Flood Overtakes Eritrean Refugees Camp

The Eritrean refugees camp in the Alem-Wach has been overtaken by flood.

The Refugees said that their camp was flooded and their shelters were underwater with no dry land nearby to be found.

Reports say their situation has worsened due to the rainy season.

According to an Eritrean refugee Mrs. Ms Yodit, said that “It’s a safety hazard because the area is waterlogged and it’s difficult to move at the camp.”

Ms Yodit said the refugees there had fled camps in the northern Tigray region during the war for their safety and the

She added that majority of them paid a lot of money to brokers and smugglers to reach there.

Habteab Eyob, who supports the refugees, said “the camp was built on unfavourable farmland, and the tents cannot withstand heavy rain and wind,

“Children, in particular, are suffering greatly, they are starving,” he says.

The refugees say no effective steps have been taken by relevant government agencies and the UN refugee agency to improve the situation in terms of supply, food, medical care, and security.

However The United Nations High Commission for Refugees, UNHCR says it is awaiting funding to improve food supplies and is in discussions with the Ethiopian authorities to improve health and security services at the refugee camp.

More than 10,000 Eritrean refugees are housed at the camp in Ethiopia’s Amhara region’s Dabat district.

BBC/CO