TCHAD: Re-assessing the aid footprint
ABÉCHÉ, 7 December 2009 (IRIN): When an aid vehicle is stolen in the eastern Chad town of Abéché, some people cheer and say the aid organization got what it deserved, according to the French think-tank Emergency Rehabilitation Development (URD), which is preparing a report on the impact of international aid groups on Abéché residents.
– There is the perception that humanitarian organizations have driven up the cost of living in the town – water, electricity, housing, said the group’s director, François Grünewald, adding:
– There is a view that carjackings are a form of justice, like Robin Hood taking from the rich. People do not see what these groups are doing in the field.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is losing two all-terrain vehicles a day in the east, senior external relations adviser Måns Nyberg told IRIN. Abéché was the most affected region in 2008 and saw one of the highest rates of crime ever against aid agencies in 2009.
Since the arrival of refugees from Darfur in late 2003, a dozen UN agencies and dozens of NGOs have arrived in Abéché. Prior to 2003 there had been only one UN agency and two non-profit organizations.
More than 1.000 members of the UN Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT) – sent to boost border security and facilitate refugee and Chadian returns – have also used Abéché as a base since March 2009.
Foreigners “more wasteful”
The town’s water system was ill-prepared for the influx of aid workers and peacekeepers, said URD’s Grünewald. – Locals have a different relationship with water than foreigners who are more wasteful and do not conserve, noted he.
Foreigners have also driven up housing and food costs in Abéché to levels “out of reach of vulnerable residents,” he added.
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