Appeal for donations - On 17 and 18 October 2015 torrential rains fell on the Sahrawi refugee camps near the town of Tindouf in southern Algeria. The floods have caused massive damage to the Sahrawi refugees' shelters. In addition, weather forecasts are predicting further storms until Saturday 24 October.
"This is the worst rain disaster I have ever experienced in our camp," writes Senia Bachir Abderahman. It seems bitter that the catastrophe has hit the refugee camps at a time when the refugees are bemoaning 40 years of occupation of Western Sahara, exile and expulsion from their homeland.
Destroyed or in danger of collapsing
At least 711 mud houses and 639 tents are either completely or partially destroyed, including the UJSARIO youth centre supported by terre des hommes schweiz. So far there are no reports of fatalities, but this could change due to houses collapsing subsequently.
Desolate state
All five refugee camps (Smara, Al-Aauin, Aousserd, Dakhla and Boujdour) are affected by the devastation. Dakhla, which at 140 km is the furthest from Tindouf, has suffered the worst damage. Most of the adobe houses are destroyed or in danger of collapsing. Almost all of them are uninhabitable. Food and medicines are contaminated by mud and water. The water supply no longer works and the people have no access to clean drinking water. Hospitals and clinics are destroyed or unreachable. Electricity production, which had already quickly reached its limits, has collapsed.
Please donate!
Many people have lost all their possessions. Without shelter, food, drinking water, heating or medical care, they have been camping outdoors, in elevated places, since the weekend.
Quick help is urgently needed. The Sahraouis need tents, blankets, clothing and medical aid. terre des hommes schweiz supports them after the disaster.
Donate with the note "Flooding Western Sahara" to the postal account 40-260-2 or with the donation form in the right column.
