Living Between Hope and Horror

Young child looking out of a tent window - Sputnik Camp, Ingushetia

The average person might be forgiven for thinking that the war in Chechnya is long over. Control of Chechnya’s security has been transferred from the FSB (Federal Security Service) to the ordinary Russian police.

A referendum held in March 2003 showed that an overwhelming majority of the population wanted normality to return and to elect a president for Chechnya. However, ‘normality’ has yet to be established.

Such incidents reveal a nation at the point of desperation.
While I was in the region Russian TV showed almost daily accounts of violence and shootings. There have been explosions in Chechnya and also in Moscow earlier this year. Such incidents reveal a nation at the point of desperation.

This was my first visit with Islamic Relief to the North Caucasus. The aims of my trip were simple: to meet and get to know our staff in the region, and to take a look at our projects in operation. I was very impressed by the work being carried out.

I was apprehensive about returning to the region after my last visit 18 months ago. Although it would be great to see old friends again, it would also be difficult to see that conditions for the internally displaced people (IDPs) have not improved, and in some cases have worsened.

As soon as I stepped out of the car I had a feeling of returning to somewhere significant in my life.
My first stop was Sputnik camp, in Ingushetia, which neighbours Chechnya and hosts the majority of IDPs who fled in 1999. As soon as I stepped out of the car I had a feeling of returning to somewhere significant in my life. Knowing that I am doing even the smallest thing to help these suffering people makes my life feel worthwhile.

The condition of many of the tents in the long-established camps was shocking.
The condition of many of the tents in the long-established camps was shocking. There are at least 13,000 displaced people still living in these camps, and they are preparing themselves for a fourth winter under canvas. In Bella camp I noticed a large area where tents had been removed. I was told that the 140 families who had been living there had voluntarily returned to Chechnya - but to what?

Without this humanitarian aid many people will be left without basic food and hygiene.
The Russian government has been building temporary accommodation centres (TACs) in Grozny, the bombed-out capital of Chechnya, for many months now. These are usually old university accommodation blocks or other social buildings. From what I’ve heard, conditions vary but are certainly no better than in the camps. The IDPs, or returnees as they are known, swap their canvas shelters for a roof with bricks and mortar around them – and little else.

The United Nations (UN) is against secondary displacement so the UN agencies give less support to TACs residents than to the people in Ingushetian camps. This places Islamic Relief and other aid agencies in the region in an awkward position. By helping the IDPs living in Chechen TACs the agencies could be seen as condoning the situation - but without this humanitarian aid many people will be left without basic food and hygiene.

Many people outside the region wonder why the Chechen IDPs don't want to go home. IR completed a Needs Assessment in August 2002 which revealed that 53% of the IDP population in Ingushetia didn't want to return as they were worried about the security situation in Chechnya. Currently there are terrible stories of people – including children - disappearing in Chechnya. Some turn up eventually, but others are never seen again.

People regularly told me they considered it impossible for people outside of Chechnya and Russia to comprehend the levels of violence endured there daily.

There are rumours that the camps in Ingushetia are due to close.
At the time of writing this article there are rumours that the IDP camps in Ingushetia are due to close imminently. Similar rumours have been circulating regularly for the past two years. Living year on year in a tent camp is bad enough, but the added uncertainty on whether you’ll still be there tomorrow must be agonising.

Unfortunately it will take a lot of effort, on both sides, to build the trust and co-operation required to end the violence in Chechnya – and to finally allow the Chechens to return home.