Šimon Pánek
PINF Chief of Operations

Josef Pazderka
NC Senior Program Officer

Ingushetia

1. Overview
1.1. Numbers of IDPs
1.2. Living conditions - IDPs
1.3. Living Conditions - host families
1.4. Working conditions for humanitarian organizations

2. PINF Operations
2.1. Spontaneous settlements (SPS)
2.2. PINF schools - the largest educational network for IDPs
2.3. Medical care

Chechnya

1. Overview
1.1. Living conditions
1.2. Military operations
1.3. Human rights
1.4. Working conditions for humanitarian organizations

2. PINF Operations
2.1. Distribution of food and hygienic supplies in Grozny
2.2. Other aid in Grozny
2.3. School reconstruction in Grozny
2.4. Roof reconstruction in damaged villages
2.5. Convoys
2.6. Conclusion

Ingushetia

1. Overview
1.1. Number of IDPs

The number of IDPs in Ingushetia decreased during summer compared to the spring months. The warmer weather and beginning of aid distribution efforts in some regions of Chechnya both contributed to refugee returns. According to official data of the immigration service and Ministry of Emergency Situations (EMERCOM) of Ingushetia, there are currently 140,000 IDPs in Ingushetia. The Danish Refugee Council (DRC), which maintains a resource database for the distribution of humanitarian aid, continued to register approximately 170,000 IDPs. The difference is probably due to the fact that a number of refugees who have returned to Chechnya travel back and forth to Ingushetia once a month to pick up their aid rations and thus remain registered. The vast majority of IDPs live with host families, either with relatives or as renters, while approximately 30,000 live either in tents or spontaneous settlements (SPSs).

1.2. Living conditions - IDPs

The situation in SPSs remains critical. People continue to live in makeshift rooms of planks, plastic sheeting, tin and blankets, or in barns, abandoned factories, warehouses etc. The SPSs are in many cases beyond the reach of humanitarian organizations partly because of their remoteness and partly due to the demanding logistics of distribution. The conditions in larger tent camps are significantly better, with attention given them by both humanitarian organizations and local authorities. The tented camps normally have field kitchens, ambulances and schools and from time to time receive extra deliveries of aid which are distributed in addition to the regular supplies.

For IDPs who have decided to stay through the upcoming winter in Ingushetia, proper support by aid agencies is essential. In cooperation with the Ingush EMERCOM, the UNHCR has started to build a new tented camp ("Alina") near the town of Sleptsovskaya where IDPs from the most vulnerable places should be moved, including approximately 12,000 living in abandoned railroad coaches. Another joint project of UNHCR and the International Rescue Committee will focus on some 50 of the worst SPSs in Ingushetia with winterization plans.

1.3. Living conditions

Assessments carried out by WFP monitors in cooperation with PINF showed considerably better living conditions for IDPs staying in Ingushetia compared with those living in war-affected areas in Chechnya. The main problems of IDPs in Ingushetia are exposure to disease (influenza, chronic colds, diarrhea, TB), insufficient heating in households, and lack of available seats in schools for their children. The assessment identified vulnerable groups (large families with small children, invalids and/or elderly people) who will have long-term dependency on humanitarian aid provided almost exclusively by international organizations. The distribution of food and non-food essentials is not only necessary to ensure their basic survival but also serves as a means for IDPs to cover other necessities. Food and hygienic supplies are sometimes sold by families and the money used to purchase medicines, bribe authorities for duplicate documents, etc.

Of the approximately 34,000 school-aged IDP children in Ingushetia only about 13,000 are attending classes. The rest have been excluded from education for more than a year. Many children have not attended school at all since the outbreak of fighting in late 1999 and are only now just starting again. The capacity of schools in Ingushetia is exhausted and in many cases the classes are organized in three shifts.

1.4. Working conditions for humanitarian organizations

The security situation in Ingushetia remains unchanged and foreigners are still obliged to travel with armed guards. However, there have been no serious threats/warnings of kidnappings in the past few months. With more humanitarian organizations becoming engaged in Ingushetia, rent prices for foreigners is increasing. Internet connections have improved. All other conditions for working in Ingushetia or for establishing a base in Ingushetia to work in Chechnya are good. Compared to early 2000, humanitarian organizations in Ingushetia have significantly more potential for providing constructive help to IDPs.

2. PINF Operations
2.1. Spontaneous Settlements (SPSs)

From the outset of its relief activities in January 2000, PINF has focused its resources in Ingushetia on improving the conditions of IDPs living in SPSs, also called "wild camps." It has targeted18 such camps in Altievo, Plievo, Karabulak and Troitskaya, which accommodate anywhere from a few dozen to 500 or more IDPs each, for distribution of baby food, special assistance to improve living conditions for selected needy families, and provision of basic medical care and schooling.

2.2. PINF schools

PINF's educational program has continued throughout the fall with the main focus being on tented schools. According to the Ingush Ministry of Education, only 30 percent of IDP children are attending school, a problem which motivated PINF to organize its first tented schools last winter with its own resources. PINF later submitted a project proposal to UNICEF that was approved and now supports a total of 15 PINF-managed schools serving a total of 902 children. All schools are situated in places where school attendance had been virtually impossible.

PINF is currently preparing a new project proposal to UNICEF for an additional 20 IDP schools in the Malgobek district of Ingushetia, which has by far the worst living conditions for IDPs. In some localities PINF is examining the possibility of building wooden schools with greater capacity. If approved, the new proposal will bring the total number of PINF-managed schools in Ingushetia to 35, making it the largest network of alternative education for IDPs in the republic. However, funding for the project proposal has not been completely clarified and PINF is looking for potential donors who would be interested in supporting certain components of it. Specifically, PINF is seeking funding for extracurricular activities - which are a very important part of psychosocial work with children - and for salaries of teachers, who are themselves IDPs.

2.3. MedicalCare

PINF continues to operate a mobile clinic which provides primary health care to IDPs in nine SPSs in Altiyevo, Pliyevo, Trolitskaya, Karabulak, and Nazran. The doctor focuses mainly on clinical care for the sick, health prevention practices, distribution of basic medicines, and if need be, assistance with evacuation of the seriously ill for surgery in Ingushetia, other parts of Russia and abroad.

Chechnya

1. Overview
1.1. Living conditions

With winter approaching, the situation is growing critical in the worst-hit localities of Chechnya, especially Grozny and heavily damaged villages in the foothills. Residents are trying to make at least minimal preparations to survive the winter, especially to repair roofs and cover windows. The major challenges remain lack of regular food supplies, access to basic medical care and schools for children. Compared to the situation in Ingushetia, supply of relief aid and shelter materials in Chechnya is significantly lower. It is therefore still far from certain whether many people will stay there during the winter. Their decision to stay or not depends very much on three decisive factors:

· the scale of military operations and intensity of fighting between Russian forces and Chechen rebels, and the scale of shelling of areas inhabited by civilians;
· the extent of relief aid which organizations will manage to transport into Chechnya; and
· restoring the supplies of gas for cooking, heating and lighting.

1.2. Military operations

Since Spring 2000 there have been few set-piece battles between Chechen rebels and the Russian army, compare to big scale military operations According to available information, only a small number of rebels remain in the southern mountains of Chechnya. The vast majority have returned to their villages to take up civilian lives again, and some field commanders either crossed the border or were captured by federal units. Estimates of the remaining rebel forces are very rough, but roughly around 1,000 and 2,000 men who are considered to be active or capable of mobilization. These include a number of rebels who fought under the field commanders Basayev and Khattab. Renewed large-scale fighting is improbable, among other reasons because of drastically declining support for the rebels from the local civilian population.

What remains is a protracted guerrilla war marked by individual and mostly unconnected ambushes, including attacks on Russian checkpoints or military convoys, night shooting and use of remote-controlled mines ( so-called "fugasy" that are laid on roads and detonated when a Russian unit approaches, especially in Grozny and the foothill areas). During revenge operations resulting from these attacks, Chechen civilians are often killed. It is difficult to determine at this stage who is financing and instigating the rebel attacks, and whether their aim is to continue the rebellion against Russian control or simply to stoke tensions. Military units usually react with extensive sweeps or mopping-up operations ( "zatschistky") of villages and town districts, local people reporting that they also confiscating valuable items. Shooting, mine explosions and shelling in the mountains remain a regular part of everyday life in Chechnya. According to information that has not been confirmed, unofficial negotiations between Russian authorities and President Maskhadov have been taking place, but an end to the conflict is still nowhere in sight.

1.3. Human rights

Extensive violations of human rights of civilians in Chechnya are still reported widely. The army uses frivolous pretexts to detain and imprison suspected rebel sympathizers, especially Chechen men aged 18 to 35. Their relatives receive no information about the reason for their detention, their whereabouts or their fate. According to testimonies of local residents, in some cases detainees are released in exchange for money, and that during "zatschistky" they are subject to thefts, illegal detention and physical abuse. Random shooting at civilians and occasional shelling or bombing of inhabited areas in Chechnya are still common.

Residents also report that bribes are demanded to be allowed to drive through Russian checkpoints, of which there are hundreds in Chechnya. Russian soldiers use various pretexts, such as old or dirty driving licenses, lack of warning lights, carrying of excess petrol and so on. However, compared to the winter months when regular fighting was taking place, harassment and illegal conduct by Russian soldiers has declined with slightly improved control by the command staff and relative stabilization in some areas. But the situation is still very far from being normalized, and civilians continue to live with omnipresent fear of unpredictable military actions and illegal conduct.

1.4. Working conditions for humanitarian organizations

New regulations issued in the end of September have made the transport of relief aid to Chechnya more complicated. Transit permits are issued by the Chechnya central administration and the Russian army. Tensions between the two parties (most probably caused by Chechen demands for more authority) have delayed and in some cases cancelled the transport of food, medicine and other materials to the suffering Chechen population.

No unified regulations for aid convoys to Chechnya have yet been established, despite declarations by senior Russian representatives in June that humanitarian aid for Chechnya was welcome. Every humanitarian organization experiences a different degree of success in dealing with the permit issues.

Representatives of the Chechen administration in Gudermes have suggested to use a two-week permit with a specific list of items included in every transport. However, this system would make distribution of aid on Chechen territory very difficult, as the consignments of food and non-food items to Ingushetia (where the convoys for Chechnya are dispatched from) are very irregular and almost unpredictable, mainly due to transport and customs difficulties.

The security situation is far from being ideal, but it is now possible to work in most areas of Chechnya provided strict security rules are adhered to and increased care is exercised.

2. PINF Operations
2.1. Distribution of food and hygienic supplies in Grozny

Beginning in January 2000, the People in Need Foundation sent a dozen convoys with a total of nearly 700 tonnes of aid to Chechnya, intensifying its activities during spring and early summer. The convoys were sent to different war-affected parts of the republic, including several to Grozny after March, and contained basic foods, hygienic supplies, warm clothes and essential medicines. Through the first six months of 2000, PINF expended approximately US$500,000 on its projects in Chechnya and Ingushetia, funds that were collected from various sources in the Czech Republic and abroad. The main sponsors included the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the City of Prague, the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Caritas Austria, and a public "SOS Chechnya" appeal organized by PINF.

PINF's aid program is continuing in the second half of 2000 with funding from new sub-project agreements with the World Food Programme (food) and UNHCR (hygienics and shelter). Through six distribution points in the three worst-affected districts of Grozny -- Oktyabrski, Zavodskoy and Leninski -- PINF is distributing basic foods (flour, oil, peas, salt) and hygienic supplies (soap, washing powder) to most vulnerable residents, ie. children, elderly people, pregnant and lactating mothers, single-head families, invalids and IDPs, as identified by the Danish Refugee Council, which undertook a registration of the Chechen population. Under current conditions it is extremely difficult to maintain order and clarity in the distribution system, but it is also a sine qua non for getting the aid to those who need it. During the three distribution cycles that have taken place so far (August, September, October) the number of beneficiaries increased from 31,000 to 37,000. PINF has transported to Grozny and distributed almost 1,100 tons of basic food and hygienic supplies purchased with the UN funds.

PINF DISTRIBUTION LIST FOR 3 GROZNY DISTRICTS
(August-October 2000)

WFP / UNHCR

* In August the ration of wheat flour was 13.5 kg per person. Distribution of salt started in October.

Vulnerable groups include:
1. children under 16 years
2. elderly over 55 years
3. pregnant and lactating women
4. mentally/physically handicapped people
5. single parent families
6. IDPs

The distribution was carried out in three districts of Grozny - Oktyabrski, Zavodskoy and Leninski. The fourth district is covered by the Danish Refugee Council.

Commodity requirements

2.2. Humanitarian aid for Grozny

As a lead aid agency in Grozny, PINF's priority is to improve living conditions for the upcoming winter. The PINF distribution system handles up to 1,000 tonnes of material every month (targeted distribution) and the capacity of its transport convoys is similar. PINF asked the UNHCR to release a large amount of additional aid materials for Grozny, which enabled PINF to distribute shoes and t-shirts to 6,000 children and to mend classroom windows in 25 schools with plastic sheeting. The quantity of materials should increase significantly in the near future.

2.3. Reconstruction of schools in Grozny
With funds donated by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, PINF began reconstruction of the 14th school (Leninski district) and 23rd school (Oktyabrski district) in Grozny. The buildings have no windows, there are many holes in the roofs and walls and no electricity or heating, but almost 1,500 children nevertheless are attending classes every day. After reconstruction, the schools should be able to function through the winter and even to increase their capacity to 2,000 pupils, constituting 10 percent of all school-aged children in Grozny. A few other schools will likely operate as well, but the vast majority in Grozny are so damaged that they will have to be closed during the winter months.

In late October or early November the UNHCR will provide PINF with enough plastic sheeting to mend classroom windows in all schools where classes are currently taking place, and UNICEF has approved a PINF proposal to provide 2,000 children with basic school materials. PINF hopes to be able to expand this project using its own funds in cooperation with UNICEF and the UNHCR.

2.3. Roof reconstruction in damaged villages

Villages in the foothills suffered damages ranging from 20 percent up to 95 percent (i.e. Komsomolskoye in Urus-Martan district). Last winter these villages were the scene of fighting and subjected to intensive shelling/bombing so as not to serve as a base for rebel units (or, according to some local residents, because they refused to pay "ransom" to advancing federal units). The UNHCR approved PINF's project proposal to undertake basic roof repairs in selected localities, in the framework of which some 1,000 roofs around Chechnya will be mended. The distribution of roofing materials, large tarpaulins to close damaged houses, and plastic sheeting for windows will start in late October or early November. In cooperation with local leaders, PINF monitors performed needs assessments, compiled lists of the most needy, checked the situation of every household, and decided which houses fulfilled requirements for receiving aid. The precise quantity of materials that each family will receive was also determined.

The assessment and project were very demanding because of the logistics and organization involved, ie. interviews with 1,000 families, transport of some 700 tonnes of material to the villages, controlling the distribution and use of materials, etc. PINF established a special task force for the project that for several weeks has been working in the respective localities (Duba-Yurt, Katyr-Yurt, Datschu-Barzoy).

The joint PINF-UNHCR roof repairs project aims to secure at least one warm, dry room for every family and will be extended thanks to support from the Czech government, which has allocated 2,000,000 Czech crowns (approx. $50,000) for the repair of damaged houses. If PINF can fully implement both projects before the arrival of winter, approximately 8,000 to 10,000 people who are living in ruins, cellars or tents will benefit.

2.4. Other Convoys

The PINF North Caucasus mission is currently focused on aid to Grozny and roof repair in the villages. Ad hoc convoys to remote villages such as were organized during the winter and spring are now very limited. In September only one convoy was dispatched for Duba-Yurt carrying tents, kitchen sets and jerry cans provided by the UNHCR.

Special PINF/UNHCR distribution

2.5. Conclusion

With the arrival of winter the situation in the worst-hit areas of Chechnya, especially Grozny, is very critical. There is nowhere to live in the town, nothing to heat or light with. There is a lack of working opportunities, basic foods, baby food, clothes, hygienic supplies, medicines and winterization materials. In order to improve the alarming situation the People in Need Foundation is ready to cooperate with donors and other organizations, to offer its distribution system, the transport convoys and necessary rear area, to ensure that the donor representatives can be present on the spot, to cover operational costs (except for the transport), and to implement the aid in the town, which is now, before the second winter, in a great need.

© Člověk v tísni, o.p.s. 2000

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