Signs of hope at home, dire needs at refugee camps
LWF provides basic needs for Liberian refugees in Sierra Leone

Kenema, Sierra Leone/Geneva, 16 December 2005 (LWI) -

Mamusu Greye, a single mother with four dependants recalls the day her family arrived at Tobanda refugee camp in 2003. She received a kitchen set-cooking utensils, plates, cups and spoons-and a lantern, blankets, jerry cans, plastic buckets and mats. However, after almost three years of constant use and repair, little remains of the non-food items (NFIs).

Greye is now forced to borrow basic items like cooking pots from neighbors. When it rains, her family, like many others in the camp cannot enjoy decent sleep because the shelter leaks so badly. The May to November rainy season is heaviest between July and September. Its last stages usher in the harmattan period, which is characterized by severe cold and dry winds lasting through February, exposing families to further harsh weather conditions.

Unlike food items, which are distributed every month to refugees, NFIs are supplied only once, upon arrival in a camp. There is growing concern among the refugees over the need for NFIs’ replenishment.

The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Department for World Service (DWS) regional program in West Africa (Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone) has been managing the Tobanda camp since its establishment by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in March 2003. Located some 24 kilometers west of the eastern town of Kenema, it is among eight such camps in the eastern and southern provinces of Sierra Leone. By November 2005, the camp had some 4,780 Liberian refugees.

Mr Morris T. Kulabengu, the food and NFI committee chairperson, a refugee himself, said “many of our people are in such dire need of NFIs to the extent that some have resulted to using the ‘Charles Taylor lantern’ at the camp.” Possibly coined after the hardships Liberians encountered at the hands of former rebel group leader, now exiled ex-president Charles Taylor, the lantern is easy to assemble-a piece of cotton in a metal plate or cup filled with oil when lit burns slowly, providing enough light to a household. However, the lamps are a potential danger, particularly in a crowded camp, where negligence could lead to a major fire outbreak.

It is several months now since concerns about the NFIs were raised, and the LWF office continues to seek ways to provide replacements, especially to the most vulnerable families. Back home in Liberia, the political situation has progressed significantly with the peaceful conclusion of general elections and the anticipated January 2006 takeover by the newly-elected government led by president-elect Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa’s first woman head of state.

There is hope for peace and stability, and many of the refugees here have expressed their willingness for voluntary repatriation being facilitated by the UNHCR, in collaboration with LWF/DWS-Sierra Leone.  Nevertheless, many still, despite readiness to return home and contribute to rebuilding a nation devastated by 14 years of civil war, are cautious about their security. It may be quite some time before many of the Liberians at Tobanda refugee camp return to face further challenges of resettlement. (528 words)

(By Alfred Gorvie, LWF/DWS Sierra Leone information assistant, Tobanda refugee camp.)