DanChurchAid
Sudan
Displaced again and again
By Charlotte Brudenell, ACT-Caritas
Twenty kilometers from the Chadian border, the town of Juguma is like a pregnant woman; it provides and protects and has somewhat expanded. There is no official camp for displaced people, but nearly half the population is providing a home to other families, with sometimes up to five or six families in the same home.
A government of Sudan military base is located in Juguma, and despite the conflict throughout Darfur, it has been never been attacked by armed militias.
Juguma is beautiful. Small are homes made from mud, branches and straw, enclosed by brush fences, which in turn are surrounded by trees and fields. However, for the villages around Juguma, it’s a different story.
In 2004, many families that are originally from villages surrounding the town -- Roto, Momona, Tulil, Sake, Samukidik, Tetene, Borbor -- fled to Chad when armed militias on horses and camels systematically attacked and looted their villages, one after the other.
With villages burning all around them and militias ransacking the area, many people decided that Chad was the safest place to go.
Refuge
In Chad, the native administrator, Mohammed Jibril, generously provided the Darfurians with land so that they could build houses and farm. Some also received seeds, tools and blankets from aid agencies. Protected by police points and security patrols in the villages, the people felt safe.
But with the escalation of violence in Chad in March this year, the Chadian government recalled all security forces from the villages. With no force to protect them, armed militias attacked the very villages where the Darfurians had sought refuge.
Again fleeing on foot, but this time with the Chadians who had shown them such hospitality, Juguma, back across the border, seemed the safest option. The military presence in Juguma acts as a deterrent to armed militias.
"The military helps us," says one sheikh. "They stop the militias attacking our homes."
Insecurity
But the military cannot prevent armed men from entering the town.
"Every day we see men around the town. They are in uniforms and armed with Kalashnikovs and other types of guns," says an Omdah, a native administrator for the area.
"If they see you and you have something they want -- it could be your donkey, your watch, or even your shoes -- they will stop you, point their gun at you, and ask you to give it to them."
The Chadians have now gone home, but the Darfurians remain in Juguma. "We can never go home to our villages," declares one sheikh, "because there is no peace."
"All around Juguma there is insecurity * even now. We are afraid," affirms another sheikh.
"When your own eyes see your brother being killed, and you see the people that killed him still going around with guns, you are deeply afraid," explains the Omdah.
Some people have returned to the villages to farm during the rainy season, but the sheikhs say that after planting, they will return to Juguma. "At the moment they are living in danger."
"On the 28th May, the village of Tulil was attacked and looted by armed men on horses and camels," says another sheikh. "We cannot but expect more attacks."
Brotherly love
Since the beginning of the conflict in 2003, Juguma has provided refuge to people who have been attacked and forced from their homes. With the recent returnees from Chad, the majority of the residents of eleven villages are now living inside Juguma.
The original inhabitants have not only provided the displaced with roofs over their heads, but food, land and work. "We want to help our brothers and neighbors," explains the Omdah of Juguma. "We cannot allow people to go to insecure areas."
But with time, as people continue to come to Juguma, it is getting increasingly difficult. The new arrivals from Chad have been given land or work in other people’s fields. "But it is not enough," as one sheikh says. "It is not enough to construct our own homes -- sometimes it is just enough for food."
"There are so many people -- there is not enough land for everyone," reports the Omdah of Juguma. "There is land beyond here, but due to insecurity, the people cannot go there."
The Omdah says they need help to be able to continue to help the new arrivals. "The people of Juguma do not have anything left. They have given all their stores to others, leaving them with nothing for the future. We don’t have money to repair the roof of the school."
The roof has collapsed. The children cannot sit under sun or rain all day, so the school has essentially closed.
ACT-Caritas is the only agency providing humanitarian assistance in Juguma. A health clinic, over a dozen hand pumps and newly built latrines have reduced the number of sick people and the number of people dying from curable diseases. Protection training and peace-building activities have raised awareness about human rights and conflict resolution.
Peace elusive
However, for those people sheltering in Juguma, there is little evidence of peace.
"There is still insecurity outside Juguma. There are still threats, attacks and lootings," a sheikh says. Although the people have heard about the Darfur Peace Agreement either on the radio or from others, they do not see peace around them.
To be able to return to their homes, the people want to see the government collecting the weapons from the militias, and they want compensation for the members of their families that have been killed, for their homes and shops that have been destroyed, and for their animals that have been stolen.
Without disarmament and without compensation, the sheikhs say it is not a full peace. The people are not yet free to go home to start farming and trading again, and they cannot rebuild their lives.
Action by Churches Together International (ACT) 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.
DanChurchAid is a member of ACT International - a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies.
