With an estimated 30,000 refugees also sheltering in Nigeria, in June 2018 MSF launched activities in Cross River State. From July to mid-November, medical teams conducted 3,890 consultations. More than 75 percent of patients we are treating are women, children, or elderly people. Most consultations are for respiratory diseases and skin diseases such as scabies, both related to difficult living conditions in the villages and in the camps where refugees are staying. MSF medical teams are also treating patients for chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes and for malaria, which is mostly endemic in the country, in addition to performing surgeries for both traumatic and non-traumatic injuries.
“Like our brothers and sisters”
When the first Cameroonian refugees began to cross into Nigeria, they were completely reliant on the assistance and support of local villagers, whose living conditions were already difficult. Fortunately, because of their geographical proximity and the long-standing ties between them, the refugees received a warm welcome.
Augustine Eka shows his solidarity hosting Cameroonian refugees in his house in the Nigerian village of Amana. “People started to cross into Nigeria, but they didn’t have anything—they didn’t have a place to stay,” says Eka. “So we decided to welcome them, to let them live in our homes like our brothers and sisters. All of the communities here in Cross River State are very hospitable and friendly with the refugees coming from southern Cameroon. During the past year, we’ve hosted more than 100 refugees in my community: men, women, and children.”
Fidelis Kigbor is one of the refugees living in Augustine’s house. He fled Cameroon on October 1, 2017, the day that secessionist forces declared independence. “I lived with all my family in Mamfee, where I was a farmer,” says Fidelis. “I built my house there, but it has been destroyed.”
Fidelis and his family crossed the border. “When we arrived in Amana village, the local inhabitants welcomed us, even if they didn’t have so much to offer,” says Fidelis. He hopes to return to Cameroon when the situation allows, but he knows that it will not be easy. “I would like to go back to my country when things get better, but I know that I have lost everything there,” he says. “I will need help to rebuild my life.”
“We fled from violence”
While some of the refugees are living in the Nigerian border villages alongside local inhabitants, others have been moved into refugee settlements. The settlement in Adagom, run by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), was constructed in mid-August 2018. As of early December, more than 6,400 people are staying there.
Gmoltee Bochum, 31 years old, sits outside his tent with his two-year-old child, Sema. “Back in Cameroon, I lived in Bamenda, one of the biggest cities in the Anglophone region,” he says. “I was a computer engineer and a teacher. I don’t know when violence will end, but I know that I lost everything. Now I live with my family in this refugee camp, but life is tough. We all live together in a very small tent.”
MSF doctor Precious Mudama says that people’s needs in Cross River State are enormous. “Prior to MSF’s intervention in Cross River State, there were overwhelming needs in the health sector,” says Mudama. “There was big pressure on the state’s health care system, and a lack of staff and materials to take care of the local and refugee population. Our intervention was timely and we are now meeting those medical needs with our mobile clinic activities. The medical teams are seeing an average of 120 to 150 patients per day, with an average of 80 percent refugees and 20 percent members of the host communities.”