Sudanese refugees struggle to survive as children die
Reuters
2012-08-02
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They were bombed out of their villages and then starved out of the caves where they had taken shelter.
Now, Sudanese refugees from the Nuba Mountains are dying of diarrhoea and malnutrition at a 'frightening' rate, according to doctors at the Yida Refugee Camp across the border in South Sudan.
As aid agencies scramble to get enough food, plastic sheeting and clean water for the influx of refugees, doctors say around 10 people are dying at the camp every day.
Children are hardest hit by the conflict that returned just over a year ago, when Sudan's army tried to disarm a division of rebels from the 1983-2005 war.
Hanan Azai's malnourished child has been in a coma for several days.
(SOUNDBITE) (Nuba) REFUGEE, HANAN AZAI, SAYING:
"My baby was shaking and was swollen all over, including his feet. He had diarrhoea and he looks weak."
Most of the refugees ran out of food a year ago, and have been unable to plant new crops because of airstrikes by Sudanese warplanes.
Many have survived by eating tree leaves and roots.
After rains in June, the Yida refugee camp's population tripled to 60,000 in a week, leaving aid workers desperately unprepared.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES (DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS) NURSE JOHN JOHNSON SAYING:
"It's devastating. No one is going to say it's been easy here, no one is going to say it hasn't been hard, or that it hasn't been sad, or difficult for me or difficult for my staff to see this many children pass away. The reason we are here is to try to prevent that, to try to make the ones that can get better, get better."
The war near the border in Sudan was sparked by the failure of a 2005 peace agreement that ended a civil war between Khartoum and the Sudan People's Liberation Army - the army of the Republic of South Sudan.
And with little sign of tensions easing between the leadership in both capitals, refugees in Yida have little chance of returning to their fields any time soon.
Travis Brecher, Reuters
Now, Sudanese refugees from the Nuba Mountains are dying of diarrhoea and malnutrition at a 'frightening' rate, according to doctors at the Yida Refugee Camp across the border in South Sudan.
As aid agencies scramble to get enough food, plastic sheeting and clean water for the influx of refugees, doctors say around 10 people are dying at the camp every day.
Children are hardest hit by the conflict that returned just over a year ago, when Sudan's army tried to disarm a division of rebels from the 1983-2005 war.
Hanan Azai's malnourished child has been in a coma for several days.
(SOUNDBITE) (Nuba) REFUGEE, HANAN AZAI, SAYING:
"My baby was shaking and was swollen all over, including his feet. He had diarrhoea and he looks weak."
Most of the refugees ran out of food a year ago, and have been unable to plant new crops because of airstrikes by Sudanese warplanes.
Many have survived by eating tree leaves and roots.
After rains in June, the Yida refugee camp's population tripled to 60,000 in a week, leaving aid workers desperately unprepared.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES (DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS) NURSE JOHN JOHNSON SAYING:
"It's devastating. No one is going to say it's been easy here, no one is going to say it hasn't been hard, or that it hasn't been sad, or difficult for me or difficult for my staff to see this many children pass away. The reason we are here is to try to prevent that, to try to make the ones that can get better, get better."
The war near the border in Sudan was sparked by the failure of a 2005 peace agreement that ended a civil war between Khartoum and the Sudan People's Liberation Army - the army of the Republic of South Sudan.
And with little sign of tensions easing between the leadership in both capitals, refugees in Yida have little chance of returning to their fields any time soon.
Travis Brecher, Reuters
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