In northeastern Chad's heat and rain, refugee graves are added daily

Published: 2004-09-02

FARCHANA REFUGEE CAMP, Chad (CNS) -- About 100 graves of Sudanese refugees line the cemetery of the Farchana refugee camp in northeastern Chad. New bodies are added every day, with most of the deceased being young children or the elderly who have succumbed to the harsh conditions of the African desert. The young adults buried there are women. Missing are the young men: The bodies of those who were killed are buried or rotting throughout the Darfur region of neighboring Sudan, where government-backed Arab militias have waged a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the black Africans who inhabit the region. "This cemetery is the symbol of our suffering," said Abdullah Abdulaye. In northeastern Chad, temperatures reach 130 degrees. Dirt roads washed away by unrelenting rains prevent food and other supplies from reaching the refugees. More than 12,000 refugees are in Farchana. In Bredjing, the numbers have swelled to more than 40,000, with new refugees arriving every day. About 200,000 Sudanese refugees are in Chad, with a million more displaced within Sudan.

Copyright (c) 2004 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .