Misery and Human Suffering in Central & West Africa 'Don't Sell'

“Where do you live?” This question has come up a few times this year without being able to answer it. After a few seconds of reflexion, I tend to reply “It is a bit complicated, but let's say West Africa.”

West Africa, along with Central Africa, is the region where I spent most of my time in 2018 traveling from one place to another while spending hours on planes and at airports. As a Roving Regional Communications and Media Adviser at the Norwegian Refugee Council, I found myself working from 5 different countries: Cameroon, Nigeria, Mali, the Central African Republic (CAR), and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). When I wasn't in one of these countries, I was working from our regional office in Dakar, Senegal.

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) carries out humanitarian operations in the above countries at the exception of Senegal. Cameroon, Nigeria, Mali, CAR, and DRC have been affected by conflicts producing between several thousand to millions of displaced persons. While our responses have targeted protracted crises in Northeast Nigeria, Far North Cameroon, CAR, and DRC, we have expanded our operations to respond to new humanitarian needs in South and North West Cameroon. Simultaneously, we have strengthened our operations in areas where violence and displacement have increased like in Central and Northern Mali.

Throughout this year, I have seen first hand the devastating consequences of conflicts on civilians, on the economy, the infrastructure, the services, the education as well on the whole social fabric of these countries. I have also witnessed how humanitarian crises and responses are caught into geopolitical games as well as being hijacked for electoral purposes.

The dynamics of conflicts and humanitarian crises are complex and fast-changing in Central and West Africa but I will share here a few thoughts and observations. These might evolve and develop as I am standing ready to start a second year roving within the region. 

1. There should be no competition of misery and suffering, and yet several humanitarian crises in Central and West Africa barely break through to large-scale public awareness. Why is that some crises get more attention from the international community and the media than others? It is hard to know why some conflicts garner more attention yet I recall one journalist telling me that stories about the humanitarian crises in Africa are "hard to sell." That was an honest answer. Similarly, humanitarian crises happening in the African continent are also hard "to sell" to donors as many remain largely underfunded. This lack of international interest is compounded with government restrictions and logistics that make it difficult if not impossible to access certain places. This is the case of the Central African Republic, a country of the size of France & Belgium with only 1385 kilometers (860 miles) of roads and largely controlled by armed groups (about 80 percent). Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for only 14 percent of the world’s population, but almost half of new conflict displacement (5.5M) took place in the region in 2017, according to the annual report published by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center. This is higher than the number of new conflict displacement recorded in the Middle East and North Africa (4.5M) during the same period. Yet, the international response – political and financial - to crises in Sub-Sahara Africa pale in comparison with international efforts deployed to address conflicts and humanitarian challenges in the Middle East and North Africa. Displaced people in Sub-Saharan Africa are “invisible.” In fact, the majority flee within their national borders, they do not cross to neighboring countries or attempt to reach the shores of European nations. Their suffering is contained within the perimeters of a displacement site or the walls of a home generously shared by a host family. Many affected and displaced persons in these places do not turn to social media to offer on-the-ground information to the world unlike in places like Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. Information is too scarce to measure the scale of suffering and comprehend what is at stake. Electricity and internet connection remain luxuries in many conflict-affected areas of Central and West Africa.

2. This year, I have read more news articles – international news coverage - on the Russian intervention in the Central African Republic than the flare-up of violence that is driving the country into a new civil war and displacing several thousand women, men, and children. It is undeniable that Russia is excelling at keeping up the mystery around its sudden interest in the Central African Republic, and that is – in the current international context - a story that sells. While everyone wonders what Russia is doing in CAR, it is too hard to believe that Russia's engagement in CAR comes with no strings attached. Exchange for diplomatic support and lucrative mineral extraction contracts could make some of the few conditions, according to observers. Last month, the inability of the UN Security Council to agree on the renewal of the UN Peacekeeping force – MINUSCA – because of wrangles between France and Russia bears witness to the battle for influence that is currently taking place in the country. Unfortunately, the plight of millions of women, men, and children affected and displaced by violence in CAR carry too little weight in these battles for influence as well as the race for natural resources and military contracts. While foreign countries are vying for power, local populations are barely surviving, forced to flee. In some cases, hiding in the bush for months.

3. International actors are mobilizing and investing resources in Central and West Africa to fight violent extremism while not addressing sufficiently the humanitarian needs generated by violence and military operations. In fact, the Sahel is dubbed as the “new frontier” in global counter-terrorism operations with a plethora of foreign military contingents deployed to provide combat, logistical, and intelligence support. While preventing and fighting the spread of violent extremism is undoubtedly critical, the many challenges faced by countries in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin cannot be tackled with a narrowly focused security and military approach. The most-worsened country in the Sahel over the last decade has been Mali. The country faces now swelling humanitarian needs with fast-increasing displacement and widespread food insecurity. Last month, NRC reported that 70,000 people had been displaced by violence and insecurity between September and November bringing the total number of displaced persons to 120,000 since the beginning of this year. The large majority of new displacements occurred in regions affected by inter-communal violence, armed groups’ activities, and military operations. When not properly addressed, the humanitarian impacts of displacement can pose a particular challenge to states and local communities. If local communities or neighboring countries do not have the capacity to absorb displaced persons – internally displaced people and refugees – and meet their needs, grievances may quickly build up between displaced populations and host communities, resulting in tensions or conflict. Welcoming displaced populations is also causing extra pressures on infrastructure, health and education systems, many of which are already weak in countries of the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin. The Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin face a swirl of social, economic and security challenges; however ensuring future stability in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Chad, Nigeria, and Cameroon, will require far more than a purely military approach. 

4. Hypermilitarized responses to crises in Mali, Nigeria & Cameroon are reducing & threatening the humanitarian space as well as our responses to affected and displaced populations. In many instances, aid agencies have been prevented access to areas under the pretext that military operations are being undertaken or were warned against providing aid to affected populations in areas controlled by non-state armed actors as it will be perceived as a form of complicity with armed groups. Until earlier this year, over 800,000 persons living in hard to reach areas in Northeast Nigeria remained without humanitarian assistance because of military instructions prohibiting access. Aid workers are not sent to conflict and post-conflict areas to take a side but not provide relief, and at best, save lives. Humanitarians are bound by four humanitarian principles: humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence. Unfortunately, it is not unheard of for actors in a conflict, as well as international stakeholders, to try using aid workers as a pawn in their political and geo-strategical games. Resisting to pressures and subtle intimidations is not an easy task when the majority of aid agencies rely on governmental funds and need the permission of central states to operate in a country, yet this is the right thing to do if we wish to reach the most vulnerable populations.

5. There is a political trend aimed at erasing crises from the public eye so political leaders - mostly for electoral purposes - can claim there is no longer a crisis. This is often observed the year preceding elections – national, local, gubernatorial. Instead of admitting the existence of a humanitarian crisis and commit to addressing it by offering solutions as part of their electoral programs, elected officials rather deny the existence of a humanitarian crisis. The erasure of humanitarian needs by elected officials has taken various forms across Central and West African states such as withholding the publication of displacement numbers or making their release irregular, making it difficult to analyze the figures and determine trends. As elections approach, some elected officials decided unilaterally to close displacement sites without offering alternatives to displaced populations and limited interventions of aid actors so displaced populations would feel compelled to leave as their living conditions worsened. The sight of a displacement camp or site is, in fact, the visual evidence of a crisis that elected officials would rather get rid off as they seek re-election. The erasure of humanitarian needs has also translated by warnings against aid actors not to publish or use displacement numbers that contradict the ones released by central governments. These attempts to control the humanitarian narrative are, in fact, intimidating many aid actors and are successful at instilling a culture of fear within the humanitarian community. Needless to say that this constitutes an impairment of our humanitarian principles.

6. Conflicts and crises such as in CAR and DRC have spanned over several decades. It is not uncommon to run into aid workers who have been in the sector long enough and who have been deployed two or three times in the same countries. After a few years working in different contexts, they return to find out that the political, social, economic, and humanitarian dynamics have not changed. In some cases, they have even worsened. While these crises will likely remain unresolved as long as there is no political and international will to address them, aid workers should feel empowered to challenge the status quo and not let these crises linger for many more years. When humanitarian assistance becomes a long-term lifeline, we are exempting authorities and governments from their primary roles which are to provide and protect their populations. Unfortunately, there is also some weariness within the humanitarian community because “things are not changing” in places like CAR and DRC. It is a natural reaction. Many aid workers arrive in these countries full of hope and good intentions (especially the young ones). They leave, winded, after two or three years trying hard. For those who choose a career in this sector by pure altruism with the aim to serve and help people in need, this might be hard to swallow. On the other hand, the aid sector is also filled with complacent staff who are here for the paycheck and the R&Rs (rest and recuperation) and who prefer to stay away from thorny issues. Isn't it time for us, aid workers, to question our methods and approaches to protracted crises in Central and West Africa? Haven't we also taken an active part in allowing these crises to go unnoticed and unresolved for too long? Shouldn't we opt for bolder advocacies that rise these crises on the international agenda, and take proactive steps to shape the public debate and perceptions ? In fact, too many aid agencies in Central and West Africa, including NRC, invest in programmatic staff while overlooking the importance of investing in experienced and skilled advocacy and communications staff. A balance of both is critical because while we provide relief, these crises can be only brought to the public and stakeholders' attention through advocacy and communications efforts. 

A year from now, some of these thoughts will remain relevant, others will likely evolve as I return to the field and engage with various stakeholders. I look forward to what actions and changes - ideally, positive - will be made in Central and West Africa. This is undoubtely a critical time for the region. Over the last few years, new openings for trade and investment, as well as growing threats from violent extremism, criminality, epidemics, and irregular migration have pushed foreign countries to reconsider their engagement in Sub-Saharan Africa. While international engagement should be welcomed, these engagements should benefit local populations first and create sustainable conditions for stability and prosperity. However, economic, security, and political goals will only be achieved after considering and addressing the many humanitarian challenges. 

Important: This article reflects my opinions and not of my employer.