10 Oct 2014, Goré, Chad: Thousands of Chadians have returned home, forced to flee the violence that has gripped the Central African Republic. Many now live in transit sites and temporary camps like the Kobitey transit site, pictured here. Although they still depend on humanitarian assistance, they have become part of the local economy in the south of Chad. They share schools and even cemeteries with the host populations. Credit: OCHA/Philippe Kropf
10 Oct 2014, Goré, Chad: "The Chadian Red Cross started offering free phone calls on the transit sites just after the first arrivals," says Rangar Djimaloum, a Red Cross Volunteer. "At the beginning it was very intense. People made calls to learn if their loved ones were still alive. We successfully connect 150 to 170 calls per day, two days a week. Many people call numbers in CAR, but also in Cameroon or Nigeria as well as the USA, Saudi Arabia or some to Sudan." Credit: OCHA/Philippe Kropf
9 Oct 2014, Djako, Chad: Pupils sit in a classroom between the Djako transit site and the village of Djako. UNICEF raised six tents as classrooms, and the government sent six teachers. A total of 891 children including 432 girls started the new school year in Djako on 9 October. The children from the transit site--196, including 101 girls--go to school with the children from the surrounding villages. Credit: OCHA/ Philippe Kropf
9 Oct 2014, Djako, Chad: Zenaba Moussa is the President of the parents association of the Djako transit site "Today is the first day of the new school year. Two of my boys, Ibrahim and Sanussi, have started school again. In CAR, they could not finish the last year because of the violence. The villagers have to pay 2,500 Francs (US$5) to enroll a child in the school. We returnees do not have to pay that fee. Otherwise, I could not have afforded to send them back to school." Credit: OCHA/Philippe Kropf
10 Oct 2014, Goré, Chad: For parents like Masoura Ahmet, the benefits of this school go beyond the fact that their children have access to education. "It is good that my boy, Ibrahim, can start school here with the children from the village of Kobitey. That will give us mothers more time to look for jobs. I stopped studying when I got married in CAR but my husband died. So now I want to work somewhere in town." Credit: OCHA/Philippe Kropf
10 Oct 2014, Goré, Chad: For host communities, the arrival of the returnees has had clear economic benefits. "I do not live on the site, I am from Goré, the city nearby. I am a bricklayer and I have built many houses in Goré," says Roger Tolembaye. "Now I build houses in Kobitey for the returnees. Every morning I come to work on the site here, it is just like any other job." Credit: OCHA/Philippe Kropf
10 Oct 2014, Goré, Chad: Norbert Mbaitodjimbe, works at the Danamadja temporary camp. "The World Food Programme gives vouchers to the people on the site and merchants from Goré bring food and make a small market for them. I work for one of the merchants as a day labourer, unloading 200 sacks of food per truck. I get paid 2500 francs ($5) a day and can work eight days a month. With that money I pay returnees from Danamadja to work my fields because actually I am a farmer." Credit: OCHA/Philippe Kropf
9 Oct 2014, Djako, Chad: Host populations recognize that the returnees have much to offer their communities. "Very soon after the arrival of the returnees on this site, the villagers from Djako realized that these people want to work and that they have capacities that we do not have in the village," says Pascal Reoundam. "Now every day returnees go and work on the fields of the farmers and get sacks of peanuts in return. Also, they brought professionals with them like butchers or mechanics. In the evening the villagers bring their motorbikes or generators to the site to have them fixed." Credit: OCHA/Philippe Kropf
10 Oct 2014, Goré, Chad: "I was evacuated from Bossangoa by the Chadian Army. I am driver and mechanic but before I left CAR I was working as a medical aid for Médécins Sans Frontières before the violence got so bad that I could not go to work anymore," says Rachid Mataki. "Now I work for Sécours Islamique France, the NGO that builds brick houses on the site for the most vulnerable." Credit: OCHA/Philippe Kropf
10 Oct 2014, Goré, Chad: "My younger brother died on the site. He had fallen sick during the month of Ramadan. He was 62 years old. We buried him on the local Muslim cemetery within 24 hours and now we are having a funeral feast," says Saleh Ibrahim. "Most of the Chadians in the south of Chad are Christians and we are Muslims. But there are no problems between us. In Bozoum I was a merchant, I had crossed Chad to go to Nigeria to buy goods. Now I am here with my family. The Chadians welcomed us." Credit: OCHA/Philippe Kropf
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