Dated July 29, 2010 / Made public November 11, 2010
Afflicted Population of Rafaï
Mbomou Prefecture
Rafaï Sub-Prefecture
Central African Republic
To His Excellency Barack Obama
President of the United States of America,
To the International Community of the United Nations,
To the Government of the Central African Republic
Subject: A Cry for Help
Excellencies,
Having lived since October 19, 2009, until today under the yoke of terror, carnage, material and human damage, and abductions by the LRA rebels, the distressed population of Rafai takes this opportunity to loudly denounce to the international community the abuses being perpetrated in our region.
Deprived of our rights to come and go, robbed of all of our possessions, turned into slaves in our own homes, we are being subjected to hatred and exposed to any number of dangers to our psychological and physical health.
In relation to the abuses inflicted upon us by these LRA criminals, the tally of which we present below, and to eradicate this evil, we ask you for security and health, educational, and nutritional support.
Below is a report of all the human casualties, not including the colossal material damages inflicted by the LRA, that we recorded over the past eleven (11) months:
Abductions: 211
Deaths: 28
Captives: 81, of which 47 were students
Childbirths in the bush: 12 from Rafaï-Center. All of the infants died.
We take this opportunity to include as annex the partial report of data on the frequent illnesses and deaths due to the LRA phenomenon in Rafaï.
To conclude, we bring our grievances to the attention of the entire international community to lend a strong hand to our area which has been impoverished by these demons who continue to sow panic amongst us.
In the hope of a favorable response, please accept the expression of our highest regard.
The delegate of the displaced persons
SIMON AKOUMBAYO
The Secretary-General
Anselme SANON
