Violence in Chereponi: displaced women and children beg to survive

General News of Monday, April 15, 2019

Source: citinewsroom.com

2019-04-15

Women and children who fled their communities during the conflict between Anufos and Konkombas in the Northern Region are now begging for basic supplies.

Hundreds of people, including women and children, were displaced as a result of the escalating conflict, which resulted in the death of three additional people, several other injuries and property destruction.

Displaced people, mainly women, lactating mothers and school-aged children live in very difficult conditions in Gbintiri.

The displaced residents of Chereponi, numbering about 130, live in an abandoned house in Gbintiri.

People who are now internally displaced in their own country and live in an overcrowded space are now fighting for food, water and clothing.

Most children report having lost contact with their parents when they fled the conflict zone.

Dosa Augustina, 16, is a junior high school graduate in Istanbul, Chereponi, and does not know the fate of her parents.

She told Citi News that her house and several others had been burned.

"There is no place to sleep, no food to eat. Children usually cry because they're hungry.

Doga said she did not know where her parents were or "whether they were dead or alive."

"I am here alone with my colleagues who have also come to this community. We are all piled up in these small rooms. The soil is not cemented, only sand and we sleep in it. "

Neither did Komey seek refuge in Gbintiri.

He wanted to join his JHS comrades in a local school, but there was no room for him.

"We face many challenges here, we do not know where our parents are, we do not have food to eat. I wanted to join the JHS here, but I am told that the school is full, "he told Citi News.

"Our books and all our learning materials have been burned. Our homes and even our animals. We call on the government and others to help us. "

In the meantime, some JHS final year students have been able to join their colleagues at the school to allow them to prepare for the BECE later this year.

Residents of Gbintiri, through their chief, Naa Zunzungu Jababu Wajack, provided accommodation, food and other materials to some of them.

But they complain that the situation has become heavy.

Naabila Tani, a resident who cares for more than 20 of these children, appealed for help from the government.

"I am taking care of more than 20 children and it is now very difficult to feed them. I used everything I had and now I have not left anything. I want to appeal to the government for it to help us. We need food, water for drinking. We also need clothes and even sandals for them. Because of the situation, the children started asking people for food and nobody did it. That's why we want the government to step in to help, "he said.

Another resident felt that "children are becoming a source of concern for the community".

He was also concerned that "now, these children beg," but added, "They are humans, we can not drive them out of the community, but we are also concerned about the situation."

Gbintiri chief Naa Zunzungu Jababu Wajack said in an interview with Citi News that recent rains have made life even more difficult.

"We gave them shelter but now we have nothing left to live on. I appeal to the government for it to give them and their place to sleep. To add salt to the wounds, one of the houses that was given them had its roof torn off during heavy rains. "

When Citi News made contact with the National Disaster Management Organization, it said it was aware of the situation.

"We had information that some people in the Chereponi area are here as refugees. We came to discover and recorded about 133 of them. We reported the problem to the regional office and the East Mamprusi District Assembly, "said Adams Abubakari Meijida, East Mamprusi District Coordinator for NADMO.

"Right now, the region and the badembly are now trying to get food for them. We also want to add our voice to the call for support for these children. The badembly and the community gave them these two houses to manage so that we could wait for the nation to send us something.