Community leaders call for humanitarian help in isolated rebel-held northeast

Community leaders in rebel-held Bouna in Cote d'Ivoire's remote north east say the international humanitarian community must urgently station itself in town to stop what few handouts the population gets being siphoned off by rebel fighters. "They need to base someone here, like in the other rebel held cities of Bouake or Korhogo. There is no representative for any one here," said one well respected member of the community. "We are tired of this, and the people are suffering," he said in the shady gardens where community leaders meet to discuss local problems. Across the rebel-held north of Cote d'Ivoire, all government run services - including schools and hospitals - have ground to a halt since the failed September 2002 insurgency, which split the country in two. But residents in Bouna say life is particularly tough for them because there are no international aid agencies stationed in the town to see that medicines and supplies that have been donated actually reach the people for whom they were intended. "Recently some meningitis vaccinations were provided to Bouna for free distribution but at the hospital they charged 500 CFA (US$1) and in the villages where people are poorest it was costing 1,000 CFA (US$2) a shot," said the man, who was too scared to be identified. "We are dying because they are making these demands. We are dying in our homes." The United Nations Children's Agency (UNICEF), donated the meningitis vaccines, but have no representation on the ground. That might change in the future, however. "We have noted over the past months that the situation in Bouna is becoming critical due to the protracted national crisis, and have identified Bouna as a priority zone to increase our presence," Youssouf Oomar, the head of UNICEF in Cote d'Ivoire, told IRIN.

Remote rebel-held Bouna, in the far north east

"We are currently seeking resources that will allow us to position a UNICEF staff member and vehicle in Bouna," he continued. There have been 53 cases of meningitis in Bouna since the beginning of the year, with 22 deaths according to situation reports produced by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The high death rate, 42 percent, was attributed to the fact that the majority of cases did not visit a health centre or receive any medical treatment. Bouna district - that includes the town plus the scattered rural hamlets around it - has a population of almost 180,000 according to the government's most recent 1998 national census. Rebels part of problem? Lieutenant Ibrahim Ben, second in command of the New Forces in Bouna said that to his knowledge, five people had died of meningitis in the last few weeks alone. "As I speak, more may die - so many are infected," Ben warned. Bouna residents think that the rebels are actually part of the problem not least because they installed the only doctor in town. "He arrived in military uniform! They brought him in from Odienne in the rebel-held northwest," said one small middle-aged man. "If you have money you can negotiate with the doctor and perhaps you'll get a good price. But he won't give his services for anything else, only cash," chimed in another Bouna resident, one of a crowd gathered in the churchyard. There are streetlights in the road outside the church, but at night they don't come on. Prior to the war, a large generator had supplied the whole town with power. But now that generator is broken. Some say it was looted by the rebels in the heat of the September 2002 rebellion, others say that it just broke and no one has the parts, cash or responsibility for fixing it. Small generators provide isolated pools of light, but the rebels control the distribution of fuel supplied by Cote d'Ivoire Electricity (CIE), international peacekeepers stationed in the town say. At night, the electric lights in town light the way to the residences of rebel leaders, where air conditioners hum loudly. The rest of the town's residents are left to sweat it out by the light of candles and kerosene lamps. "We used to have running water in our houses too, but that doesn't work either," said one Bouna resident. In the church grounds women and children gather with buckets which they fill from one of the few functioning hand-pumped wells. Even the men lend a hand with this traditional women's work, arriving with wheelbarrows in a bid to cut down the number of trips they have to make. Fruitless search for work "What with the war, there are no jobs," said one young man who used to work in a state-run kindergarten. His wife used to work at the town hall. Both government jobs have ceased to exist since the rebels took over. Even trade is suffering as there are so many levies and charges to pay. Locals say that rebels charge 200,000 CFA (US$400) to get a lorry laden with goods out of the region. New Forces and government troops maintain checkpoints along the roads under their control. Between Bouna and Abidjan there are upwards of 30 checkpoints, each demanding a dash or bribe from goods vehicles and passenger vehicles alike. Others find it is easy to get work, it's getting paid for it that's the problem. I made this cupboard to order," said a carpenter, who works from under a tree outside his house "but now they are refusing to pay." The cupboard was destined for one of the rebel fighters. Bouna residents say the rebels are bleeding them dry: "Here in Bouna, you need a permit for everything - cars, motorbikes - even a bicycle requires a permit these days," said a young man and member of the Lobi ethnic group. And if you can't produce your identity papers rebels can enforce fines and even place 'offenders' in jail until they pay up. One old man worries most about the youths of the village. "There are no schools for them to go to, no jobs. Our young men and women are hanging out with the rebels," he said. Some locals who finished secondary school are attempting to maintain some kind of education for the town's youngsters. But even the small fee of 3,000 CFA (US$6) that they charge per each child each year, is beyond the reach of most town residents these days, he said.