THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES SITUATION REPORT ON THE AMBAZONIAN REFUGEES IN NEIGHBORING NIGERIA.
Nigeria is currently hosting over One Hundred and Twenty-Five Thousand (125,000) Southern Cameroonians forced to leave from the comfort of their homes into a strange land as refugees. Southern Cameroonian Refugees in Nigeria are currently faced with for following challenges:
For more than a year now the process of registration by the UNHCR has completely slowed down and is not being performed in most of the areas making it difficult for the refugees to be registered. Also, it has been more than a year today that most of the Refugees Identification Cards got expired and still have not been renewed by the authorities, leaving the refugees to be tormented daily by the immigration officials and even the military and forces of law and order.
There is huge negligence in providing the basic humanitarian needs to refugees by the Nigerian Authority and the UNHCR. The UNHCR have reduced the Cash Based Intervention (CBI) from an initial amount of 7,200 Naira to now 2,600 Naira which have still not been paid for the past four (4) months, in addition to huge inflation of the prices of food and non-food items, have left the Southern Cameroonian Refugees in Nigeria in hunger, frustration and total exploitation by the locals. It is alleged that the hunger and starvation have led to the committing of suicide by some refugees. Young girls are also being sexually exploited and forced in to prostitution due to hunger and extreme hardship.
There’s inadequate provision of social amenities like water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH) and Health facilities to the expanding host communities, thereby leaving the refugees into miseries of very poor health.
There’s lack of basic education for the children and lack of economic empowerment opportunities for the adult refugees to become self-reliant and self-dependent have led to them becoming jobless thereby leading the refugees into highly dependency and exploitation by the locals.
Lack of shelter and sheltering materials like mattresses, bed covers and blankets.
Refugee Communities undergo days without drinking water due to lack of portable drinking water and extreme bad conditions for the few existing boreholes.
Dr. Emmanuel Nji Tita, The secretary of state for the department of Health and social services is soliciting the proactive, collective and continuous generosity of the good citizens of the world and Ambazonian stakeholders in particular, to ensure some form of sustenance for this displaced persons from the Home Front.
Worthy of Notice: Red Cross appeals for aid to support fleeing Cameroonian refugees
The Nigerian Red Cross Society has appealed to Nigerians and organisations for assistance to cater for the needs of Ambazonian refugees who fled to Bashu community in Boki Local Government Area of Cross River State.
It would be recalled that about two weeks ago, over 500 refugees from the Atlantic zone fled to Bashu, a border community with Ambazonia following a reported crisis that broke out in their communities.
Reacting to the development, Friday Okwo, Head of Red Cross in Cross River, said they lacked the manpower and supplies to cater for the teeming number of refugees that was growing every day
Another official of the society, who did not want his name mentioned, said the number of refugees was increasing daily and needed medical and humanitarian attention.
He said they were trying their best but needed the assistance of other agencies and well-meaning Nigerians before they ran out of supplies.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) had earlier reported the conflict in Southern Cameroonian border communities, in which many citizens of the central African country have been injured.
Some have been killed, while others fled to Bashu in Cross River.
The refugees in Nigeria are facing very critical conditions. When is help coming? When will they return home? Are they different from Ukrainian refugees? If not, why is the story of the Ambazonian refugee ignored by mainstream media?
Like captioned by the UNHCR for this year's global celebrations; whoever, where ever, whenever: Everyone has the right to seek safety!
Gab Ellison reporting for UNDAUNTED - ABC AMBA NEWS.
