Lack of aid hampers reintegration of returnees

The lack of funding for humanitarian operations in Angola is being felt by returning refugees, as cuts in food rations and a shortage of seeds and tools mean some have neither the energy nor the inputs to cultivate crops. Many returnees in remote areas of the eastern province of Moxico rely on World Food Programme (WFP) food aid for their survival, and have been affected by WFP's decision to halve maize rations due to a shortage of funds. "The problem here is just hunger - there is no food. There are no clinics or schools either, but hunger is really our biggest problem," said Jonas Kanyanga, a traditional leader in the tiny village of Dangereux in the Lumbala N'Guimbo area of the province. Richard Corsino, WFP country representative, told IRIN the funding shortfall "meant that in April this year we cut cereal rations by 50 percent to general food recipients" and that the agency's "intention had been to try to provide returnees [with food aid] for two full cropping seasons. The lack of funding means that we have reset our priorities to one full season". "The returnees have come back with nothing ... The whole idea of giving food was to give families a chance of getting their lives together to produce their own food. That will now suffer," Corsino added. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR), WFP and their partner organisations promised returnees seven kilograms of maize - down from 14 kg - 1.5 kg of pulses, 150 grams of salt and 0.9 litres of oil for every returnee, each month for a year. Those leaving the refugee reception centre are given two months' rations in advance, but manager Martin Catongo, who works for UNHCR's implementing partner, Medair, said many were soon back, looking for more. "They come here and we exit them in three days but then, just a few days after that, they are back for their second phase of food. We can't give them that second phase until they've been here [in Angola] for two months. With WFP rations reduced to seven kilos, I don't know what many of them will do, how they will survive," he said. FEAR FOR THE FUTURE Catongo believes some returnees are already retracing their steps, their initial jubilation about being home in Angola turning to frustration as they struggle to feed their families. "Some of the returnees may have to go back to Zambia because they won't be supplied with food, and they won't have enough to eat," he said. "There is a risk that they will become refugees again - not because of war, but because of hunger." In Dangereux, the food shortage is already taking its toll. Sitting on a rickety home-made stool under the shade of a giant mango tree, Kanyanga gestured to a group of skinny village children edging nearer out of curiosity. "These children are sometimes crying because of hunger and one child died last week. This lack of food is becoming more and more serious," he said. A major problem is the area's remoteness. Heavily mined, and with many roads and bridges destroyed during the war, the Lumbala N'Guimbo region is accessible from the rest of Angola only by air. Economic activity is almost non-existent and the meagre market, supplied by a few local entrepreneurs who make a 20-day round trip to Zambia by road and canoe to replenish stocks, offers little choice at very high prices. It is little wonder, therefore, that people are hungry, although aid workers say there is no sign of widespread malnutrition yet. But they agree that distributing around 2,000 seeds and toolkits, which arrived in mid-October, is an urgent priority so that returnees can cultivate crops and have their own food supplies next year. "In our view, the biggest concern is the lack of seeds and tools to assist the food security situation here," said Marc Andre Gagnebin, Medair's deputy country director. "The people here talk about hunger, but it's more that they know they can't produce their own food - I can imagine that they fear for their future." Angola's 27-year civil war ended in April 2002, opening the door for millions of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) to return to their homes. In Lumbala N'Guimbo, residents say the local population has swelled from almost zero to around 24,000 since the end of the war. FUNDING PROBLEMS All those arriving at UNHCR reception centres are entitled to food rations, non-food items, seeds and toolkits, but many have left without their agricultural supplies because funding shortages and logistical problems have both cut and delayed shipments. "Last year we had 265,000 seeds and toolkits for Angola. This year we have only 38,000," said Jean-Francois Dontaine, emergency coordinator for the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). "That is partly due to a shortage of funding, but also because we're obliged to shift our budget away from seeds and tools, and more in the direction of transition and rehabilitation," he explained. The latest consignment of 2,000 kits - part of 11,000 earmarked for Moxico province - will be enough for between 6,000 and 7,000 people, but still leave many returnees and IDPs with nothing. "We are doing what we can. There are a lot of factors we cannot manage, like destroyed bridges and logistical delays - it's not the easiest distribution," Dontaine said. The newly arrived kits - each one consisting of 10 kg of maize seed, five kilograms of bean seed, six types of garden seeds such as tomatoes, carrots, cabbage, peppers, okra and onions, a hoe, a machete and a file - are earmarked for those returning by means of UNHCR's assisted repatriation programme. This is not nearly enough to go round, let alone stretch to those who returned under their own steam, and UNHCR and Medair have decided to halve the ration of maize seed in the kits. "At the moment, the seeds and toolkits are not enough for everybody, so if we reduce the maize seed ration to five kilograms, we can make it go further," said Pedro Tavares, head of UNHCR's Lumbala N'Guimbo Field Office. Once they get the kits, the beneficiaries will have to work quickly to make the most of the seeds, as the maize-planting season ends at the beginning of December. Locals are frustrated, saying this help is simply too little, too late. Kanyanga, who made his way back to Angola in 2003, has received no farming supplies. The village has started small-scale cassava production, thanks to the generosity of the few who did receive equipment, but Kanyanga wants more help with both hardware and seeds. "We try to do our best with our hands and some small pieces of equipment, and this land is very good, it's very fertile. Over there it is perfect for growing rice or potatoes," he said, pointing to a lush field across the river. "But we have too few hoes and, really, what we need is ploughs and animals to help us work the land." Going back to Zambia is unthinkable to him. "I'm very happy to be back in Angola because it's my home. But our life here is tough, and we need a helping hand."