Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06ACCRA1796
2006-08-03 14:23:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Accra
Cable title:  

KRISAN CAMP SHOWING SIGNS OF IMPROVEMENT

Tags:  PREF PHUM GH 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO9573
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHAR #1796/01 2151423
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 031423Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY ACCRA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2043
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ACCRA 001796 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREF PHUM GH
SUBJECT: KRISAN CAMP SHOWING SIGNS OF IMPROVEMENT

REF: A) 05 ACCRA 2585

B) 05 ACCRA 2548
C) 05 ACCRA 2311

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ACCRA 001796

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREF PHUM GH
SUBJECT: KRISAN CAMP SHOWING SIGNS OF IMPROVEMENT

REF: A) 05 ACCRA 2585

B) 05 ACCRA 2548
C) 05 ACCRA 2311


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Morale at Krisan Refugee Camp has
improved considerably since the previous Embassy visit eight
months ago. While refugees exhibited renewed confidence in
UNHCR and have apparently repudiated the camp's violent
past, some problems with sexual and gender-based violence
(SGBV),lighting, and potable water remain. The camp's 350
Liberian refugees (out of a total camp population of nearly
1,700) remain resistant to the notion of repatriation and
will require further persuasion before they will budge.
Meanwhile, cognizant that UNHCR will be evaluating hundreds
of refugee cases for possible resettlement in August,
refugees are on their best behavior. End Summary.

--------------
Krisan's Violent Past
--------------


2. (U) The once obscure Krisan Refugee Camp, located in
southwestern Ghana, made headlines when in November 2005
angry refugees burned two buildings and one UNHCR vehicle
(reftels). During their short visit to the camp one month
later, the two West Africa-based Ref Coords learned that
refugees were angry about living conditions, the imposition
of income-generating activities, inordinate delays in
resettlement activity, and the disproportionate reaction of
the Ghanaian police in responding to the arson.
Unfortunately, their visit was cut short when policemen
carrying automatic weapons escorted them to the regional
police headquarters, where they were detained for one hour
before being released unharmed. It was against this
backdrop that UNHCR officials, Ref Coords, and GOL officials
visited Krisan in July.

--------------
From Isolation to Focused Attention
--------------


3. (SBU) The first team to arrive during the week of
July 10 was a delegation from UNHCR with the express purpose
of reconstituting the neighborhood watch team and the
refugee welfare council. UNHCR Representative Aida Haile
Mariam told Ref Coord that the voting for council
representatives signaled a repudiation of the camp's violent
past. The election of a solid slate of moderates to the
council indicated to her that the majority of camp residents
were no longer intimidated by radical elements and were
willing to work constructively with UNHCR. The arrival
three months ago of a UNV, whose sole responsibility was the

1,700 residents of Krisan Camp, also helped to restore the
once-fractured relationship between UNHCR and refugees.


4. (SBU) Ref Coords from Abidjan and Accra toured the camp
on July 12, noting immediately the elimination of the two
armed checkpoints that once guarded the camp entrance. The
smiling faces of the freshly uniformed neighborhood watch
committee supplanted the negative images from their previous
visit in December, when refugees were either seething with
rage or cowering in fear. Refugees commented favorably on
the resumption of regular UNHCR visits to the camp,
following a six-month hiatus from October 2005 to April of
this year.

--------------
A Baby Boom Possibly Related to SGBV
--------------


5. (SBU) Employees at the NGO-run clinic cautioned that
while things had improved, life in the camp was still not a
bed of roses. One Liberian nurse (protect) claimed that a
Ghanaian night guard had attempted to assault her sexually
two months ago, but she had been able to escape unharmed.
The nursing staff said that virtually every girl aged 15-17
was now pregnant, a phenomenon they had not observed prior
to the arrival of Ghanaian police on November 8, 2005. The
fact that no one had complained at the clinic may have been
an indication that money had been exchanged, according to
one nurse. (While their numbers have increased, only about
one-sixth of Krisan teens are currently pregnant.)
Furthermore, several refugees and camp employees who had
shared their concerns with Ref Coords last December
(including the head nurse) had been threatened.

--------------
Sour Relations with Local Villagers
--------------


6. (SBU) Relations with the local populace were still
described as distant. Refugees believed they were over-

ACCRA 00001796 002 OF 003


charged when buying supplies at the market and under-paid
when working as fishermen's assistants. In addition,
refugee children who attended the local elementary school
together with those from nearby Ghanaian villages reported
cases of non-violent taunting. Refugees acknowledged that
some villagers may be resentful because of the myriad
benefits that camp residents received.

--------------
The Slow Pace of Ghanaian Justice
--------------


7. (SBU) The legal cases of the suspected arsonists
responsible for burning two buildings and one UNHCR vehicle
last November were still pending. One refugee complained
that he had been summoned to court 13 times for repetitive
questioning, but the judge failed to appear on 5 of those
occasions. To pay for the $8 round-trip bus fare to the
court in Takoradi, some refugees had sold their food
rations.

--------------
No Lighting at Night
--------------


8. (U) Lighting remains a problem in the camp; the National
Catholic Secretariat ran a diesel generator only from 7 to
11 p.m., after which the camp was plunged into total
blackness. Besides the dangers of SGBV under these
circumstances, alligators and boas were known to roam the
camp during the darkest hours. UNHCR has proposed
connecting Krisan Camp to Ghana's electrical grid but said
it lacked funding to purchase a $10,000 transformer.

--------------
Vocational Training
--------------


9. (U) Refugees were concerned about vocational training
and income-generating projects. One woman commented that
she had nine years' worth of certificates of her walls for
all the various training programs she had successfully
completed, but the poverty of the surrounding villages meant
that she had never earned a dime. Undaunted, some refugees
operated small shops within the camp, while at least one man
was observed building cane furniture.

--------------
Resettlement - Finally?
--------------


10. (SBU) The prospects for resettlement appeared brighter
than ever, with UNHCR's long-awaited "socio-economic survey"
re-scheduled for the period July 24 to August 11. The Accra
Branch Office had at its disposal two ICMC contractors, one
Durable Solutions Officer, plus additional expatriate staff
on loan from the resettlement hub. At the same time, UNHCR
is facing reduced pressure from the GOG to resettle the
Sudanese, whom the new Minister of Interior no longer
considers a "security threat," according to GOG contacts and
UNHCR. UNHCR has been transparent with refugees in
emphasizing that it will consider resettlement across a
broad range of nationalities to avoid the appearance of
favoritism.

--------------
Repatriation? Never!
--------------


11. (SBU) Capping off an eventful week at Krisan, a
delegation of Liberian government officials, including the
Minister of Internal Affairs, the Executive Director of the
Liberian Refugee Commission, and the Deputy Commissioner of
Immigration, visited the Camp on July 14 to encourage its
350 Liberian residents to consider returning home. This was
Krisan's first exposure to promotional repatriation, since
UNHCR had concentrated its efforts up to now on the much
larger Liberian population in Budumburam Camp. GOL
officials told Ref Coord afterward that the reception by
refugees was hostile. One Krisan resident asked pointedly
how a GOL employee flanked continually by bodyguards could
assure refugees that Monrovia was safe. Others, citing
various bank robberies that have taken place in Liberia's
capital city, accused the delegation of lying to them about
the security situation.

--------------
Comment
--------------


12. (SBU) Most Krisan refugees agreed that morale, if not
infrastructure, had improved since November. They had high

ACCRA 00001796 003 OF 003


marks for UNV Mike Sanderson and were grateful that UNHCR
Representative Haile had visited the camp twice during her
first three months in Ghana. Refugees noted that UNHCR was
consulting more often with them, rather than attempting to
impose solutions from on high. UNHCR thus appears to be
winning the war for the hearts and minds of the refugees in
Krisan, most of whom have eschewed violence in favor of
dialogue and cooperation, perhaps due in part to upcoming
prospects for third-country resettlement. UNHCR still has a
tough sell on the Liberian repatriation issue; we will
continue to share the message that we see Liberia as a
country with a hopeful future and are redirecting the bulk
of our Liberian refugee assistance efforts to returnees in
that country.

CROMER