Chad: "When you're hungry, it's hard to hear the cries of others"
Text and photos by Fragkiska Megaloudi
The late afternoon sun beats down as Khadidja stands on the wall of her brick house and points to the meagre meal she prepared for her family: a dough made of millet with a thin green sauce. “Everything has become so expensive lately," she mutters.
The 40-year-old mother of eight lives in the town of Adré, just 400 metres from the border with Sudan, in Chad's eastern Ouaddai Province. Once a quiet border town of 68,000 inhabitants, Adré's population has more than doubled, as tens of thousands of people of all ages have arrived from Sudan since mid-June, when a new wave of violence broke out in El Geneina, the main town in West Darfur.
Khadidja's eldest daughter, Hila, is in her early 20s. She says she feels the pain of those who fled the war. Her own family has taken in two Sudanese teenagers who fled El Geneina in mid-June.
“But when you're hungry, it's hard to hear the cries of others,” adds Hila.
For generations, communities along the Sudan-Chad border have maintained a tradition of trade and cattle herding, bound by intermarriage and shared cultural affinities. Like many Chadians, Khadidja’s family have warmly opened their homes, sharing their food, land and other resources with those fleeing the conflict. But the sudden arrival of thousands of people has put severe pressure on an already vulnerable local population in eastern Chad.
Three months after the conflict erupted in Sudan on 15 April, more than 250,000 refugees and returnees have fled across the border into Chad's eastern provinces of Ouaddai, Sila and Wadi Fira. Nearly 90 per cent of these people are women and children from West Darfur, which has been the epicentre of intercommunal conflict between Arab and Masalit tribes. The current wave of displaced people adds to the more than 400,000 Sudanese refugees who have lived in eastern Chad since 2003 due to previous conflicts.
As the crisis in Sudan continues to unfold, local communities in eastern Chad are grappling with soaring food prices due to the disruption of markets caused by the war and border closure. High inflation in Adré’s markets is causing major problems for vendors and customers alike, who are feeling the pinch of rising prices. This is exacerbated by the population’s already low-income levels, and the pressure on local households’ livelihoods due to the influx of refugees and returnees.
Even before the conflict, an estimated 1.9 million people in Chad’s eastern provinces needed humanitarian assistance, with malnutrition rates exceeding WHO's critical threshold in several places. However, the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan has received only US$122 million, which is just 18 per cent of the $674.1 million requested to meet the needs of 4.4 million people nationwide, including those in the east.
“Because of the war, we now have to buy our goods at double the price," said Mahamat Hadabad, a trader and shop owner on the outskirts of Adré. "A bag of sugar used to cost CFAF 20,000 (30 euros) and now we have to pay 55,000 or 60,000 (90 euros). A koro (the local metric unit, equivalent to about 2 kg) of millet has gone from CFAF 350 to CFAF 750, or even CFAF 1,000 (1.53 euros). People can no longer buy goods, and this is bad for business.”
As if that were not enough, access to basic health services has become difficult, as Adré's only hospital is overwhelmed by the new arrivals. In mid-June, 1,300 injured people arrived at Adré Hospital in just a matter of days, many with gunshot wounds. The situation has calmed down, but the hospital remains overstretched; around 1,400 people seek medical treatment each week, compared to an average of 600 people before the crisis, according to hospital officials.
Since the crisis began in Sudan, the humanitarian community has worked closely with the Government of Chad to provide emergency humanitarian assistance, including food, shelter, health, protection, and water, sanitation and hygiene. The priority has been to relocate as many people as possible from spontaneous border sites to existing and/or newly established camps.
Colonel Mahamat Ali Sebey, Prefect of the Assoungha Department, based in Adré, said: "The humanitarian community has been very active in supporting the Government's efforts to help people arriving from Sudan, but we must not forget the local population. Chad cannot do everything on its own, so I appeal to the international community to support the Chadian Government and also to fund partners, who must take account of the local population in the three provinces hosting the refugees.”
Humanitarian agencies have been scaling up their support to the local population by strengthening existing infrastructure and improving access to basic services, such as water, sanitation, education and health. In June, the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) allocated $6 million to Chad for protection services and life-saving assistance to affected host communities. This was in addition to CERF’s $8 million allocation to the Sudan crisis response in Chad to meet the needs of refugees and returnees.
However, the scale of the crisis affecting scores of people in eastern Chad requires more resources. Humanitarian partners are preparing for a possible new influx of people from Sudan and for possible epidemic crises during the winter.
Dieudonne Bamouni, Head of OCHA Chad, said: “In addressing this multidimensional crisis, we must prioritize inclusive coordination mechanisms and operational approaches that efficiently address the needs of all affected populations: refugees, returnees and the host population. We must also not forget the other crises in the rest of the country.
“The international community, which has congratulated Chad on its legendary hospitality, must now more than ever show its sincere gratitude by providing substantial financial support. The time to act is now, before it is too late.”