Nigeria: refugees from Cameroon ever more numerous
Text by: RFI Follow
According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), as many as 8,000 Cameroonians have crossed the border into Nigeria in the past two weeks. They are fleeing violence between security forces and armed groups on the sidelines of legislative and municipal elections.
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Read moreIn total, Nigeria is now hosting nearly 60,000 Cameroonian refugees on its soil. UNHCR , communities and local authorities are mobilizing to welcome them, but in the face of this influx, more lasting solutions are needed.
" These 8,000 people are being welcomed, for the moment, by the local communities who are showing immense generosity in welcoming them and offering them the first assistance, namely water and food," emphasizes Romain Desclous. , UNHCR spokesperson in West Africa . But these needs will, in addition, be shelters and will become more and more pressing. We must therefore be able, with the Nigerien authorities, to provide this support . "
Support both refugees and host communities
In addition, specifies Romain Desclous, beyond this influx of 8000 people, it is necessary to provide a more durable solution to the refugees. Namely all those who have been there for several months, some of whom arrived since the end of 2017.
" We are talking, of course, about access to health but also access to education," added the UNHCR spokesperson in West Africa, since many of these children have been out of school, even before they can cross the border and become refugees. This being so and what is very important is to ensure that these people, forced to flee, have access to activities which allow them to have an income in order to be able to support themselves and also to be able to contribute to the communities. who welcome them. It is therefore for us to support both the refugees and the communities that host them. "
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