Cameroonian refugees in Akwa Ibom appeal for assistance

Over 1, 200 Cameroonian migrants taking refuge in Mkpat Enin, Esit Eket and in Oron LGA in Akwa Ibom have appealed to federal and state governments for assistance to settle them in the country.
The migrants, who made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday said that the situation in Cameroon necessitated their migration to Nigeria.
NAN reports that the current crisis in the Cameroon has led to many Anglophone Cameroonians seeking refuge in neighbouring countries including Nigeria.
In Mkapt Enin LGA, where there were over 300 migrants, they commended the host community for their hospitality.
They, however, appealed to the governments to assist in rehabilitating and integrating them in to the society.
Shalom Epolle, a Cameroonian refugee said that they were living in very hazardous condition and appealed for assistance.
Epolle said: “I came here on February 21, because of the crisis that was in Cameroon, since we have been here, we don’t have food to eat, no place to sleep, the mattresses we have are small but we manage, three people sleep on one.
“Both men and women stay together, without privacy, no water, no toilet, the most important one is food because we can’t stay here when there is no food, we go outside, look for jobs to do to get money to help ourselves.”
At Esit Eket, where over 400 refugees were camped in a church, the people lamented the hardship that had befallen them, calling on the relevant authorities to come to their aid as they left behind their stuff.
Glory Harrison, a mother of three children said she did not know where her husband was as everyone went to opposite directions during the crisis.
According to her, feeding the children has been difficult in the camp except on hospitality from the community people.
Harrison said: “We are suffering; we are hungry, no food to eat, no water and no place to sleep.
“We don’t even know anyone here to ask for help, it is not easy, please help us, we don’t have bed to sleep, we sleep on bare floor and it hurts our body when we wake up.
“We have just one cloth, our children are not in school because we can’t afford to pay school fees, there are many mosquitoes here but no mosquito net to use, government should please help us.”
At Oron, people numbering about 500 refugees were housed at the security village, where the local government area Chairman, Anthony Etim, had arranged a temporal refugee camp for them.
The people appreciated the chairman’s gesture and called for more assistance from the state and federal governments.