Sudan: Darfur
Diary of an ECHO expert
Peter Holdsworth, ECHO field expert, visited Darfur from April 30 to May 20 to assess humanitarian needs, and to prepare for the allocation of a new €10 million decision for Darfur. He warned of a serious humanitarian situation that can only get worse. Here are some extracts from his diary.
Photo : EC/ECHO/Peter Holdsworth
16 May:
“In Nertati we visited one of the sites for displaced people known as North Camp, where an accident had led to the burning down of over 300 huts, with loss of most belongings and food as well. It is hardly surprising that so many huts were burned down, because they are all made of straw and all within a few inches of one another. Thus if one catches fire, it will set all the others alight. The people here undoubtedly feel threatened, and there would appear to be many instances of rape. They cannot leave the town unless they pay exorbitant fares for commercial transport. The children are not looking healthy and I saw several cases of malnutrition, although the women I met indicated that since one of ECHO’s partners - MSF/France - came to help, there have not been so many deaths and malnutrition has somewhat decreased.
17 May:
“After leaving Nertati, we carried out assessments in Guldo and then travelled onto Gulo, way up in the mountains - more or less at the highest point in Jebel Mara. We have been through some spectacular mountain scenery, but all this has been diminished by the number of destroyed villages that we have been through, including Fundu, Um Harass, Barbara, Tiya, Osady, Karinga and many others.
One incident that we found in Guldo typifies the brutality of this conflict: the gang rape of a nine year old girl. She was raped yesterday, five hundred yards outside the village whilst collecting mangos, and is still bleeding from the rape today. The WHO doctor travelling with our team was able to provide intravenous fluids and antibiotics for the internal damage, but, unfortunately, no such quick cure exists for the mental damage.
In these spots, where there have been no assessment missions, and no aid, beyond Nertiti, I would say that the displaced people that we saw and spoke to are not in such a bad shape physically as some of the people that we saw on the earlier mission to Umdoukhoun. But I believe that from a security point of view they are much more vulnerable, particularly in Guldo and Gulo. In both these places, it is not only the displaced that are vulnerable, but also the resident population.
None of the displaced people that we have seen in these three villages have received any aid. In some areas, such as in the hills above Nertati, some displaced people are still living near their farms, and there are many others who are hiding in the hills. It is also clear that the populations in Guldo and Gurnu are surrounded by fighters. They are attacked regularly, along with the resident population in both towns.
18 May:
Spent today, again, in impressive but rugged mountain scenery. Went to Rokiro, which although not a long distance kilometre-wise from Guldu, takes a long time to get to, as the road is hard going. We passed many more destroyed villages including Dabanera, Kormu, Sabanga, and Tora. The first and extremely urgent, priority continues to be protection, and then food. Virtually everybody is living in a state of fear. The constraints on movement obviously reduces peoples’ ability to farm and make a living. Most of the residents are as vulnerable as the displaced. One thing that is causing a humanitarian problem in itself is the presence of military garrisons in these towns, staffed by young soldiers, who seem to lack any moral conscience or discipline, especially as far as it concerns rape. At least some of the displaced people are returning during daylight hours to attend to their fields. But there are many problems with water, health, medicines, and there have been no vaccinations for three years.”
Peter Holdsworth
Field expert
Eye-witnesses:
