Florence in front of her family's shelter in an area where refugees have settled in southern Chad. (Photo Credit: CARE Chad)
Under the hot sun of Nanabaria, in southern Chad, people are busy and others are sitting, looking desperate and tired. Under a large tree, in the shade, a lady sits surrounded by many children and with a piece of plastic, she makes wind to chase flies.
Roboussin Florence, 46, is married and has four daughters and five boys. She comes from Silanbie, Central Africa, across the river about two kilometers from Nanabaria. She fled conflicts. One day, at 4am, she heard gunshots and it was there that she and her family fled. Being in Chad, even if it is about two kilometers from home, gives her a sense of peace and security: "there is peace here and war is on the other side of the border."
Her husband, Valentin Massara, was a farmer and fisherman. "Before we lived well because we had all and we ate as much as we wanted to. Here we have nothing. These children, as you see, are asleep at my feet from crying of hunger."
She too was a farmer. She cultivated millet, groundnut, peanuts and cassava. She had also a small business and sold fish. She was doing tontines and was autonomous. "I had money to support myself and my family. I could afford everything I wanted, clothes, cooking utensils, etc. I bought oxen for breeding. I was at peace and I was at home. Here, I have no shelter, I have nothing and I spend my days doing nothing."
Florence explains that children are no longer going to school because of insecurity, lack of resources and flight. The borehole is out of order and they have to go to the riverbank to get some water, but since the soldiers are posted there, they are afraid. They are also afraid of coming face to face with the insurgents. They live under mango trees and are exposed to many risks. The rainy season will not be long, what will happen to them?
Her message to the world is: "We are vulnerable and exposed to a lot of danger. We have nothing to treat us. The mobile clinic is not functional every day. Our children are out of school and there is not enough drinking water. We need shelter. We would like to be helped with everything."
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