UNHCR Niger

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees, and Migration Catherine Wiesner visits Intikane, an area hosting refugees in Niger’s Tahoua region, in July 2015.

In 2012, hundreds of thousands of people fled northern Mali to seek safety from an armed rebellion and insurgency that included Islamist militants associated with Al Qaeda. These displaced people, many of whom were received as refugees in neighboring countries, posed unique challenges for groups who wanted to help them. Many northern Malians are nomadic herders who move throughout the year as they seek good grazing land for their livestock. When they fled Mali, they came with not only their families, but also their animals.
In Niger, UNHCR set up refugee camps to provide shelter and emergency assistance to people fleeing the war, but soon learned there were groups of nomadic refugees living along the Mali-Niger border. They weren’t safe there, but were hesitant to move further inland to a refugee camp if they couldn’t bring their herds of cattle and camels.
So the UN and Nigerien government came up with a new plan. They decided to allow pastoral communities to bring their entire herds – thousands of animals, all told – into Niger. The government agreed to grant the refugees access to vast pasture lands, some 600 square kilometers at Intikane alone. The land was good for animals, but was sparsely inhabited because of poor access to water. In exchange, UNHCR agreed to rehabilitate a well that could provide water to the local community and the refugees, as well as to their livestock.
Today, Intikane hosts 14,500 Malian refugees – more than any refugee camp in Niger. Refugees can settle freely and move with their herds, and they and local Nigeriens benefit from the water infrastructure, clinic, and school UNHCR has opened. The Intikane school has grown to become the largest in Tahoua region, and attendance rates among refugee children are higher than they were back in Mali before the conflict.

Tuareg men and boys came on camel back to greet Deputy Assistant Secretary Wiesner’s caravan during her visit to Intikane [State Department Photo]

We arrived at Intikane just as the first rains of the season were bringing trees back to life. The refugees’ tents were scattered across the valley, not lined up close together. It looked like a typical Malian village, not a refugee camp.
Several dozen Tuareg men and boys came on camel back to greet our caravan. Together with local authorities, refugee leaders showed us the rehabilitated well, and the pumping station that provides drinking water for the refugees, a nearby village, and a watering post where cattle, camels, and donkeys were drinking from low metal troughs. The refugees told me that having water and grazing land for their livestock enabled them to provide for their families, and they described how much they preferred this to living in a camp.
The United States is the single largest donor to refugee programs in Africa, and we fully encourage UNHCR’s efforts to work with governments to establish alternatives to camps. In fact, for many years now, the United States has been working to implement a policy that seeks to develop and strengthen models of refugee assistance outside of camps. We believe there should be more places, like Intikane, that allow refugees to organize their own communities, and live with the greater dignity and independence.
About the Author: Catherine Wiesner serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration.
- See more at: http://blogs.state.gov/stories/2015/07/29/different-kind-refugee-settlement#sthash.n2GQ5e2O.dpuf

The conflict in Mali which erupted in January 2012 led to the creation of three traditional refugee camps (Abala Mangaize, Tabareybarey) and two so-called “refugee hosting areas” (Zone d’Accueil des Réfugiés, ZAR, in French). The hosting areas are located in Tahoua region with Intikan in Tillia Department which covers an area of approximately 276 ha and a density of 25 persons/ha being UNHCR’s flagship operation in Niger. Intikane has the distinction of not being a camp, but a Hosting Area, which is an experimental concept, in order to adapt to the sociocultural and economic specificities of nomadic refugees. In Intikane unlike in a camp, people live dispersed and have the choice to move wherever they want within the perimeters covered by the area. UNHCR issued a report ( http://data.unhcr.org/SahelSituation/download.php?id=901 ) recently on the living conditions of more than13,000 nomadic refugees living with their livestock (cows, sheep, goats, horses, camels, sheep and donkeys) in the area. In all its missions, the UNHCR implements standards of humanitarian assistance in various areas of intervention (water and sanitation, health, nutrition, shelter / NFI, education) to protect and assist people concerned by its mandate. In the case of ZAR, it became evident that due to the nomadic and agro-pastoral specificity of the Tuareg people, the implementation of Sphere standards poses challenges which leads to this question: Are the Sphere standards applicable in the hosting area of Intikane? And if so, what provisions can further improve and assess the progress of assistance provided in the best compliance to nomadic lifestyle? Download the report here. “http://data.unhcr.org/SahelSituation/download.php?id=901”

Taps in the Intikane Refugee Hosting Area. ©UNHCR

Jusqu’au 24 juillet 2014, 242 ménages de 1740 individus ont été transférés d’Agando frontière avec le Mali vers la zone d’accueil d’Intikane [ZAR]. L'opération qui se poursuit dans son 10eme jour ce vendredi Juillet 2014 a progressé sans problèmes selon le bureau de terrain UNHCR à Tahoua. Jusqu'à présent, plus de la moitié de la population estimée à 3000 à être relogée a rejoint Intikane. L'opération est réalisée d'une manière ordonnée à savoir : elle débute par l’enregistrement des candidats au transfert, un examen médical à Agando et à l'arrivée au niveau de la ZAR d’Intikane elle se poursuit avec l’enregistrement dans la base de données proGres, la distribution de matériaux pour les abris, d'articles non alimentaires et autres besoins essentiels. L’ UNHCR et ses partenaires poursuivent à l’endroit des nouveaux réfugiés réticents une campagne de sensibilisation soutenue afin de les convaincre quitter la localité d’Agando, très près de la frontière malienne, zone militaire et réputée dangereuse.

Photo © UNHCR Juin 2014: En route pour ZAR intikane

Ce vendredi 13 juin, dans le courant de l'après-midi, le bureau de Tahoua de l'UNHCR a été alerté par les autorités locales de Tillia de l'arrivée dans la commune d'Agando de 245 familles en provenance du Mali. Agando se situe à 14 km de la frontière malienne. L'UNHCR prépare l'envoi imminent d'une mission conjointe avec la Commission Nationale d'Eligibilité afin de confirmer les chiffres, de s'enquérir des zones de provenance et de la cause de ce mouvement, et d'évaluer les besoins immédiats

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Although belatedly, schools have now re-opened in all the camps in Tillaberi and in the refugee hosting area of Intikane. On 7th October, Mangaize held a colourful ceremony bringing together parents, teachers and students. A total of 476 pupils, 233 girls and 243 boys registered during the first week. Registration is still ongoing and more students continue to join the classes.

Students, parents and teachers in Mangaize during the school opening ceremony on 7 October 2013

In Intikane, school opened for the first time on Friday 8th November.  Previously, only catch up classes had been held in August.  During that time, 613 pupils had been targeted, 340 boys and 273 girls.  All these pupils have already taken part in the pre-registration.

The ceremony held on Friday 8^th November brought in high dignitaries to the school including the Governor of Tahoua , the Regional Director for Education of Tahoua, the Mayor of Tahoua, the Head of UNHCR Field Office as well as other invited guests.  This occasion helped sensitize the refugee population on the need for children’s education.

Students in Intikane