Photo Credit: Refugees International/ Sarah Martin
12/09/2005

Refugees International spoke with this group of women on donkeys as they returned from gathering firewood and long grass outside of Kalma camp in Darfur. Kalma camp is one of Darfur’s largest, with nearly 90,000 inhabitants. Most have lived there for nearly two years, fleeing the fighting between rebel groups and government-sponsored Janjaweed militias. The women from Kalma venture out of the camps to gather firewood, both for their own use and to sell. They also collect the long grass that grows in the desert to feed their donkeys and to braid mats and rugs. Outside the camps they are at risk of attack from bandits and other armed groups. Rape is common. They also come into conflict with nomads who also depend on the same grass for their cattle and other animals.