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LIBERIA / IVOIRIAN REFUGEES UPDATE
STORY: LIBERIA / IVOIRIAN REFUGEES UPDATE
SOURCE: UNHCR
TRT: 3.30
RESTRICTIONS: EMBARGOED UNTIL 25 DECEMBER 2010
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / FRENCH / NATS
DATELINE: 7 JANUARY 2011, BAHN, LIBERIA
1. Various shots, general views of the town
2. Med shot, Dio CALVIN, Refugee from Cote d' Ivoire
3. SOUNDBITE (French) Dio Calvin, Refugee from Cote d' Ivoire:
"Everyone left once we started to hear gunshots. I came back to my village to tell my wife and my kids to pack and leave but I could not find her. When I got to my house it was all open no one was in it. Everyone had fled. This is why I came to look for my family."
4. SOUNDUP (French) Bockarie Kallon UNHCR, Liberia:
“How many kids?”
5. SOUNDUP (French) Dio Calvin, Refugee from Cote d' Ivoire:
“Five kids.”
6. SOUNDUP (French) Bockarie Kallon UNHCR, Liberia:
"We are gone try to locate your family your kids and your wife, but as for now what do you want to do, do want to stay here, where do you want to go?"
7. SOUNDUP (French) Dio Calvin, Refugee from Cote d' Ivoire:
"I want to stay here; I want my family here with me."
8. Various shots, town
9. Wide shot, James Leon-Dufour, UNHCR Site Planner, talking to refugees
10. SOUNDUP (French) James Leon-Dufour, Site Planner UNHCR, Liberia
"Here we are really at the entrance of the camp which is located at about 200-150 meters from the main road. It is the first portion of the road that will be very important because this is where we will bring all the material needed for the construction.”
11. Various shots, refugees
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Big Joe, Liberian resident of Bahn:
"I pray to god for those who are suffering over there to find safety. We welcome the people to come here, because I understand the situation. I was a refugee for ten years myself in Cote d' Ivoire and I have now returned to Bahn.”
13. Pan right refugees
14. Various shots, refugees getting organised for clearing land
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Bockarie Kallon UNHCR, Liberia:
"At the beginning of this influx of Ivorian refugees into Liberia we have some of them crossing and they are just one kilometre to the border which is not safe for them. So what we have done is to negotiate with the government to make sure we move people from these borders area and have them at least 50 kilometres to the borders for their own protection in terms of security.”
16. Various shots, UNHCR personnel along with local workers walking through the jungle and clearing land
Communities like Bahn, in eastern Liberia have opened their doors to the thousands of Ivorian refugees fleeing instability in Ivory Coast. Yet this small community will soon have to deal with facing an influx of tens of thousands of refugees when a new camp is completed.
As the political situation in Cote d' Ivoire heats up the numbers are only likely to increase.
SOUNDBITE (French) Dio Calvin, Refugee from Cote d' Ivoire:
"Everyone left once we started to hear gunshots. I came back to my village to tell my wife and my kids to pack and leave but I could not find her. When I got to my house it was all open no one was in it. Everyone had fled. This is why I came to look for my family."
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is mobilizing resources in order to accommodate the influx of Ivorian refugees.
SOUNDUP (French) Bockarie Kallon UNHCR, Liberia:
“How many kids?”
SOUNDUP (French) Dio Calvin, Refugee from Cote d' Ivoire:
“Five kids.”
SOUNDUP (French) Bockarie Kallon UNHCR, Liberia:
"We are gone try to locate your family your kids and your wife, but as for now what do you want to do, do want to stay here, where do you want to go?"
SOUNDUP (French) Dio Calvin, Refugee from Cote d' Ivoire:
"I want to stay here; I want my family here with me."
An estimated 16,000 Ivorians are displaced inside their country and another 25,000 fled their homes and have entered neighbouring Liberia searching for safety.
Until now, they have settled in local communities sharing limited resources. But with food and shelter are running low. UNHCR sought and obtained the go ahead to build a camp, relieving some of the pressure on local communities.
SOUNDUP (French) James Leon-Dufour, Site Planner UNHCR, Liberia
"Here we are really at the entrance of the camp which is located at about 200-150 meters from the main road. It is the first portion of the road that will be very important because this is where we will bring all the material needed for the construction.”
Despite the poverty of Bahn’s 14,000 residents, the community has welcomed the refugees.
SOUNDBITE (English) Big Joe, Liberian resident of Bahn:
"I pray to god for those who are suffering over there to find safety, we welcome the people to come here, because I understand the situation. I was a refugee for ten years myself in Cote d' Ivoire and I have now returned to Bahn.”
Out of solidarity with the more than 600 Ivorian refugees who continue to arrive daily, the people of Bahn not only gave UNHCR land to build a refugee camp, they are also helping to build the site. With sticks and machetes in hand, they are clearing the densely forested and hilly land that will offer sanctuary away from the border.
SOUNDBITE (English) Bockarie Kallon UNHCR, Liberia:
"At the beginning of this influx of Ivorian refugees into Liberia we have some of them crossing and they are just one kilometre to the border which is not safe for them. So what we have done is to negotiate with the government to make sure we move people from these borders area and have them at least 50 kilometres to the borders for their own protection in terms of security.”
UNHCR is racing to get the camp ready despite the challenges of the uneven terrain and hopes to transfer the first refugee families by the third week of January. The challenge is enormous as hand clearing the 80 hectares of jungle requires 200 daily workers. Once completed, the camp will have the capacity to shelter up to 20,000 Ivorian refugees.
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