UN Expresses Growing Concern for Cameroonian Refugees in
Nigeria
Women and children represent about 80 per cent of the
approximately 10,000 refugees registered so far in Nigeria’s Cross River state.
Thousands more are among the population of unregistered Cameroonians in
neighbouring states.
Some of
these are boys and girls who fled to Nigeria alone. Unaccompanied and separated
children are particularly affected by difficult access to food and the lack of
subsistence opportunities.
UNHCR
says it has received numerous reports that children have to work or beg to
survive or to help their families. Many children are unable to attend school,
as they lack both the time and funds for education. Although schooling in
Nigeria is free, there are still some basic costs, such as those for school
materials.
UNHCR
is working with the Nigerian authorities to assist with the reunification of
separated children with their families, to provide unaccompanied children with
protection services and to restore the basic right of all children to
education. Some children arriving to Nigeria reported to UNHCR that they had
been out of school in Cameroon for the whole of the past academic year.
For
women, the lack of work combined with the over-stretched reception facilities,
creates a higher risk of sexual and gender-based violence, particularly from
survival sex. So far, only a limited number of such cases have been recorded,
mainly in the Amana community of Cross River state. However, UNHCR is concerned
that many more incidents go unreported or are referred only to community
elders. Incidents of domestic violence, as well as cases of teenage pregnancies
involving girls as young as 14, have also been reported.
In
Nigeria’s Benue state, where two school buildings have been reserved by
authorities to serve as temporary refugee hosting accommodation, women and
their families are forced to sleep inside communal school halls, deprived of
private space and the right to family dignity. For them – and for the rest of
the population living in temporary tents hastily built next to local residences
– sufficient and appropriate shelter is key to ensure adequate registration,
systematic aid distribution and reduced protection risks.
UNHCR
is currently working with the Nigerian authorities to identify sites away from
the border, where the refugees can be hosted according to international
standards. We are also establishing offices in the towns of Calabar and Adikpo
to better provide assistance and protection to the women and children. Our
support includes food, basic relief items, health, and water and sanitation
facilities.
UNHCR
recognizes the enormous generosity of the Nigerian border communities, opening
their doors to Cameroonian refugees. Almost all of those registered reported
that they had left their homes because of insecurity and that they would go
back only when it’s safe to do so.
Source: The UN
Refugee Agency
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