Displaced families moved to controversial site

About 102 families arrived at the Zarey Dasht transit camp for the displaced in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar on Thursday, after months of suffering at the Chaman waiting area in Pakistan. "The move went very smoothly and the process of allocating plots to them will begin on Friday," United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) protection officer in Kandahar, Aliya Al-Khatar, told IRIN in the city. "Our priority is to move people in Chaman first and then start registering those who want to leave Spin Boldak." The families were given a hot meal on arrival and were expected to spend the night in tents before being moved to allocated plots. "We have tried to make sure that the Afghans are given plots next to people they know so they can live in communities," she added. There are some 35,000 internally displaced people at Spin Boldak and a further 25,000 asylum seekers at Chaman who were stopped by the Pakistani authorities from crossing into the country. This resulted in a humanitarian disaster at the border as thousands of people set up camp in rows of tents made from scraps of material, barely giving them any respite from the terrible desert conditions they are forced to endure. However, despite having the choice to move, some are reluctant to go. Rustan, 56, has been living at the Chaman waiting area for six months. He told IRIN he felt safer there. "Our community leader wants us to stay here because we don’t know how safe the new site is," he said, adding that they had already fled bombardment and persecution in Sheberghan in the northern Balkh province. According to UNHCR, up to 40 percent of Afghans living in horrific conditions at the Chaman waiting area and at Spin Boldak - both on the southern side of the Afghan/Pakistan border - have fled ethnic persecution in northern Afghanistan. They now face a new dilemma - to stay in their miserable surroundings or go to the new site, some 30 km from Kandahar city in the middle of the desert. Be it better or worse than the hot, incredibly dusty and dirty conditions they are living in now, aid agencies assure them that they will receive better assistance at Zarey Dasht. "People cannot stay in the border area. It is not safe," Al-Khatar explained. "Yes Zarey Dasht is in the desert. But the whole of Kandahar is in the desert," she added. With the urgent need for protection at the new site, local police have been selected to be responsible for internal and external law and order at Zarey Dasht, ensuring the safety of the newly-arriving internally displaced people (IDPs). "Zarey Dasht will be covered by the police like any other residential area," said Al-Khatar. The site, she explained was not a permanent settlement, but a transitional camp where people could stay until security improved in their respective places of origin. "We want to make it clear that this is not a permanent solution. There have been many articles written recently which do not portray an accurate picture of what is happening here." The actual location of Zarey Dasht was selected by the local authorities, but has been severely criticised by aid groups. Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) issued a statement last week saying that the site was unsuitable. (http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=29212&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN) However, MSF Holland in Kandahar will provide medical assistance at the site and future plans may also include supplementary feeding, depending on the needs of the population at Zarey Dasht. Despite a mine clearance programme at the site, aid workers also expressed concern over the number of mines surrounding the transit camp. "It is in the middle of a mine field. How can you expect people to live there," one aid worker told IRIN. "We were given a number of sites to choose from by the government and this one was chosen because there may be good potential for availability of water," Al Khatar maintained, pointing out the chronic water situation in the southern region. At the site, each IDP family will be given a plot of 500 square metres - enabling them to have enough space to grow their own vegetables. "We want them to cultivate land while they stay here so they can have some self sufficiency, and in time they will be given seeds and tools to work with," she said. On arrival at the new camp, which is being managed by NGOs such as the ICMC-Caritas, the Italian NGO INTERSOS, MSF Holland and various UN agencies, families will be given enough food for one month and basic kitchen utensils. They will also be provided with mine and drug awareness. Aid agencies expect to transport up to 200 families per day to the new site and estimate a time frame of three months to move the entire population of Chaman and Spin Boldak. "People do have the choice to stay at the sites they are in now. We are not forcing anyone to move," Al Khatar said.