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| May 23, 2008 |
Rebels have tried unsuccessfully to capture the town, but Paoua remains under government control. The territories outside it however are rebel held.
Last year Paoua was a ghost town with heavy military presence and few civilians to be seen. I stayed in a Catholic Mission and went out into the bush to talk to the population. But in the last year, the aid agencies have arrived. The UN have constructed a remarkable compound . There is even wireless internet!
With the arrival of aid workers most people have returned to the town, although the situation is still very insecure and at least 50,000 are still hiding in the bush. Some people come to tend their fields in the daytime, but at night they return to the forest. Ngaikosse ( nephew of the President of CAR, Francoise Bozize,) has left for Bangui, but residents told me that whenever they hear he is visiting, they flee.
In 2005, before the attacks there were 84 schools in this area. In 2007 there were 4.
So UNICEF joined with Coopi to set up emergency schools for displaced children. They spoke with parents to find out where they wanted their schools to be.The people asked that the schools be near their destroyed villages but hidden in the bush, like their dwellings. So thanks to the hard work of these excellent humanitarians, 104 schools for displaced children have opened within less than 16 months. After the attacks the former teachers fled the area. So Coopi and UNICEf began training parent/teachers.
To reach the Bemel bush school I walked for at least 20 minutes along winding footpaths that were barely detectable in the lush growth. Tucked under the trees, 200 children were being taught in three open (no walls) classrooms.
The parents told me that they have built their dwellings nearby but scattered - so that there would be no village to attack.
Parents said "It is very difficult living in the bush. The biggest problem is health. We have a lot of medical problems . We have no medicine- just the herbs from the bush. There is no medical assistance at all. There is no clean water to drink. There is not enough food. There are snakes . People are killed by the snakes. Our children have no shoes. When it rains they cannot go to school. When they are sick, they die.
"Once we had cattle to help cultivate our fields, but bandits took everything so we produce less. There is always instability here. We are not safe."