UPDATE FROM BANGUI / March 11th The situation is still highly taut in Bangui. Theres no longer any fighting, but reprisals are continuing and the opposing factions are still trying to settle the scores. As we were travelling towards the refugee camp, we saw four corpses. They were surrounded by French troops, there to stop them being violated. At the Muslim refugee camp, where weve been working for the past three months, there are now only a few hundred people; most are leaving. Life in the camp is very hard, a woman told us: They brought us rice and oil, but we havent got any coal for cooking. Shes packing up her things: a few mats, one or two blankets, and some clothes. Shes waiting for the car that will take her back to Cameroon. Another woman is waiting too, with one child in her arms and another three clinging onto her legs. Shes painfully thin, like her child. We ask if we can examine him, but she doesnt want us to because shes in a hurry; theres a car thats going to take her away. The car arrives and the haggling begins: the driver wants 4000 franks for a trip that usually costs 400. The woman gets out everything she has - 2000 franks and thats it, nothing more. They go on haggling and we manage to find another 1000 franks. She hasnt got anything left, but she wants to get away from this place. -- Ombretta, coordinator of Emergencys work in the Central African Republic
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 13:55:49 +0000