Jane Beesley's Darfur Diary
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DAY 1: ABU SHOUK CAMP
Jane Beesley, a communications officer for Oxfam Great Britain, took a reporting trip to Darfur, Sudan, in the end of April and the early part of May. She visited camps and towns where tens of thousands of displaced people are now living. Here is her diary of that expedition.
The drive to Abu Shouk camp takes less than 15 minutes from Oxfam’s office in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur. Before leaving town glimpses of the camp, home to more than 56,000 people, can be seen through gaps between buildings.
What hits you first as you enter the camp is a feeling of permanency. It feels like a town. People have replaced their plastic shelters with brick ones and have built brick walls around them, too. Shelters are erected in rows, and at the end of each is a street name: N15, N9, W2. This feeling that it’s going to be a long stay is confirmed again and again. Abu Shouk camp opened three years ago this April. It’s an unhappy anniversary.
Before entering the camp we see large, brown pyramid-like structures. As we pass closer we see these are for baking bricks. As people settle in for the long haul, brick-making has become increasingly commonplace and one of the few livelihoods available to the people at the camp. It’s estimated that 30 percent of households in Abu Shouk are involved in brick making and it takes around one liter of water to make one brick.
This enormous extra demand for water is placing huge strain on scarce natural resources, and depleting the amount available for drinking and domestic use. The Oxfam team in Abu Shouk is working to try and promote brick-making projects that use less precious water and are more environmentally sustainable. As the resource quickly diminishes, the management of water has become an enormous challenge.
Abu Shouk means small spiky animal. But the basic needs of a displaced population, their desperate need to earn a living, and the impact on natural resources are anything but small.
