They arrived in their thousands, fleeing from the fighting in the capital of their country, Chad, to seek refuge in neighbouring Cameroon. In a matter of hours, N'Djamena was abandoned by some 30,000 particularly vulnerable people, who have found refuge in the small border town of Kousseri.

The Chadian refugees occupy every free space in the town, lying on the ground under the trees. Among them are many women and children. Their feelings of despair and helplessness are written on their faces. "We are tired and hungry and we want to return home, but we are afraid that the fighting will flare up again at any moment." These words, reflecting the frame of mind of the refugees, were repeated often during the day. Aissatou, who is a volunteer from the Cameroon Red Cross Society, remarked: "We are encouraging them to keep their hopes up and reassuring them that the Red Cross is here to help and will provide them with the assistance that they need, even if it takes a little time".

The situation is difficult for all these refugees, but it is particularly tough for the children who have had no news of their families since last Saturday. Atom Idriss, a fatherless eleven-year-old and a student at a school in N'Djamena, is overwhelmed.

"I was asleep with my bother and sister when we were suddenly woken by gunfire. My mother told us to hide under the bed. In the end, she told us that we had to leave. We set out into the night and started walking towards Kousseri. There were many bodies on the road and we had to step over them. There were great crowds of people fleeing at the same time as us. When we got to the bridge that marks the border, I found myself alone and couldn't find my brother, sister or mother". The case of Idriss is not unique. He is now being looked after by Cameroon Red Cross Society volunteers, who are helping him to find his family.

The situation in various locations where refugees have gathered has become very worrying, even though there are signs that a tentative move to return home is now underway. The Red Cross is attempting to regroup the refugees in a more organized way into two transit camps and one definitive camp in Maltam, near Kousseri. The volunteers have also distributed bread and flour to some refugees to meet their most immediate needs.

However, the most urgent task now, apart from providing food supplies, is to find a rapid solution to hygiene and sanitation problems. A lack of drinking water and latrines could lead to outbreaks of disease. Red Cross volunteers have begun to dig latrines to help remedy the situation.

In order to support the work of the Cameroon Red Cross Society, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has released CHF 300,000 from its Disaster Relief Emergency Fund.