COMMUNIQUE OF WOMEN AND GIRL’S WHO ARE CAMEROONIAN REFUGEES IN NIGERIA SETTLED IN UTANGA OF OBANLIKU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, ADAGOM 1, ADAGOM 2 AND UKENDE IN OGOJA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF CROSS RIVER STATE AND IKYOGEN IN KWANDE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF BENUE STATE; BEING AN OUTCOME OF A ONE-DAY SUMMIT ORGANIZED BY CENTRE FOR WOMEN STUDIES AND INTERVENTION (CWSI) SUPPORTED BY AFRICAN WOMEN DEVELOPMENT FUND (AWDF), HELD ON 23RD, 24th, 25th 26th FEBRUARY RESPECTFULLY.
PREAMBLE: We, the Women and Girls who are Cameroonian refugees residing in Obanliku Local Government, and in Adagom 1, Adagom 3 and Ukende in Ogoja Local Government Area of Cross River State and in Ikyogen of Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State and which participated in the above captioned summit hereby jointly express our collective standpoint on the current state of sojourning in Nigeria as follows;
APPRECIATION:
We wish to collectively thank the Nigerian Government for being their African brothers’ and sisters’ keepers by providing a safe haven for the thousands of Cameroonians refugees who sought refuge in Nigeria as a result of the civil conflict in southern Cameroon. The Nigerian Federal Government and the State Governments of Cross River and Benue have in the spirit of Pan-Africa demonstrated exemplary care of Africa motherhood through the National Commission for Migrants Refugees and Internally displaced Persons (NCFMRI) and the State’s Emergency Management Agency (SEMA)which has very well ensured our protection and peaceful habitation in the various communities we are residing. Secondly, we wish to profoundly express our very deeply heart felt gratitude to the United Nations which through its partnership with the Government of Nigeria and the services of its agency, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) have provided us with necessaries; accommodation, water, health care services and basic education funding for our children. We also wish to immensely thank the Host Communities where we are settled for peaceful co-existence, brotherly and sisterly love and various forms of assistances they have rendered Cameroonian sojourners.
On specific and well deserving recognition; we are grateful to African Women Development Fund(AWDF) for their sterling contribution to our lives through the Inform Parents and Children Together on Sexual and Gender Based Violence (INPACT ON-SGBV) Project which they funded Centre for women Studies and Intervention(CWSI) to implement and which is currently on-going. The project which has women and girls as beneficiaries is positively imparting and impacting the lives of refugees particularly through the formation of a Girl Child Movement (GCM) which is followed up by 6 months mentoring course for the empowerment of young women and girls who are vulnerable to SGBV. The project since inception has used its unique strategies to educate and conscientized women, girl, boys and men to adopt an improved behavioral practice which not only respects the dignity of persons but enhance human development and freedom from violence.
Furthermore, their welfare packs, psycho-social counselling and medical bill assistance for refugees suffering ill health has been tremendously helpful and beneficial.
We also wish to recognize the enormous contribution of other Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) whose humanitarian services and development work has brought relief to our travails. They have been a great source of inspiration, fortitude, resilience and hope away from home. The organizations which we hereby respectfully and gratefully acknowledged are as follows; Caritas Nigeria, Save The Children, Rema Care, Cuso International and Red Cross.
STATE OF AFFAIRS AND PRESENT CONCERN:
Even though we appreciate all the support given to refugees in Nigeria, particularly women and girls we still wish to solicit for more support to sustain the good works of these organizations and to reach outto many women and girls who are still in need of assistance. Our dire needs and present concern is as follows:
HUMANITARIAN SUPPORT; we wish to request for more humanitarian support as aid for refugees has dwindled in current times. Many women and girls live in austere lack and want of basic necessaries, especially, toiletries, mosquito nets, menstrual kits, mattresses, mats and blankets. We appeal to individuals, philanthropists and organizations whether local, multinational and telecommunication companies to give their support to this need.
HUNGER; this is the biggest problem we are contending with. To have a sustainable solution, apart from food donations, we appeal to humanitarian organizations and companies willing to execute corporate social responsibility to assist us with life Skill capacity building programmes that can be utilized for entrepreneurship and self-reliance as a dependable pathway to overcoming hunger. We hereby appeal to the members of the host communities to extend the privileges of allocating portions of farmland to refugees in need of land for agriculture.
EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT; Our collective gratitude goes to the UNCHR and Save the Children for the free-education opportunity created for our children to go school. However, there are basic educational needs which many of our children lack. These are, school uniforms, text books, school bags and school shoes and dearth of Teachers etc. Furthermore, there is need for increased attention to be given to pupils who have graduated from primary school to access secondary school education. We shall be grateful to see that these needs are provided through any NGO or humanitarian agency.
PROVISION OF WATER AND RENOVATION OF TOILETS AND BATHROOMS; There is a general deterioration of toilet and water facility in the refugee settlements and host communities. This situation has made life uncomfortable for refugees and the host communities. The make-shift toilets provided in the settlement are now dilapidated. Also, the bore holes have become inadequate to serve the population in the settlements. Access to water is still a problem for some refugees. We hereby appeal to generous funding agencies/organization to kindly respond to and improve the water shortage situation in the settlements as well as renovation of toilets and bathrooms.
EMPLOYMENT OF MID-WIFE’ IN HEALTH-CARE CENTERS; The absence of mid-wife’ in the health care centers provided for refugees is a huge challenge for pregnant mothers. This has contributed to infant and maternal mortality of refugees. We shall be very grateful to see improvement in the health care service delivery to the refugees and we appeal to the appropriate authorities to come to our aid.
CONCLUSION; We once again thank CWSI, other national/International organizations, the state and the Nigerian government as a whole for adding value to our lives. We appeal to the government of Nigeria to continue the good works of protecting refugees by improving security in the refugee settlements.
As women, many of us have lost our husbands, children, parents and relatives in the Cameroon conflict. Though we are displaced and experiencing various challenges at the moment our indomitable spirit of the African women is not subdued. We are determined and focused as women and girls’ group to live above our challenges and create a new world of freedom for the girl child. We have a living hope of perseverance and optimism that the long dark night will be over and the dawn of a new era will emerge. The day is coming when we and our children will return back to live in a new Cameroon where every citizen will live in human dignity, justice and peace.
Signed by: Representatives of concerned female Cameroonian refugees
NYENTY OBI STEPHANIE, VICTORINE NDIFON ATOP, ANYOR PEACE ODEY MARCELINE