Refugee Camp

I haven’t told you yet about the Budumburam Refugee Camp. Referred to in Ghana as Liberia Camp, and situated about 2 hours (give or take an hour, depending on traffic and time of day), this is a settlement of at least 42,000 people from all over West Africa, including Togolese, Cote d’Ivoirians, Nigerians, Ghanaian (we’ll get to that later), and last and most prevalent, Liberians. The camp was established originally in 1990 as a refuge for Liberians during the conflicts there in the 1990’s, and then 2000’s as well. Most of the inhabitants of the settlement are Liberian.  The camp was sponsored from 1990 to 2007(ish) by the UNHCR (United Nations High Commission on Refugees), but since the conflict in Liberia ended, they have since begun to pull their support. We’ll come back to this. The camp is situated on Ghanaian land leased by the UNHCR, and has a designated Ghanaian government official that has an office there and is responsible for all the workings of the camp, but obviously non-citizens don’t have access to the public education that is available in Ghana. There is a Government Social Welfare office that operates in the camp, but they seem to have little resources, and honestly, there isn’t much they can do.

So, Question One: How did I end up at a Liberian Refugee Camp two hours away from where I live? Answer: An organization called WISE. Women’s Initiative for Self Empowerment is an organization that works in Accra as primarily a domestic-violence combatant. It provides counseling and help with finances (micro-loans and business planning) for women (and men) that are survivors of domestic violence. WISE has developed a network of partners all over the area that includes the police, doctors offices, hospitals and lawyers that they work with, both to find women who might be in need of services, and to provide those services. A woman referred to WISE through the police station because of a shady story or report of violence would be provided counseling and medical care through WISE’s partners. They have several new initiatives they’re working on as well, including mentoring programs for boys (to address the root of the problem, before it’s a problem) and aid for youths in difficult or abusive situations. Awesome organization, for sure. One of the places they work is the Camp. They have counselors there three days a week available for residents of the camp to come in and receive help. These clients can walk-in, or be referred by the clinic or social welfare office.

The problem, however, is the social situation of the camp. Psycho-social counseling aims to address the psychological impacts of a situation, and also the social aspect of their life. Well, a person living in a refugee camp encountering a domestic violence situation has more to deal with than simply that horror and difficulty; they probably need food, access to clean water, and a way to educate or take care of their children. Keith, a Liberian who began working for WISE almost five years ago said it best, in that counseling can meet their psychological needs, but they literally can’t do anything about the social deficits. The World Health Organization (WHO) calls this the Social Determinants of Health. The theory is that even if you can treat someone’s medical problems, sending them back to the social situation in which that problem began will likely end with the same result, again. It’s the idea that the environment is highly influential of health, both mental and physical. Case in point; Liberia Camp.

Keith was saying that WISE was having trouble getting people to come in for counseling. This isn’t exactly surprising; while I definitely understand the importance of counseling and concentrated mental health, especially in instances and situations involving domestic violence, how likely is it that a person who can’t eat or feed their children will come in to talk about their emotional issues. They literally have more important things to worry about, or at least that would seem to be the case. Maslow’s hierarchy rates physical needs above emotional ones – shelter, food – these are necessary for survival.
Question Two: What goes on in the camp, and how do people survive? These are questions that we asked (five of us are attached to WISE, and four of us will be working at the Camp) as well, and I’ll give the best answer I can. From what we can gather, (and this has been pieced together from the five of us talking to different people), Liberians produce and Ghanaians buy, remittances are sent from family abroad, and some of the Liberians charge rent for spaces they acquired in the early stages of the camp. So there is money, just not enough of it. Ghanaians are in the camp (which is weird, right? That Ghanaians would be living in a refugee camp in their own country) because it’s cheap living space, and there’s a market to sell to. So, in addition to buying goods from the refugees, they supply their own market as well.

Question Three: What does it mean that the UNHCR is pulling out of the camp? Well, I think it’s going to continue meaning more and more as time progresses. The UNHCR was the main funder of the camp, and it’s overarching organizing force. This is not something to take lightly, because it is a huge amount of people – at least 42,000. One implication of the UNHCR’s withdrawal is the lack of recognition for the refugees. Because the UN ran a Voluntary Organized Repatriation operation back to Liberia, and it is considered now a peaceful state, the UNHCR doesn’t recognize anyone new coming into the camp. Previously, they would be issued a UN ID, and be granted official refugee status. Now people who repatriated are coming back to the camp, and more people continue to flow in, both from Liberia and other nations in turmoil. Any newcomer after 2009 was not recognized, and is not included in the 42,000 number that’s often tossed around. Another implication of the UNHCR’s withdrawal has been seen at the clinic. There is a Catholic Clinic on the camp (the only medical facility) that lost it’s funding for drugs and supplies, and is now having to find alternate sources of funding. Also, the HIV/AIDS clinic at the camp was funded by the UNHCR, but since funding is being cut, they are integrating into the Ghanaian government, with the understanding that they will now provide services to not only the camp, but surrounding Ghanaian communities. I’m not sure what else will happen, but eventually it stands to reason that the UNHCR won’t rent the land from the Ghanaian government, and then these people will either need to integrate, or move on from their home of 20 years.

Something I realized, and it’s part of the reason I haven’t written about this yet, is that there is no solution. Massive, systemic change impacting political and international law is needed to adequately solve the problem of displaced persons. Sadly, this is not the only congregation of people alienated from their destroyed homes and forced into a stable-temporary exile; it is occurring all over the continent. Services are needed, yes; medical care, food, clean water, bathing and toilet facilities – but ultimately there needs to be a solution. I don’t know what it is. I don’t know how to go about it. I have absolutely no idea. Right now, all any of us can do is try to help who we can; education, supplies, materials – whatever they need. A few of us are working on potentially setting up a donation drive or some such fundraiser – rest assured the details will be here.

On that note – think about what you have, and what we take for granted. It’s easy to think about situations like these; much harder to walk into them and realize that there is absolutely no solution. Comments, thoughts and insight are welcome.