CAMEROON: M'BORORO REFUGEE TRAIL OF TEARS POURS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 YAOUNDE 000974

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
YAOUNDE FOR DAO

DEPT FOR AF/C, DRL
PRM FOR HENNING
ACCRA FOR REGIONAL REFUGEE COORDINATOR NATE BLUHM
KAMPALA FOR FREDRICKS
LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA ACTION OFFICERS
EUCOM FOR J5-A AFRICA DIVISION AND POLAD YATES

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREF PHUM PGOV CM CT
SUBJECT: CAMEROON: M'BORORO REFUGEE TRAIL OF TEARS POURS
ACROSS CAR BORDER (C O R R E C T E D C O P Y)

REF: A. STATE 38658

B. YAOUNDE 295

C. YAOUNDE 409

D. YAOUNDE 503

This message is corrected to add additional addressees.


1. (U) Summary. Refugees from the Central African Republic
(CAR) are crossing Cameroon's eastern border in increasingly
large numbers. They are the victims of escalating violence,
and their situation has worsened despite continued aid from
NGOs. Aid operations are impeded by the tenuous security
situation, customs, funding problems, and the scattered
locations of the refugees over difficult terrain. End
Summary.

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Refugee Population Grows by 30% in Five Months
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2. (U) Embassy team met with UNHCR reps in Bertoua and
visited M'bororo refugee sites at Ndokayo and Garoua-Boulai
in Cameroon's East Province along the border with the Central
African Republic (CAR) on July 19 to follow up on reports of
increased refugee migration since the UNHCR's Joint
Assessment Mission in February. UNHCR representative Jacques
Franquin confirmed on August 2 that the number of registered
refugees is now 26,091 (6,859 households),an increase within
a period of five months of nearly 30 percent over the 20,383
registered as of February. The UNHCR rep in Bertoua told
Poloff on July 19 that the refugees are arriving daily,
"completely destitute," and refugees who spoke to the Embassy
team said they expected more to come. UNHCR has registered
entire villages that fled the CAR en masse.

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Malnutrition Rampant
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3. (U) In addition, the UNHCR rep in Bertoua told Poloff
that the number of children dying from malnutrition had
increased dramatically; in the town of Gbiti alone, there
were 41 mortalities. Poloff spoke to one woman in Ndokayo
who had lost nine out of 10 children, and many of the
inhabitants there said they had lost family members. The
UNHCR rep said that he believed these deaths were all related
to malnutrition. Although not a trained medical observer,
Poloff noted the appearance of the children was visibly worse
than those seen during the February JAM visit, where the
malnutrition confirmed by medical examiners was not apparent
to an untrained observer. Medical care has been made
available to refugees. Poloff visited a hospital in Ndokayo,
where staff said they treated dozens of refugees free of
charge every day, though the hospital was empty at the time
of the visit. One bedridden man in Ndokayo said he was
unable to walk to the infirmary because of his illness, but
would do so later.

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Increasing Violence
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4. (U) The level of violence attending the influx of
refugees and the bandits who pursue them is reported to be
increasing, and many have lost family members. There are
more reports of hostages killed, refugees are arriving with
fewer resources, and the refugees reported the use of torture
to extort information from victims. One man said he had been
dragged by the neck, and another had the tips of his ears cut
off and the fingers of his right hand burned off. Poloff
spoke to one Baya man who was living with the M'bororo
refugees in Garoua-Boulai who said that although the M'bororo
are the favorite targets of the bandits, they will also
torture local Baya in order to make them reveal where the
M'bororo are located. The Baya, another ethnic group
overlapping the same areas as the M'bororo in CAR and
Cameroon, make up about 25 percent of the refugee population,
according to UNHCR. A Cameroonian M'bororo who tried to work
in CAR told to Poloff he was harassed out of the country,
arriving at the border literally naked.


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5. (U) In addition, Embassy contacts reported in April that
there was an increase in gang activity, theft, drunkenness,
prostitution (and attendant STDs),and orphans in the Bertoua
area as a result of the influx, and that at least four heads
of families had committed suicide as a result of losing their
cattle. Some of this loss they attributed to an unusually
long dry season that resulted in the loss of an estimated
100,000 head of cattle in the areas of Bertoua,
Garoua-Boulai, Meiganga, Ngoundal, Tibati, Banyo, and as far
away as the Northwest Province. The UNHCR rep told Poloff
that even the cattle that remain cannot be used or sold,
because they are needed to rebuild the herds.


6. (U) Residents of Bertoua told Poloff that they fear
burglary by bandits coming in from the CAR, although a
Cameroonian Rapid Intervention Brigade (BIR, French acronym)
is active in the area and has reportedly captured several of
the bandits.

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Friction with Locals
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7. (U) Friction between local residents and refugees has
been reported, although relations are generally good. The
UNHCR rep said that a local chief in Ndokayo has been very
supportive. Chiefs in four zones inform UNHCR whenever
someone arrives, although newcomers have complained about
problems with registration. A local merchant told Poloff
that prices have not risen, but his business has increased.
Local residents from this impoverished area ask why they
cannot receive the same goods and care as the refugees. The
M'bororo also compete for grazing land, and their cattle harm
the crops of local farmers. There were reports that theft of
crops by refugees, some of them starving children, had become
rampant, but there have been no reported arrests. Poloff was
told that some law enforcement officials intimidate refugees
and sometimes seize the identity cards they need to obtain
food assistance.

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Aid Sufficient but Facing Obstacles
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8. (U) Relief operations face considerable obstacles, but
aid has begun to reach the refugees, according to UNHCR. Aid
operations are impeded by the tenuous security situation,
customs, funding needs, and the scattered locations of the
refugees over difficult terrain. UNHCR, in tandem with the
World Food Program (WFP),Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF,
Doctors Without Borders),the Red Cross, and other groups,
schedules regular deliveries of food and medical care. A WFP
food shipment arrived in Douala July 15, but was held up by
customs for 15 days. A major distribution by four teams of
relief workers is scheduled for August 8, and four subsequent
distributions are planned through December 2007. Food
assistance consists of corn, beans, oil, sugar, salt, and
protein biscuits. MSF also provides hydratants to combat
infantile diarrhea. Other items supplied to the refugees
include blankets, mattresses, jerrycans, soap, and hygienic
kits. In addition, there are programs to supply 15 wells,
and medical supplies to the district medical centers.


9. (U) The Ministry of Public Health is working with UNHCR,
MSF, and UNICEF to address the problem of malnutrition. The
UNHCR rep in Bertoua said that the assistance is substantial
-- thousands of tons -- and would be sufficient to cover the
needs of the refugees there, even though the need has
increased dramatically. However, UNHCR is requesting 200,000
USD in additional funding. There are some missionaries who
have been providing food aid as well, including a recent
delivery of ten tons of food and other aid to Garoua-Boulai.
Nevertheless, the refugees say they have become frustrated
with the slow pace of delivery of aid from the UNHCR.

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Comment: Trouble Afoot
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10. (U) If the violence in CAR continues unabated, the
ensuing influx of refugees could be massive and become a

YAOUNDE 00000974 003 OF 003


destabilizing factor. Word to kin in CAR that assistance is
available in Cameroon is likely to continue to draw them, and
anyone remaining in CAR may be targeted by the bandits, who
are in turn following the refugees into Cameroon. This
migration will be difficult, perhaps impossible, to stop.
The fact that the bandits are entering towns indicates an
increased boldness, perhaps out of desperation on their part.
It may also indicate that the resources of their preferred
victims, the M'bororo, have been depleted, and they are
searching for new victims. Even though border checkpoints
are strict, the border itself is extremely porous, especially
to people traveling on foot. There are M'bororo and Baya
resident in both CAR and Cameroon, so it is impossible to
distinguish native from foreigner by appearance. In addition
to adding to the potential for social unrest, the largely
Muslim refugee population also changes the demographic of the
area. In February, Poloff learned that the number of mosques
in Bertoua had gone from two to 13. Refugee children do not
ordinarily attend school, but one M'bororo told Poloff he
sends his children to a local madrassa. Although no
religious tensions have been reported, a local official and
an NGO rep told Poloff that opposition party UNDP tried to
register M'bororo to vote in the July 22 elections, in
contravention of Cameroonian law. While these attempts were
unable to sway the election, they could serve to polarize
communities along political lines. End Comment.
NELSON