Hundreds forced to flee as Merowe Dam reservoir waters rise

August 9, 2006 — Over 100 families were suddenly forced to abandon their homes two days ago because of rising flood waters after the authorities at the China Ex-Im funded Merowe Dam in Sudan unexpectedly closed the dam’s gates and began filling its reservoir. No warning was given of the impending flooding. The families, all from the Amri people, have been left without food or shelter. Six other villages are threatened with imminent inundation.

The families – mainly women and children from the Island of Kouk and the village of Shakoura – were flooded out of their homes on 7th August. But that same day, the dam authorities had told villagers that they had five days in which to move to an unfinished resettlement site in the Bayuoda desert.

Villagers from around the area are trying to provide food and shelter to those whose homes have been destroyed. The Committee representing the Amri has made an appeal to the Red Cross for emergency aid.

The Amri make up one quarter of communities that will be affected by the Merowe Dam and have been extremely resistant to being moved to resettlement sites outside of their traditional lands.

In November 2002, violence erupted in the Amri area after the dam authorities refused to recognise the elected committee representing the communities. Further unrest followed attempts by the dam authorities to conduct a socio-economic survey against the wishes of the affected communities.

In April 2006, Special Forces closely linked to the dam authorities opened fire on a peaceful gathering of villagers who were meeting to discuss the planned survey, killing three people and injuring 47. Since then, the area has been under an undeclared condition of siege. Journalists and international observers who visited the area in June reported the heavy presence of militia units in and around the area.

The April shootings had led to negotiations between the Amri and a Ministerial Committee, headed by Bakri Hasan Salih, an advisor to the President of Sudan. They reached an agreement in early May under which the Sudanese Government undertook to look into the communities’ grievances, while the affected people resolved to allow the socio-economic survey to take place.

The survey, which is being used by the authorities to set compensation levels, was carried out in June and supervised by a team from the Attorney General’s office. Its results have provoked further outrage among the communities. Despite Sudanese law requiring that the loss of land that has been farmed for ten years or more be compensated, the dam authorities have refused to compensate where land has been farmed for less than 20 years. No (or minimal) compensation will also be paid for the loss of such fruit-bearing tree as mango and lemon or for fodder crops. Compensation for guava trees will be reduced from SD£500,000 to just SD£ 10,000 (US$ 233 to just US$ 4.5). On the basis of the survey, two-thirds of the affected people will be ineligible for any compensation.

The Amri are to be resettled at Wadi Al Mugadam in the Bayuoda desert. The authorities had intended to move them by the end of December 2005. But the resettlement site is still not ready, nor is sufficient land available to meet the legal resettlement entitlements of the affected communities. The resettlement site covers 35, 000 feddans, but Sudanese law requires that almost double that amount (60,000 feddans) should be made available to compensate the total numbers being resettled

Following the flooding on 7th August, the affected communities held an emergency meeting on 8th August in Shakoura village. The villagers, who are refusing to move to the resettlement site at Wadi Al Mugadam, accuse the authorities of breaching May agreement with the High ministerial Committee. They have demanded that full payment be made for fruit trees and fodder crops which will be lost to the dam and that the 4,011 appeals that have been made to date against the compensation on offer, be upheld.

The villagers have made it clear that the Amri area is closed to the authorities and that no official will be allowed to enter. An armed group (the Amri Martyrs Front) has been established to defend the people against anticipated attacks by the dam militia and to fight for the rights of the people.

If the dam authorities insist on going ahead with their plans to move the people forcibly, a violent clash appears inevitable. The Leadership of the Hamadab Affected People has requested international support to impress upon the dam authorities and the Government of Sudan that:

? The issue of land compensation must be addressed immediately and more arable land must be found to compensate the people;

? Compensation for fruit bearing trees and fodder crops must be paid in cash and in full before people are moved from their land;

? The April shootings must be investigated; the Attorney General must issue his report on the case; and those involved must be brought to justice;

? The dam authorities must open the dam’s gate immediately and must not impound any more water to avoid inundating villages.