CHAD: WHEN HOME IS A STRANGE PLACE

By Federica Gabellini, Ndjamena CHAD

Following the last outbreak of violence in the Central African Republic (CAR) in 2013, thousands of Chadians living in CAR sought refuge in Chad, mainly in the country’s southern provinces.

Unlike their Central African neighbours who crossed the border to flee violence in their country and fit the traditional profile of “refugees”, the Chadians have returned to their country of origin. They are “returnees”: Chadian nationals who lived abroad for decades and were then forced to return “home” due to conflict.

About 115,000 such people currently live in Chad, some 70,000 of them in the South. For many of them, home is an unknown and unfamiliar place. They face enormous challenges, including their lack of documentation and subsequent inability to access basic services, a dependence on humanitarian assistance, and having to share meagre resources with host communities that are themselves poverty-stricken.

Their attachment to a foreign country and relative unfamiliarity with their homeland result in insurmountable obstacles to their reintegration.

The Djako returnee site comprises about 1,100 individuals, of which more than 900 are women and children. Almost all shelters, provided by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the non-governmental organization (NGO) SECADEV between 2014 and 2017 with funding from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), are currently in a state of disrepair.

Most of the families are exposed to inclement weather, and vulnerable groups such as older people, pregnant women and children are particularly affected.

Overcrowding is also a major problem at the site. Most of the households, which range from 3 to 15 members, live in shelters that measure 4 metres by 3.5 metres. Many of them have been forced to build makeshift sheds out of tree branches and leaves.

A family of 15 at the Djako returnee site in southern Chad.

To respond to the shelter emergency, the NGO ACTED is leading a project that aims to rebuild the shelters at the site.

These are the words of Hamadou Tidjani, the Interim President of the Kobiteye site. Due to underfunding, humanitarian partners have been forced to reduce their food assistance contribution. In 2016, each returnee received 5,500 Central African Francs (CFA), or about US$9, each month. Today, that assistance has dropped to 3,000 CFA (about US$5) per month. 

Malnutrition is among the leading causes of child mortality in Chad, where one out of every eight children dies before reaching age 5. This is the second-highest under-five mortality rate in the world.

Since the closing of the health centre in Kobiteye in 2016, all emergencies, including births, have been referred to the Danamadja health centre or the hospital in Goré.

The health centre, however, is run by only one person and lacks even the most basic medicines. Many people do not have the financial means to pay for adequate care at the hospital in Goré, and are forced to resort to traditional medicine. 

Many returnees lack basic identity or civil documents. Application processes for such records often take years, which makes them unable to claim a range of rights and services.

Cash-for-work activities (small-scale trade, gardening, sewing, etc.) led by ACTED aim to strengthen the community’s resilience and provide people with medium-term income to support their livelihoods.

He obtained a high school diploma in 2013, and is one of ten children in his family.

"Our precarious situation prevents us young people from aspiring to a brighter future and contributing to the development of our country," Nana says. "If the State could set up a scholarship programme for a few young graduates a year, it could gradually help us integrate into society by giving us the chance to continue our studies because our parents cannot afford school fees. At the Kobiteye site, 30 of us have a high school diploma, but we don't have the possibility of continuing our education. We stay at home with our families. Some girls have no choice but to get married to be supported by their husbands. High school students feel discouraged because they know in advance that their studies will stop at the baccalaureate, with no perspective on the horizon."  

For Hamadou Tidjani, the Interim President of the Kobiteye site, the plight of the returnees has gone on far too long.

"When we arrived in Chad, helped by our Government following the conflict in CAR, we thought that within a year or two we would be fully reintegrated into society and making good use of our skills. Unfortunately, six years have gone by and we are still in this precarious situation, without work, and waiting cross-armed for the day of humanitarian aid distribution." - UN