Flood victims of Kousseri ask for resettlement

During the heavy rainfall, victims of the floods of 2012 and 2013 in the departments of Mayo-Danay, Logone and Chari, no longer know where to turn because the government has not built the houses it promised.

It must be said that these thousands of homeless people are still exposed to the weather despite the commitment made by the government to build decent housing. The government's promise has yet to materialize especially in the Logone and Chari, to the chagrin of the victims whose precarious living conditions had not improved.

In the Mayo-Danay, resettlement of some disaster victims has begun but at a slow pace. Of the 233 houses provided for the pilot phase, only 51 houses have been built and assigned to 13 families only, while thousands more do not know where to lay their heads.

Concerned about the situation of the victims "abandoned" to their fate was the Association of Youth Solidarity for Sustainable Development (Ajeso) which conducted advocacy programmes with administrative authorities.

Their action falls within the framework of the advocacy project for decent resettlement of the victims of flooding in the Far North region and citizen control of the post flood management donations and grants.

This initiative has put pressure on the administrative authorities to remind the government of its commitments regarding the resettlement of the victims. To better understand the magnitude of the situation of flood victims, the Ajeso organized in Kousseri on May 7, 2015, a workshop to present the results of its study in the field. This meeting followed the one held on 13 August 2014.

The study has documented in a report, clear and precise, the ordeal experienced by disaster victims despite the many multifaceted donations to them offered by the Government, NGOs and other national and international agencies.

Chairing the meeting was the representative of the sub-prefect of Kousseri, Mr. Suina, who readily acknowledges in his statement that the victims live in extremely difficult conditions. "We must admit, the 2012 floods have caused huge damage on the human, infrastructural, environmental and agro-pastoral structures. Many families find themselves without decent housing which raises the issue of resettlement of hundreds of victims in flooded areas. Moreover, the disappearance of thousands of acres of farmland and pasture exposes people to a widespread food crisis," he said.

Mr. Suina also stated that "the government has made various donations to disaster victims but the actions of the government alone are not enough. Therefore, it needs the support of internal and external partners to sustainably improve the living conditions of the victims. It's probably in this context that fits the action of Ajeso. To end, I want to provide all the support to the Cameroon government, Ajeso and its partners to work more but will struggle in line with the Millennium Development Goals and Strategy Document for Growth and employment that would make Cameroon an emerging country by 2035".

According to the National President of Ajeso, non-profit organization created in July 2003, "the study was conducted using information gathered from the victims of flooding, administrative, political and traditional of sector , NGOs and local associations.”

Dawa Kodeme even specifies that overall, the victims will need neither more nor less than the improving of their conditions with the bonus and urgency to resettle them.