From the field: Life at the Al Salaam Camp
POSTED: February 7, 2007
By Bill Horan, Operation Blessing President
Journey to Al Salaam: a road less traveled
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A truckload of refugees arrives to Al Salaam camp.
Bill Horan, OBI President, at the site of the Al Salaam school.
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Today, we left for Al Salaam Camp around 9 a.m. in a convoy of two SUVs. The SUVs are prominently lettered with our German partner Humedica's logos and white humanitarian flags fly on the right front fenders to identify us as NGOs.
The 2-way radio cracked with messages of other NGOs headed into the field and security agencies exchanging information. The Humedica guys explained that they didn't want me riding in the "shotgun" seat because if we were attacked or stopped by rebels or Janjaweed, the bad guys would communicate only with the person in that seat. I guess even terrorism has protocol in this place.
After careening through city streets crowded with early-morning markets and commuters on motorcycles and jitneys (taxis), we reached the edge of the city and turned off onto a crude, unpaved sand trail that led into the desert.
After a few miles we came to the main security check point and pulled over as our host went into the grass hut to show soldiers our travel documents. Travel is closely monitored and strictly controlled in the area. The troops are ever-vigilant of rebel attacks and concerned that rebels will infiltrate the refugee camps.
The soldiers were friendly, although they did ask all of us our names before reaching through the car windows to shake hands. Shaking hands seems to be a rite of manhood here and by the day's end my hand ached. There was one more check point, then about 10 more miles of sand track before we finally arrived at the Al Salaam Camp.
OBI and Humedica at work
Al Salaam Camp was established in May 2005 by the Sudanese government. The number of refugees has fluctuated between 2,000 and 8,500, due to a variety of reasons: rebel attacks on government troops, government and Janjaweed attacks on villages where the rebels might be hiding, tribal discord, conflict with nomadic Sudanese, and general lack of security and fear.
Two weeks ago, there were 3,500 refugees in the camp. That was before a larger camp –
Otash – closed when its population reached 61,000. In the past two weeks, Al Salaam has welcomed 150-300 new arrivals a day and the population has swelled to 6,000.
In May 2006, the United Nations (UN) asked Humedica to assume the official role of "camp coordinator." Almost all NGOs shy away from that job because of the huge responsibility, endless workload and the likelihood of criticism should the slightest thing go wrong.
Today, I saw the fruit of Humedica's efforts, and I am astonished at the complexity of the behind-the scenes operations that support this smooth-running camp. There are other NGOs that play a part in the camp's success, as well as branches of the UN, but Humedica is the prime mover that carries the heaviest load and makes it all happen. By supplying cash, Operation Blessing helps Humedica carry the load.
New arrivals
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Horan visits with 150 students inside their classroom at Al Salaam.
Children stand ready with cups and bowls in hand for hot porridge to be served at the school.
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We left our vehicles, walked through the new arrival area and watched about 100 people – mostly women and children – unload from a truck that had just arrived. I asked several people, "Where are the men?" The answer was always the same…the men have been killed.
The arriving families had some meager possessions with them like garden tools, hammocks and burlap bags of food. It was so sad watching the people climb down from the truck. Besides losing family and friends, they had lost everything except for the meager pile of items piled beside the truck.
Once the new arrivals are on the ground, they are registered by World Vision and then greeted by a cadre of sheiks. The sheiks, each from a different tribe, are the leaders of the camp population. Oftentimes, while they may not always get along with each other, they are warm and receptive to the newcomers.
Once the registration process is complete, the papers are turned over to Humedica. Humedica personnel then hand out basic supplies such as plastic tarps, blankets, cooking utensils and metal dishes. The newcomers are then taken to an area that coincides with tribal background and instructed on the rules of the camp. From that point, the construction of shelters is up to the refugees.
Refugee shelters
It's easy to identify the areas populated by newcomers because of the white tarps and crude dwellings. Some find sticks and pitch a tent-like structure while others make more elaborate huts, using every conceivable scrap of material they can scrounge up. I saw bits of canvas, tin, branches and cardboard used as building material. Mats woven of local grasses are very popular, and once wrapped around the hut's walls, provide an effective wind break.
We walked across the camp, stopping to interact with some of the people. A group of women started clapping in rhythm and singing as we approached their hut. They seemed quite excited, so I asked our host what they were so happy about. They said that Westerners walking through the camp and "visiting" them made them very happy.
One lady was very animated, and went into a pantomime of Janjaweed riding a camel and shooting. She then shrieked and ran off, showing us how she fled from her attackers. It was very moving.
Some sections of the camp were obviously older and the people had made a great effort to create a home-like environment. Corrals surrounded by thorn fences (built to contain donkeys and goats), elaborately-woven wind breaks, huge bundles of sorghum, vegetable gardens, sun flowers and other valiant attempts to normalize life were evident.
School and feeding program
We then visited the school that OBI funded and Humedica built. The area is fenced in with steel posts every six feet and solid sections of woven bamboo. There are 16 "classrooms," each a free standing building with walls made of bamboo, concrete floors and woven straw roofs.
We entered one classroom and found it packed tight with 150 young girls, each wearing a colorful head scarf. The teacher was in the middle of an Arabic language class. It was heartwarming to see their eager, intelligent faces, yet heartbreaking to think of the nightmare that their lives have been.
Then it was "breakfast time" at the school, and we watched as the kids lined up excitedly; girls on one side, boys on the other, each presenting various containers. Some has nice cups and bowls, others had makeshift containers such as plastic coke bottles cut in half and turned upside down. The serving was a nutritious, hot porridge and half a loaf of fresh-baked flat bread. The kids looked happy as they dipped their bread into the steaming porridge. I wondered again how happiness was possible in the middle of a refugee camp.
Lifesaving medical care
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OBI's head midwife holds a newborn baby. An average of thirty babies are born every month at the clinic.
A pharmacist dispenses medicine at the clinic.
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We walked to the medical clinic where Humedica treats up to 200 patients a day. OBI funded the clinic and Humedica staffs it. Inside the waiting area of this three-sided building, patients check in. While they wait their turn, a Humedica Sudanese employee lectures on health issues such as hygiene and malaria prevention.
Skin disease and diarrhea are the most common problems, but serious diseases like tuberculosis are also seen. The clinic offers free vaccinations, and by inoculating against measles, polio and other diseases, many lives are saved and much suffering is prevented.
The women's care and baby delivery building was amazing. Three to five babies are born every day, usually during the night. Humedica employs four midwives so that one is on duty 24 hours a day. A baby was born this morning and we saw and photographed the beautiful infant that still had umbilical cord attached. The mothers are kept at the clinic for two hours following childbirth, and if there are no complications, sent back to their home in the camp.
We saw many other wonders in the camps, such as the centralized water system, intricate latrine system and other public services – things that I had never thought about when I envisioned a refugee camp. I am so very impressed with Humedica's efficiency and extreme level of organization and excellence.
The school and medical clinic are the fruit from the tree of our combined efforts and resources, but the roots of success are in the camp coordination. Expertise and resources, mixed with a heart for fellow man and a love of God, add up to a formula of success in the business of saving lives in Sudan.
I am thankful that Operation Blessing was led to partner with this amazing group, Humedica.
How You Can Help
You can take part in helping Sudan's refugees by making an online donation toward OBI's "Crisis in Darfur" fund. With your support, OBI can continue to provide food, medical care and more to thousands of hurting refugees.
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