06 November 2001
Text: UNHCR Reports Overflow in Afghan Refugee Camps
(People vulnerable to weather, security threats) (960)
Certain refugee camps on Afghanistan's borders with both Iran and
Pakistan have reached capacity, leaving people attempting to enter the
camps with neither shelter nor resources, the U.N. High Commissioner
for Refugees reported November 5.
This situation develops just as the harsh Afghan winter is about to
set in, UNHCR reported. "With night-time temperatures dropping
dramatically over the past few days, UNHCR is deeply concerned about
the condition of these families living out in the open, and is
currently discussing how to improve their situation with the local
authorities," the statement added.
Iran and Pakistan, already sheltering some 3.5 million refugees who
have left their country over the last 20 years, are currently keeping
their borders closed to further Afghans, though some exceptions are
being made for vulnerable persons, such as the elderly, the sick,
women and children.
In a November 6 briefing, UNHCR's Geneva headquarters spokesman Kris
Janowski said, "The presence of armed fighters in or near the camps
present an obvious danger to the displaced, including for young men
facing forced recruitment by both the Taliban and the opposition
Northern Alliance."
Following is the text of the UNHCR news story:
(begin text)
QUETTA, Pakistan, Nov. 5 (UNHCR) -- With the temporary staging site at
Killi Faizo full, some 400 Afghans were waiting Monday to enter the
facility in Pakistan's southern Baluchistan Province. At the same
time, unconfirmed reports said some 3,000 refugees were living in the
open near the Makaki camp in Taliban-controlled territory near the
border with Iran.
No new vulnerable refugees have been able to enter the Killi Faizo
site since Nov. 1. At the same time, negotiations are continuing
between the U.N. refugee agency and Pakistani officials on moving the
camp's residents to Roghani, a camp about 20 kilometers south of the
Chaman border town.
"As a result, the situation is essentially stalled, with 2,245
individuals inside Killi Fiazo receiving a full aid package from
UNHCR, the World Food Program and other agencies, and those outside
receiving next to nothing," UNHCR said in a statement Monday.
"With night-time temperatures dropping dramatically over the past few
days, UNHCR is deeply concerned about the condition of these families
living out in the open, and is currently discussing how to improve
their situation with the local authorities," the statement added.
The agency said its staff in the area was planning to give blankets as
well as high-protein biscuits to those outside the Killi Faizo site.
They are also being provided with water from inside Killi Faizo while
local benefactors are providing them with bread and other food items.
The agency said it was trying to find ways of assisting the so-called
invisible refugees, Afghans who have crossed into Baluchistan
Providence but have disappeared into old refugee camps or nearby
Quetta City. Discussions are continuing between local authorities and
UNHCR, UNICEF, Mercy Corps International and Save the Children (US) to
find ways of helping new arrivals, especially in education and health.
UNHCR has also begun direct support to the front-line hospital in
Chaman by providing 1.2 million tons of drugs donated by the Jordanian
Hashemite Charity Organization and an obstetrics kit donated by the
United Nations Fund for Population Activities.
While key sections of the hospital, including the operating block, the
laboratory, and the emergency ward are not functioning, some 10,000
measles vaccines are in stock and Medecins Sans Frontieres, the French
humanitarian organization, continues to vaccinate children.
Some 11 cases of severe malnutrition were identified at the Chaman
border last week, along with acute respiratory infections and
dysentery, UNHCR said Monday. "The malnutrition cases in particular
have raised alarm that the food crisis may have turned a corner inside
Afghanistan," the agency said. Severe malnutrition, according to
experts, is a very late indicator of a lack of food.
Along the Iranian border with Iran, unconfirmed reports from the
Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) and a non-governmental
organization said some 3,000 Afghans were living out in the open near
the Makaki camp on the Afghan side of the border.
The reports said the group was given some food and other assistance,
but that they were not allowed to enter the Makaki camp, which is full
with between 4,500 and 6,000 refugees. The Makaki camp is in
Taliban-held territory. A second camp known as Mile-46 also run by the
IRCS is inside a small pocket in Nirmoz Province that is controlled by
forces affiliated with the opposition Northern Alliance.
With regards to North West Frontier Province, the refugee agency said
it was working with local authorities to relocate newly arrived
refugees living in what it described as "overcrowded and destitute
conditions" in the Jalozai camp. The plan is to transfer the refugees
now in Jalozai and other camps to identified sites in the so-called
Tribal Agencies areas close to the Afghan border.
Work is currently underway in eight of the 15 sites identified, with
the Kotbai camp in Bajaur Agency north of Peshawar expected to be the
first to become operational. "Relocation to new sites, set to start
around November 11, will be voluntary and priority will be given to
the most destitute," UNHCR said.
The refugee agency said some 4,100 Afghans arrived last Thursday at
various crossing points in North West Frontier Province, with another
4,500 arrivals on Friday. But UNHCR cautioned that it was not clear
what percentage could be considered genuine new arrivals. The agency
believes that well over 100,000 Afghans have entered Pakistan since
the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.
(end text)
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