UNHCR Supplies Fishing Equipment for Nigerian Refugees
Nigerian refugee Hawali Oumar woke up to the sound of gunfire and the sight of his neighbourhood in flames when Boko Haram attacked his home town of Baga in north-eastern Nigeria.
The 43-year-old fisherman desperately looked for members of his family and discovered his father had been shot dead. Despite being unable to round up all his offspring, Oumar fled across the border to safety in Chad.
“It was heartbreaking when Boko Haram attacked our homes,” he said. “We scattered with nothing but the clothes we had on. I learnt later that more than 10 people in my extended family were killed. Some of the survivors amongst us ended up in Cameroon, others in Chad, but it took over a year to re-establish contact with everybody.”
More than 5,000 Nigerians have found refuge In Dar es Salam camp on the Chadian side of Lake Chad after fleeing horrific violence in December 2014. A total of 2.4 million people in north-eastern Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger have been displaced as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency.
Ollivier Girard/CIFOR