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SECRETARIAT - 150 route de Ferney, P.O. Box 2100, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland - TEL: +41 22 791 6033 - FAX: +41 22 791 6506 www.actalliance.org Preliminary Appeal India Relief to conflict affected people in Assam – IND123 Preliminary Appeal Target: US$618,047 Geneva, 10 August 2012 Dear Colleagues, Violent clashes in Assam state of India between the ethnic Bodo community and migrant Muslims from Bangladesh are not new. More than 100 people were killed in communal clashes in 1993. Since then there have been regular small skirmishes. A fresh round of violence erupted on 19 July 2012 when four youths were killed. As of 7 August 2012, 78 people have been killed and approximately 400,000 people from both communities have been forced to leave their villages and seek shelter in camps with hardly any amenities. Most of these displaced people are not willing to return due to the continuing violence. Moreover, in most of the cases, their homes have been burned down. The health and hygiene conditions in the camps are deplorable. There are 117 doctors available for the 400,000 inhabitants in the camps. Five children have died during last few days and many have been diagnosed with malaria. The state Government is trying, without much success, to restore normalcy with the help of central combat forces and other paramilitary forces. The chief minister of the state has demanded a high level intelligence inquiry. The relief support so far has been insufficient. Given the environment of distrust, an intervention of voluntary organizations, especially from secular and philanthropic Institutions to help with resettlement and confidence building, is urgently needed. ACT Forum India members, Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA) and the Lutheran World Service, India Trust (LWSIT) are proposing to provide the most urgently needed assistance in the form of non- food items (NFIs), hygiene kits, health and shelter. India: IND123 Ethnic Violence 2 PROPOSED EMERGENCY RESPONSE KEY PARAMETERS: CASA LWSIT Project Start/Completion Dates 10 August – 30 November 2012 10 August – 09 October 2012 Geographic areas of response Kokrajhar district, Assam Kokrajhar district, Assam Sectors of response & projected NFI, WASH & shelter for 2,000 NFI & WASH for 5,000 families target population per sector families TABLE 1: SUMMARY OF PRELIMINARY APPEAL REQUIREMENTS BY ACT MEMBER AND SECTOR: Preliminary Appeal Requirements CASA LWSIT Total Requirements Total requirements US$ 356,605 261,442 618,047 Less: pledges/contributions US$ 0 0 0 Balance of requirements US$ 356,605 261,442 618,047 TABLE 2: REPORTING SCHEDULE Type of Report CASA LWSIT Situation reports Interim narrative & financial report N/A N/A Final narrative & financial report 31 January 2013 31 December 2012 Audit report & management letter 28 February 2013 31 January 2013 Please kindly send your contributions to either of the following ACT bank accounts: US dollar Euro Account Number - 240-432629.60A Euro Bank Account Number - 240-432629.50Z IBAN No: CH46 0024 0240 4326 2960A IBAN No: CH84 0024 0240 4326 2950Z Account Name: ACT Alliance UBS AG 8, rue du Rhône P.O. Box 2600 1211 Geneva 4, SWITZERLAND Swift address: UBSWCHZH80A Please also inform the Director - Finance Jean-Daniel Birmele ([email protected]) and the Senior Programme Officer, Sudhanshu Singh of all pledges/contributions and transfers, including funds sent direct to the implementers. We would appreciate being informed of any intent to submit applications for EU, USAID and/or other back donor funding and the subsequent results. We thank you in advance for your kind cooperation. Note: The budget will be revised in the Appeal depending on the pledges received India: IND123 Ethnic Violence 3 For further information please contact: ACT Senior Programme Officer, Sudhanshu Singh (phone +41 22 791 6035 or mobile phone +41 79 285 2916) or ACT Deputy General Secretary, Rebecca Larson (phone +41 22 791 6069 or mobile phone +41 79 376 1711) ACT Web Site address: http://www.actalliance.org Barbara Wetsig Acting General Secretary ACT Alliance Secretariat India: IND123 Ethnic Violence 4 I. NARRATIVE SUMMARY DETAILS OF THE EMERGENCY The current ethnic violence in Assam is a series of ongoing violent attacks that flared up on 19 July 2012 in the Indian state of Assam. The violence arose from a long history of ethnic conflict between indigenous Bodos and migrant Muslims from Bangladesh. As of 7 August 2012, 78 people have died according to the government sources. Approximately 400,000 displaced people from both communities, from almost 500 villages, are packed in 250 relief camps1. Such clashes are not new in the Kokrajhar district of Assam. More than 100 people were killed in 1993 in similar clashes. The Bodo communities now have an autonomous territorial council which is under the control of one of their parties called the Bodoland People's Front (BPF). However, some opine that ‘migrants’ have encroached much of the land they traditionally occupied. The migrants and their descendants have also become more assertive with the formation of the Assam United Democratic Front which seeks to protect the rights of minorities and their periodic displacement through violence. The clash brewing between the Bodos and the minority communities over forest land encroachment evolved into all-out aggression following the execution of four youth activists on 20 July 2012. The affected populations do not feel sufficiently safe and secure to return to their native villages. Amidst such uncertainty, they prefer to live in relief camps which have been hastily arranged either in schools or college premises. Though it is difficult to ascertain the number of houses burnt by either group, it has been observed that quite a number of houses have been burnt by extremists on both sides. In some villages, unidentified persons looted valuables from some houses while there was nobody to stop them. LWSIT project staff in the area have observed that the health and hygiene conditions of the affected people have deteriorated significantly over the last few weeks. Women, children and the elderly are bearing the brunt of the situation in various relief camps in Kokrajhar, Chirang and Dhubri districts. According to Assam's Health Minister, around 8,000 children under the age of two years are sick at these camps, while hundreds of others have tested positive for malaria. There are also around 4,000 pregnant women in the camps who need medical support. The Chief Minister assured that priority is being given to sanitation and cleanliness at these camps. However, he did add that "there are forces trying to disturb the rehabilitation work." He also added that efforts were being made to decongest the camps and nearly 100,000 people have already been sent back to their villages2. Though the state Government is trying its best to restore normalcy with the help of central combat forces and other paramilitary forces, the victims badly need help from someone whom they can trust. Thus the intervention of voluntary organizations, especially secular and philanthropic Institutions for resettlement and confidence building is very much required. The most urgent needs at the moment are clothing, basic food items, temporary shelter and a place to settle and restart their livelihood activities. ACTIONS TO DATE, AND EMERGENCY NEEDS Both LWSIT and CASA have deployed rapid assessment teams to different violence hit regions to plan the next course of action. LWSIT is operational in Kokrajhar and Chirang districts and rapid assessments have already been carried out. A joint assessment was carried out with the Inter Agency Group (IAG), Assam of which CASA and LWSIT are members. Both ACT members are engaged in carrying out detailed 1 http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/in-assam-even-1000-doctors-would-not-be-enough-252323 2 http://www.ndtv.com/article/cheat-sheet/assam-wants-cbi-to-probe-ethnic-clashes-death-toll-73-latest- developments-252182?h_related_also_see India: IND123 Ethnic Violence 5 assessments by visiting several relief camps wherever feasible. LWSIT and CASA staff are also participating in various meetings organized by the state government authorities, NGOs and also with different churches in order to better ensure coordination In the relief camps, some food items are being provided to the families in the form of rice, dal (pulses), salt and cooking oil. The affected populations are receiving these food items regularly and the government has assured the people that food items will be provided for several days. However, there is a dire need of baby food. Similarly, the inmates in the relief camps are living in very congested conditions and lacking hygiene facilities or access to health services. Many of the families had to hastily leave their homes with only the clothes on their backs. Consequently, they are in urgent need of daily necessities such as household utensils for cooking, along with sleeping mats and mosquito nets to protect themselves from further disease caused by malaria or filarial. Four major churches – the Church of Northern India, the Baptist church and the Lutheran and Catholic Church are present in the violence affected Kokrajhar, Dhubri and Chirang districts of Assam. CASA along with other church leaders had a meeting with them in Guwahati to better understand the situation and decided to move on a ‘Goodwill Mission’ on 6 August 2012 for a detailed survey, needs assessment and explore the possibilities of initiating a peace dialogue in order to restore harmony among the inhabitants residing in the area . Earlier the government deployed para military forces and 13 columns of the Indian Army to the affected districts. On 26 July an indefinite curfew and shoot-at-sight orders were enforced in Kokrajhar district along with a night curfew in Chirang and Dhubri districts. The government authorities of Assam announced INR 600,000 (approximately USD 11,000) as compensation to the closest of kin of those who were killed during ethnic clash.