant chacune un domaine de compétence différent comme la logistique, la sécurité alimentaire, l’hygiène et l’assainissement, le suivi-évaluation et la communication. Je m’occupais de l’aspect protection et ne travaillais donc pas de la même façon que les autres membres de mon équipe parce que mes groupes de discussion étaient uniquement réservés aux femmes et jeunes filles et abordaient des sujets qui requièrent beaucoup de discrétion.

 

A la périphérie

Cette précaution m’a permis d’avoir un autre regard sur les quelque 200 femmes avec qui j’ai pu discuter à Sévaré, Konna, Douentza et San* au cours d’un périple d’une dizaine de jours sur plus de 1500 kilomètres.

Mon impression personnelle, au-delà du travail d’Oxfam, était un sentiment de compassion pour ces femmes qui ont quitté leurs foyers pour s’installer dans un environnement malsain. Elles vivent en insécurité, et dans des conditions précaires, dans des maisons de location ou des maisons inachevées, souvent à la périphérie des zones urbaines.

Kadidiatou Yara est allée à la rencontre de femmes déplacées dans plusieurs villes du
Mali, notamment à Konna (Habibatou Gologo, Oxfam)

 

 

Des difficultés différentes d'une ville à l'autre

D’une ville à l’autre, les difficultés rencontrées par les femmes ne sont pas identiques. Par exemple à Konna et Douentza,  où l’armée a procédé à des frappes aériennes,  il n’y a pas beaucoup de déplacés et  les besoins exprimés sont principalement l’eau et l’électricité.

Alors qu’à Sévaré, où on trouve de nombreux déplacés, les femmes, bien que recensées par les autorités, déplorent un manque de soutien qui, pour elles, se traduit par leur non accès aux dons distribués par les différentes organisations. Ces femmes vivent  en permanence dans la peur, la tourmente et la psychose. La nuit, certaines n’arrivent pas à trouver le sommeil. D’autres disent avoir perdu du poids.

A Konna, notamment, les femmes rencontrées revivent sans cesse les frappes aériennes de l’armée française aux alentours du 10 janvier 2013.

Des conditions de vie difficiles

La plupart se plaignent de l'insalubrité à laquelle elles ne sont pas habituées et d’autres conditions de vie qu’elles trouvent difficiles. Elles n’apprécient donc pas qu’on les voit ainsi.

Afin de les aider à retrouver leur dignité, ces femmes ont besoin d’un soutien psychologique. Cet appui pourrait commencer par l’organisation de discussions qui les pousseront à parler, à raconter leurs difficultés. Ensuite, nous pourrons les appuyer avec des activités génératrices de revenus comme elles en ont exprimé le besoin. »

* Sévaré, Konna et Douentza se trouvent dans la région de Mopti et San dans la région de Ségou.

Propos recueillis par Habibatou Gologo,Coordinatrice Média et communication, Oxfam GB Mali .

Pour plus d'informations visitez http://www.oxfam.org/fr
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Mauritanie : 18 jours pour sauver Saada, 16 mois

Par la Croix Rouge Française / ECHO

 

Dans la région mauritanienne du Gorgol, près de la frontière sénégalaise, 13% des enfants de moins de cinq ans souffrent de malnutrition aigüe. Depuis 2007, ECHO finance la Croix Rouge Française et la Croix Rouge Mauritanienne afin d’appuyer le système de santé pour une meilleure prise en charge des cas de malnutrition. 10 500 enfants et ceux qui les accompagnent reçoivent une assistance à travers ce programme. Ici, nous suivons Saada Diallo et sa mère Fatimata qui ont bénéficié de ce programme.

 

 

 

Mauritania: 18 days to save Saada, 16 months

In the Mauritanian region of Gorgol, close to the Senegalese border, 13% of children under five suffer from acute malnutrition. Since 2007, ECHO finances the French Red Cross and Mauritanian Red Crescent to support the health system in taking better care of malnutrition cases. 10,500 children and those accompanying them receive assistance via this programme. We follow Saada Diallo and his mother Fatimata through the course of the programme.

 

Pour plus visitez http://www.croix-rouge.fr/ et http://ec.europa.eu/echo/index_en.htm

 

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Les déplacés du Nord du Mali se retrouvent dans des conditions précaires à Ségou

Par Ulrike Dassler, Chargée de l'Information Publique 

OCHA MALI

Les déplacés du nord de Mali vivent dans des conditions très précaires à Ségou dans le sud du pays. La ville a vu sa population augmenter de 36 000 personnes, dont 11 000 enfants, suite aux déplacements déclenchés par l’arrivée des groupes armés islamistes au nord il y a un an de cela. Les affrontements  entre les groupes islamistes et l’armée gouvernementale et les forces françaises au début de 2013 ont créé une deuxième vague de déplacement.

Malgré l’aide humanitaires fournie par les ONGs, les déplacés à Ségou peinent aujourd’hui  à trouver les moyens de  survivre et d’assurer la scolarisation de leurs enfants.

 

 

Mariam a toujours peur de rentrer à Kidal

 

Mariam, une mère de huit enfants, est l’une des déplacées du Nord. Deux semaines après que les islamistes d'Ansar Dine aient occupé la ville de Kidal en avril 2012,  Mariam a réussi à s'échapper. Par chance, elle est arrivée à Ségou, près de 1000 km au sud, au bord du fleuve Niger. Dans un premier temps, elle est restée avec  des parents qui ont généreusement partagé leur appartement et repas avec elle et ses enfants. Mais après quelques mois, la maison s’est rapidement remplie avec l’arrivée d’autres femmes Touareg déplacées et Mariam a dû se résoudre à trouver un autre toit. Elle loue maintenant une petite maison pour 20 dollars par mois, ce qui représente une somme importante puisqu’elle n’a aucune source de revenu.

 

« Nous n’arrivons pas toujours à payer le loyer. Aujourd’hui nous avons trois mois de retard, mais le propriétaire est gentil avec nous, il sait que nous n'avons rien », explique Mariam. Chaque jour, Mariam espère  pouvoir retourner dans sa maison à Kidal, à la frontière de l'Algérie, avec ses enfants.

 

 

Les déplacés dorment en général à plusieurs dans une pièce de 5 m2

 

Les ONGs nationales et internationales distribuent du riz, de la farine et de l'huile et de nombreux dons privés des commerçants de Ségou arrivent tous les jour, mais malgré tout celà il n’y a pas assez de vivres pour tous les déplacés à Ségou. Une famille, comportant majoritairement des femmes et des enfants, est habituellement composée  de 10 à 20 personnes alors que l’assistance alimentaire du Programme Alimentaire Mondial  à Ségou est calculée  sur la base de rations pour cinq personnes seulement.

 

L’éducation pose également un problème pour Mariam. Même si ses cadets ont la possibilité de poursuivre leur scolarité avec l’école primaire à proximité, les deux aînés ont dû arrêter l’école, le lycée étant maintenant trop éloigné et le transport trop coûteux.

 

Pour plus d'informations visitez http://www.unocha.org/mali/

 

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Malian Children in Exile: Mohammed, The Guitarist

By Plan

A story about Mohammed, a refugee from Timbuktu, who was forced to leave his home and guitar behind due to the conflict in Mali. Learn more about how Plan is helping Malian children in exile by visiting www.plan-international.org/maliconflict

 

 

For more go to  http://plan-international.org/

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