Situation remains precarious for the people of Paoua
May 22nd, 2008 by Brice Blondel UNDP CAR
Like about 197,000 other Central Africans, the inhabitants of Combattant 1 in Paoua are internally displaced people. To escape violence in 2003, they left the city for the bush. For five years now, they have been living in Ota and Dinga, about 10 kilometres from Paoua.
They stay in small houses by their fields and no longer go to the market to sell their products. “We only go back to Paoua once or twice a week, mostly to go to church,” explains the oldest member of the group (see picture). We would like to come back permanently, but what will we do if the attacks start again? We can’t run away with our children.”
Despite the recent peace deal between the APRD rebel forces and the FACA government forces, the situation in northwestern CAR remains fragile, and the population won’t feel safe until a permanent political solution has been reached. For now, rebel soldiers still need to be demobilized, and national authorities still have to reinstate the rule of law. Zaraguinas (road bandits) are likewise very active in the northwest, attacking villagers and merchants on their way to their fields or to the market. Altogether, unsettled disagreements between rebels and government, and the acts of banditry perpetuated by Zaraguinas, are paralysing the recovery process in the region. Five years after the 2003 attacks, life in Paoua hasn’t returned to normal.
In the village of Dinga people are surviving on small crops and leaves. Their well has dried up, further complicatung their acces to clean water. Some of the children no longer go to school; others have to walk several hours to reach it. Survival strategies have led families and communities to split, reducing communities’ control over individuals and increasing risks of theft and tension between villages.
Waiting for the inclusive political dialogue to generate tangible improvements in the security situation, UN agencies and NGOs present in Paoua are providing emergency relief to the population. Food distributions are organised by the World Food Programme (WFP) and Première Urgence (PU). The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is providing mosquito nets and first aid kits, and UNICEF has set up bush schools in the neighbouring villages.
