Chahid El Hafed (Saharawi refugees camps), 12/02/2006 (SPS) The Saharawi refugees camps (SRC) launched an urgent appeal "to all Governments and international organisations" to help it so as to prevent a real humanitarian catastrophe in the Saharawi refugees camps, which are stricken by torrid rains and inundations since last Thursday, indicated a press release publicised Saturday evening by the Saharawi NGO.
"The Saharawi refugees camps in the Algerian region of Tindouf are stricken, since last Thursday to Saturday 11, 2006, by torrid rains without interruption and inundations that caused considerable material damages and many wounded among the refugees, what pushed thousand families to spend the nights of Thursday and Friday on top of hills around the camps, from fear to be taken away by floods", the text of the press release, of which SPS received a copy, underlined.
"According to first estimations of SRC’s teams, more than 12.000 families at least are now without shelter, knowing that the inundations had taken away the few goods and food they had and that the SRC does not have stocks of tents and did not receive any help pf the kind in 2005, what makes the situation even worst", the press release further added.
The Saharawi Red Crescent also warned against "epidemic threats within the Saharawi refugees because of this situation, especially that the stocks of drugs are empty". The stock of food, the NGO added "will be completely used in March".
SRC also affirmed that the damages did not only touch the shelters of the Saharawi citizens but also Saharawi Governmental institutions of first importance, "such as hospital, clinics and schools". It exhorted the international community to urgently intervene so as to provide for the help Saharawi refugees need before the situation turns to tragedy.
Torrid rain, never seen in the region since 1994, has stroke the Saharawi refugee camps, without interruption, starting from Thursday, and continued for Friday and the first hours of Saturday", declared the Saharawi Ministry of Interior the same in a press release on Saturday, indicating that the inundations that followed the rain caused "material damages and many wounded within the Saharawi refugees".
Despite the precarious situation, the Ministry of Interior would like to inform the Saharawi citizens, everywhere, as well as the public opinion that its services did not record cases of human death or serious wounds among the refugees.
The President of the Republic, Mohamed Abdelaziz, received yesterday afternoon, at the seat of the Presidency in Chahid El Hafed, an important Algerian delegation that came to investigate on the situation and bring the help of Algeria to the Saharawi refugees. (SPS)
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