US embassy cable - 05LAGOS765

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 000765 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PREF, PREL, LI, NI 
SUBJECT:  SUBSTANDARD CONDITIONS PROVOKE PLEAS FROM 
REFUGEES AT ORU CAMP 
 
1.  Summary:  On a visit to Oru Refugee Camp, PRM 
regional refugee coordinator, PRM admissions program 
officer, and Lagos pol-off were greeted by a large 
crowd.  The refugees complained of substandard housing 
and sanitation, both evident on a tour of the camp. 
They explained the barriers to local integration, 
including job scarcity and language and cultural 
differences.  UNHCR staff reported the camp is below 
standards on almost all indicators.  UNHCR funding for 
the camp was never increased to account for the influx 
of 3,000 Liberian refugees in 2003.  Staff do not 
expect a budget increase in the future because UNHCR 
plans to close the camp.  It likely will take years to 
repatriate, integrate, or resettle all the refugees at 
Oru Camp.  PRM's regional refugee coordinator 
characterized the camp's conditions as among the worst 
in West Africa.  End summary. 
 
2.  On April 12, the regional refugee coordinator, PRM 
desk officer, and Lagos pol-off visited the Oru Refugee 
camp, where 5,300 of the estimated 8,000 refugees in 
Nigeria live.  The camp is run by UNHCR in partnership 
with the Nigerian National Commission for Refugees. 
Other partners include the Red Cross, the Nigerian 
Police Force (NPF), the Ijebu North Local Government, 
and the Justice, Development and Peace Commission of 
the local Catholic diocese.  About 3,800 of the 
refugees are Liberian.  Another 1,000 are Sierra 
Leonean.  The remainder are from DROC, Sudan, Cote 
d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Burundi, Somalia, and other African 
countries. 
 
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Residents Give Tour of Substandard 
Conditions and Plead for Improvements 
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3.  A large crowd of camp residents greeted us at the 
gates, many bearing homemade signs such as "President 
Bush, refugees in Nigeria need your help," "We are 
suffering here," and "I was raped."  The crowd swarmed 
around us during our tour of the camp.  They cheered 
loudly when they diverted us from the path they 
believed camp managers wanted to follow.  The 
"diversion" took us to a small bakery the residents 
complained operated as a private enterprise within the 
camp.  The residents also steered us through several 
rooms in the school building and two warehouses that 
serve as makeshift living quarters for about 300 of the 
3,000 Liberians who arrived in 2003.  The warehouses 
were particularly stifling in the midday heat, with 
dirt floors and only plastic and canvas sheets to serve 
as partitions. 
 
4.  Conditions in the regular housing area were better 
than in the school and warehouses, but not much. The 
refugees residing in these dwellings also bemoaned 
their situation.  Some complained of over crowding and 
of snake infestation.  Everyone pointed out the 
inadequate latrine and shower facilities; they 
complained the camp has too few facilities and that 
those are of poor condition and offer little privacy. 
 
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"Resettlement Is Our Only Option" 
--------------------------------- 
 
5.  Following the tour, the refugees assembled to speak 
with us in a central building, filling the large hall 
to overflowing.  Representatives shared the primary 
concerns of their respective groups.  The Liberian 
representative expressed appreciation for what the camp 
provides and for the hospitality of the Nigerian 
government.  He appealed, however, for more support for 
education and human resource development, medical 
assistance, food assistance, and housing.  He noted 
that the phase-down of food assistance has led some 
refugees to resort to begging, prostitution, and odd 
jobs.  He likened the situation of those living in the 
school building to "people locked in prisons, living in 
hopelessness and despair." 
 
6.  As barriers to local integration, the 
representative cited language, high unemployment in the 
surrounding areas, and social intolerance.  (Note: 
Although English is Nigeria's official language, 
different ethnic languages remain the primary language 
in many areas away from primary urban centers.)  In 
regard to repatriation, he maintained the Liberian 
government is unprepared to protect and provide for 
returning refugees.  He concluded that resettlement to 
a third country is the only durable option for most of 
the Liberian refugees, noting the resettlement rate 
from Oru is below that from other camps in the region. 
The representatives of other nationalities raised 
similar concerns about conditions in the camp and made 
similar arguments for resettlement as the best or only 
option.  The regional refugee coordinator thanked the 
representatives for their presentations, but he 
cautioned the refugees that only 1-2% of the worldwide 
total of refugees are resettled annually. 
 
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Minimal Services, Many Below Standard 
------------------------------------- 
7.  In a separate meeting at the UNHCR office in Lagos, 
UNHCR staff outlined the services the agency and its 
partners provide refugees at the camp, including 
medical assistance, food assistance for vulnerable 
persons, primary education, and some secondary 
education and vocational training.  The staff is well 
aware that camp conditions fall below UNHCR standards 
for almost all indicators:  68 people per latrine, 
against a standard of  20 per latrine; 66 people per 
communal shower, against a standard of 50 per shower; 
individual latrines in 28% of dwellings, against a 
standard of 100%; and adequate water and sanitation in 
72% of communal buildings, against a standard of 100%. 
 
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Unchanged Budget As Camp Moves Toward Exit Strategy 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
8.  Staff reported the budget for the camp has not 
changed since the influx of Liberians in 2003.  The 
budget for infrastructure allows some improvements but 
is too small to build housing for those now residing in 
the school and warehouses.  The staff explained UNHCR 
is unlikely to increase the camp's budget, since donors 
want the camp moved to an exit strategy.  UNHCR staff 
told us they plan this year to keep the Liberians 
informed of the situation in Liberia to help them 
decide whether to return after the elections in 
October.  Hoping the elections go well, UNHCR staff 
plans to repatriate 1,000 Liberian refugees towards the 
end of 2005 and another 2,000 in 2006.  Regarding the 
Sierra Leonean refugees, UNHCR plans to improve 
assistance for local integration.  The staff, however, 
acknowledged the difficulty of local integration, 
despite the GON's open policy for ECOWAS citizens.  The 
UNHCR protection officer commented that with 70 percent 
of its own citizens living in poverty, Nigeria has "no 
space for refugees."  She also noted that because 
Nigeria has "only" 8,000 refugees, UNHCR headquarters 
sees it as an easy place to make cuts when cuts need to 
be made. 
 
9.  Comment:  Even under the best scenario, it likely 
will take several years to repatriate, integrate, or 
resettle the refugees at Oru Camp.  UNHCR's timetable 
for repatriation seems overly optimistic.  Although we 
want to encourage repatriation, we doubt the refugees 
at Oru will cooperate to the extent that UNHCR will be 
able to meet its late 2005/2006 repatriation targets. 
In the meantime, the camp residents live in some of the 
worst conditions of any refugees in West Africa. 
Ironically, with the meager housing and services the 
camp does provide, the refugees live in better 
conditions than many poor Nigerians.  The refugees and 
the UNHCR staff have accurately assessed the situation: 
although Nigeria has been a gracious host accepting 
these refugees and in providing for them, the camp's 
5,300 residents are understandably overlooked as 
Nigeria struggles with nationwide problems of poverty, 
job scarcity, and poor sanitation.  International 
donors remain the only realistic hope for improving 
conditions at Oru Camp.  End comment. 
 
10.  This cable was cleared by the PRM regional refugee 
coordinator and PRM admissions program officer. 
 
BROWNE