Why Support For Darfur Refugees Is Needed Now, More Than Ever

Why Support For Darfur Refugees Is Needed Now More Than Ever
BAHAI, CHAD - JUNE 21: Newly arrived Sudanese refugees, who escaped bombing from the Sudanese air force in their villages in Darfur, seat under trees as they wait for permission from the UNHCR (United Nation High Commission for Refugees) to settle inside the refugee camp on June 21, 2009 outside Oure Cassoni refugee camp in Bahai, Chad. Since 2004 over 260,000 Sudanese refugees from Darfur crossed into eastern Chad. They live in 12 camps along the border. Over 85 per cent of them are women and children. The latest influx of refugees arrived after an attack on three villages in western Sudan in February 2008. Since April 2006 regular rebel attacks on Chadian villages in the border area of Darfur, have led to a spiral of escalating violence throughout eastern Chad. About 170,000 Chadians have been forced over the last three years to flee their villages, often leaving all the belongings behind. In January 2009 over 15,000 refugees from Central African Republic (CAR) have entered south-eastern Chad, following clashes between Rounga rebels and the national army of CAR. (Photo by Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images)
BAHAI, CHAD - JUNE 21: Newly arrived Sudanese refugees, who escaped bombing from the Sudanese air force in their villages in Darfur, seat under trees as they wait for permission from the UNHCR (United Nation High Commission for Refugees) to settle inside the refugee camp on June 21, 2009 outside Oure Cassoni refugee camp in Bahai, Chad. Since 2004 over 260,000 Sudanese refugees from Darfur crossed into eastern Chad. They live in 12 camps along the border. Over 85 per cent of them are women and children. The latest influx of refugees arrived after an attack on three villages in western Sudan in February 2008. Since April 2006 regular rebel attacks on Chadian villages in the border area of Darfur, have led to a spiral of escalating violence throughout eastern Chad. About 170,000 Chadians have been forced over the last three years to flee their villages, often leaving all the belongings behind. In January 2009 over 15,000 refugees from Central African Republic (CAR) have entered south-eastern Chad, following clashes between Rounga rebels and the national army of CAR. (Photo by Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images)

Ongoing violence in Sudan’s western Darfur region has driven more than 271,000 civilians to flee their homes and temporarily resettle in refugee camps across the border in eastern Chad. Today, after ten years of conflict, these refugees depend on international support for basic needs such as food and water, but, just as importantly, they also depend on this support for education. However, as fighting in Darfur continues, funding for Darfuri refugee education has decreased and further budget cuts remain a major concern among the refugee population.

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