Malnourished and rejected refugees seek remedy over dire situation

By Okech Francis

Refugees being hosted in Yei held a peaceful demonstration on Monday, seeking redress over a dire humanitarian situation after being abandoned by aid agencies.

About 180 refugees of the 192 who fled Darfur in Sudan last year have reportedly not been provided for by aid agencies for over a year now, their chairman, Abdulsalami Abdallah, told The Dawn by phone yesterday.

“When we first came, we were given food, shelter, mosquito nets, saucepans and seeds but all these have been stopped,” Abdallah said.

“We held the peaceful demonstration because we want to tell the UN that we need them to help us. We need food, clothes and shelters,” he said.

“We want to remind them to help us as refugees. We are one year without anything.”

Reached by phone, Julius Taban Philip, the Assistant Commissioner for Refugee Affairs in Central Equatoria State noted that the refugees were indeed in a dire situation.

“Some are really malnourished and everything is so dire. Health services are not available and they have no money to seek medical attention anywhere,” Philip said.

According to Philip, Yei has 5332 refugees from the neighboring countries including Sudan and the Democratic Republic.

“Last year, the UN scrapped “pillar one” from Yei. They said they have no funding and I was open and told the refugees the same,” he said.

“I will again lobby with my head office and UNHCR in Juba. Their situation is dire and I will raise up their voices. We will lobby UNHCR to put back pillar one.”