Thousands homeless as Khartoum IDP camps are demolished

A replanning project in camps around the capital, Khartoum, has left thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) homeless, according to humanitarian sources. Under the scheme, the government is "re-zoning" the camps where many of the city's two million IDPs live to enable them to buy their own plots of land and legitimately stay where they are. But a series of problems have dogged the process from the beginning, say observers. "This is what you call unplanned planning," one source told IRIN on Wednesday. In the Wad al-Bashir camp on the edge of Omdurman, bulldozers had reduced about 7,000 homes to rubble, while only 2,200 families would be allocated a plot of land each, said one source. "People are scrambling to deal with what has happened to them. They are camped under bits of plastic and cardboard, at times metres away from their original homes," he said. The demolition process has also started in Khartoum's other camps, namely Omdurman al-Salam and Mayo Farms. Following a social survey in 2000, plot numbers were allocated to IDPs living in Wad al-Bashir and other locations, who are now "eligible" to buy land and rebuild their homes. But many more IDPs have arrived over the past three years, and their homes are being demolished as well. This, combined with a lack of clarity on who is eligible to buy the plots or how to purchase them, corrupt officials demanding payment of various fees, coupled with a total absence of temporary shelter, has resulted in many of the IDPs simply being left homeless. Most of the vital social services such as schools and places of worship have also been affected. For many of the day labourers, who earn as little as US $20 or $30 a month, rebuilding a house - at a minimum cost of between $580 and $850 - on top of buying a piece of land, is also far beyond their means. "No matter what you charge the IDPs, they will have a hard time to afford it," said one source. Local authorities say they consulted with camp residents, who agreed to the replanning process. But humanitarian sources say the same community leaders are now being given preferential treatment, and that some - as well as some non-residents - have been allowed to purchase more than one plot. In early December, local government authorities indicated that some emergency assistance would be provided for the homeless, but to date nothing has materialised, sources told IRIN. However, a plan is now being discussed to provide shelter assistance following discussions with humanitarian actors. Sudan's estimated four million IDPs are a product of its protracted civil war. Most of those living in the capital are poor southerners who are regularly descriminated against in terms of access to jobs, education, and basic services.