International Rescue Committee (IRC)
News, Photos & Videos › Blog › South Kordofan crisis: Update from Yida refugee camp

VOICES FROM THE FIELDTHE IRC BLOG

South Kordofan crisis: Update from Yida refugee camp


April 18, 2012
By The IRC

Women who fled the crisis in South Kordofan collect water from taps in the Yida refugee camp. Most of the new arrivals in the camp are women and children.

Photo: Elizabeth Pender/IRC

Protecting women in Yida

  • <p>Since it gained its independence from the Republic of Sudan in July 2011, South Sudan has been struggling to build the world&rsquo;s newest nation from scratch amid border clashes with Sudan. Now it finds itself dealing with an influx of refugees as escalating violence between the Sudanese army and ethnic-Nuban rebels in South Kordofan forces hundreds of thousands of people from their homes.&nbsp;</p>
  • <p>A least 28,000 Sudanese have fled into South Sudan to the remote Yida refugee camp. Among them are many women and girls who were raped while they were fleeing the crisis. The IRC is providing immediate medical assistance, emotional support and other services to help them heal. &nbsp;</p>
  • <p>With as many as 400 desperate refugees arriving in Yida every day, the camp is being stretched beyond its resources and isn&rsquo;t always a safe haven. &nbsp;Many women have been assaulted while foraging for firewood to cook their meals, fetching clean water or finding a private place to go to the bathroom.&nbsp;</p>
  • <p>Women living alone in the camp are particularly vulnerable to attacks by groups of armed men who roam the area.&nbsp;</p>
  • <p>But the threat of violence comes from inside the home as well. Domestic violence is widespread and, like so many other forms of violence against women, goes mostly unreported. &nbsp;As one Sudanese woman in the camp said, &ldquo;It is so common, who would you tell? &nbsp;Everyone is being beaten.&rdquo;</p>
  • <p>The risk of contracting HIV or other diseases after a rape or other sexual assault is high. &nbsp;Many of the women arriving in Yida have not had access to adequate health care or to information that can help them keep themselves safe. In a region with the world&#39;s highest maternal mortality rates, most do not know what options they have for safe childbirth.&nbsp;</p>
  • <p>Nor do these women and girls have the power to make important decisions for themselves. In some cases, young girls are forced to marry much older men &mdash;&nbsp;given as wives in exchange for money or other resources that a family desperately needs to survive.</p>
  • <p>The IRC recently opened a Women and Girls&rsquo; Wellness Center where survivors of sexual and domestic violence can safely report abuse and receive medical treatment, counseling and other assistance. &nbsp;This new center also provides a place where pregnant women can give birth and learn how to keep themselves and their babies healthy.&nbsp;</p>
Launch Slideshow

Refugees fleeing South Kordofan in the Republic of Sudan are crossing the border into South Sudan as violence escalates in the embattled region.  The IRC is working in the remote Yida refugee camp to provide assistance for women and girls who have been sexually assaulted while fleeing the crisis and after their arrival.

All IRC Slideshows >
All South Sudan Slideshows >

The International Rescue Committee's Elizabeth Pender spoke to CNN this morning by phone from the overcrowded Yida camp in South Sudan, temporary home to more than 20,000 Sudanese refugees. 

 Liz shares this update from the camp:

“We're continuing to see an alarming increase of new arrivals from South Kordofan, Republic of Sudan — all of them fleeing a combination of ongoing fighting and severe food shortages.  Most of them are coming by foot (some walking for up to a week), and our last survey indicated that 3/4 of the new arrivals are women and their children.   Many of them have no family members already living in the camp and because there is no shelter at the moment, they are sleeping near the food distribution point under trees, with nothing.  We're all doing our best to mobilize, but it’s hard to keep up, considering our already overstretched resources. Another concern is that many supplies for the camp come through Bentiu, which has recently been the scene of increased violence and has been hit by aerial bombardments.”

Susan Purdin, the IRC’s country director in South Sudan, adds that last week saw 1,800 new arrivals to the Yida refugee camp and that these refugees are in much poorer health than earlier arrivals.

Check our South Sudan page for the latest information on the IRC's response to the growing humanitarian crisis along the Sudan-South Sudan border.
 

To Help

Donate Now:  On the ground in some of the world's most troubled places, the IRC helps people at their moment of greatest need — providing shelter, medical care and safety. And we stay for as long as we are able to help in the rebuilding of lives and livelihoods. Make a tax-deductible gift today.
 
Posted in , , , , | Tags: , , ,
1 comment

Comments

Really worried about what is

Submitted by Abaker Mohamed Adam (not verified) on April 29, 2012 - 3:10am.

Really worried about what is going on in the boarder and want to know how IRC responding to mitigate the suffer of children,women and the old.

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Type the characters you see in this picture. (verify using audio)
Type the characters you see in the picture above; if you can't read them, submit the form and a new image will be generated. Not case sensitive.

ABOUT THIS BLOG        COMMENT GUIDELINES        DONATE        ARCHIVE