Five days in Birao: a mission to save and change lives
How WFP responds to an emergency in the middle of a conflict zone
“What a contrast. Rather than crowing roosters waking us up, here it’s the sound of gunshots,” says WFP Field Monitoring Officer Marlène Francine Bilaud. Marlène’s been up since dawn, reviewing daily distribution figures. As the sudden and terrifying sound of gunshots intensifies, she screams in a panic. Everyone dives to the floor, trembling with fear.
Such is the day-to-day reality for the thousands of displaced people and the humanitarian actors working to protect and serve them.
Following deadly attacks in the most northeastern corner of the Central African Republic in October the World Food Programme (WFP) sent a team to provide emergency food assistance to over 15,000 newly internally displaced people (IDPs)
Gunfire is not their only problem — there are the mundane issues like internet access, too.
“Unfortunately, we had no network connectivity when we first arrived, we were cut off from the world,” says a colleague from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Fortunately, as soon as the WFP team arrived, the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Officer, Lalou Yavoucko, began the installation of network facilities to provide internet access to the entire humanitarian community on site. Marlène was soon able to both communicate with her management team and tell her loved ones she was safe.
WFP personnel sleep in a cramped dormitory. “It is stressful to be in such close quarters,” says the ICT manager. Yet the displaced people have it much worse, sleeping on the muddy ground or in makeshift homes during this rainy season, in addition to the insecurity they face.
With network connectivity barely back up, the gunshots resume. Due to the security concerns, most of the humanitarian workers go to bed well before the local curfew time of 6pm. There is no reason for them to be out when their lives are at risk.
The next day, the team travel in a convoy to receive the cargo of high-energy biscuits flown in by WFP. Once on airfield tarmac, the team begins unloading the biscuits, in order to save time and allow the plane to return back to Bangui.
In the meantime, two WFP staff members help an elderly man in building his makeshift home. The needs of the displaced individuals continue to spread far and wide. No matter the time, there is always something the team could be doing, responding to urgent needs.
When the second flight rotation arrived, the team split into two groups. The first unloaded the plane, the others swiftly set up a large white tent commonly called a ‘wikhall’, which serves as a sort of warehouse.
“Normally it takes us four days to install a Wiikhall, but given the urgency of the crisis, we did it in two days,” says Jean-Bruno, the team leader of this installation, drenched in sweat after working in the blazing sun of Birao.
In addition to security risks there is the varying and unpredictable weather — it causes uncertainty in operations and impacts the delivery of life-saving materials and commodities. After unloading the second cargo of biscuits, the two pilots and their mechanic had to stay the night in Birao due to weather conditions, further hampering trips for the following day.
The 30-minute trip from the airfield to the military base feels like an eternity. Tension and stress are high among the team. After much-needed showers and some semblance of a meal, the exhausted team members return to the dormitory to get some well-deserved sleep.
The following day, we get straight to work without a minute to waste. We manage to provide food for the 15,000 IDPs at the site. These people were living in tents and withstanding harsh living conditions, having fled their homes after violent attacks.
Packing my bag that evening, I reflect on its contents. I’ve brought more possessions with me to for a few days than IDPs have at all, despite not knowing when they might be able to return home.
The following day, after welcoming and briefing our new colleagues taking over the mission of ensuring the continuity of WFP emergency food assistance in Birao, we board a United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) flight.
As we fly back to Bangui, I look around at my team, and while our faces express exhaustion, our souls are satisfied with having accomplished an honorable task. In Birao, we were united to save lives no matter the risk.
