Goz Beïda
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Goz Beïda () is a town located in eastern
Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...
. It is the capital of the
Sila Sila may refer to : Places * Sila Region, Chad ** Sila Department, Chad, part of Sila Region * La Sila, a mountainous area of Calabria, Italy ** Sila National Park * Sila, Numidia, a former ancient city and bishopric, now Bordj-El-Ksar in Alge ...
region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
and the
Kimiti Kimiti is a department of Sila Region in Chad. Its chief town is Goz Beida. Subdivisions The department of Kimiti is divided into seven sub-prefectures: * Goz Beida * Koukou-Angarana * Tissi * Adé * Mogororo * Kerfi * Moudeïna Moud ...
department. Prior to 2008, Goz Beïda was part of the
Ouaddaï Region Ouaddaï may refer to: * Ouaddaï highlands, an area in eastern Chad along the border with Sudan * Ouaddaï Prefecture Ouaddaï may refer to: * Ouaddaï highlands, an area in eastern Chad along the border with Sudan * Ouaddaï Prefecture, a form ...
's former
Sila Department Sila () or Dar Sila () was formerly a department in the Ouaddaï region of Chad. In 2008 it became part of the new Sila Region which was created from the Ouaddaï region's former Sila and Djourf Al Ahmar (Djourouf Al Ahmar) departments. The ...
. It is situated about from the border with
Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
's western
Darfur Darfur ( ; ) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju () while ruled by the Daju, who migrated from Meroë , and it was renamed Dartunjur () when the Tunjur ruled the area. ...
Region, and 1,200 km by road from N'Djamena, the Chadian capital. The town is served by
Goz Beïda Airport Goz Beïda Airport () is a small, public use airport located east-southeast of Goz Beïda, Sila, Chad. There is one runway about 1500 m x 40 m long. See also *List of airports in Chad This is a list of airports in Chad, grouped by type and ...
. Due to its proximity to Sudan, Goz Beïda holds a geographically strategic location, both for
cross-border trade Border trade, in general, refers to the flow of goods and services across the border between different jurisdictions. In this sense, border trade is a part of the normal trade that flows through the ordinary export/import legal and logistical fra ...
and as a transit point during regional crises, frequently receiving an influx of refugees from the neighboring country.


History

The name ''Goz Beïda'' derives from the combination of the
Chadian Arabic Chadian Arabic (), also known as Shuwa Arabic, Western Sudanic Arabic, or West Sudanic Arabic (WSA), is a variety of Arabic and the first language of 1.9 million people in Chad, both town dwellers and Baggara, nomadic cattle herders. Most of its ...
words ''Goz'' (sand) and ''Beïda'' (white), literally meaning "white sand". Indeed, the town stretches out, shaded by some large trees, over white sand surrounded by
ochre Ochre ( ; , ), iron ochre, or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colou ...
rocks. Sultan Hyssac Habreche is said to have given this name to the region in the 16th century. Goz Beïda maintains historical ties with the Daju, an Islamized people from southern Ouaddaï, and is home to the tata of Goz Beïda, the residence of the Sultan of Daju. The town was also part of the Ouaddaï Empire. During the French colonization in the first half of the 20th century, the region was incorporated into
French Chad Chad was a part of the French colonial empire from 1900 to 1960. Colonialism, Colonial rule under the French began in 1900 when the Military Territory of Chad was established. From 1905, Chad was linked to the federation of French colonial poss ...
, which was part of
French Equatorial Africa French Equatorial Africa (, or AEF) was a federation of French colonial territories in Equatorial Africa which consisted of Gabon, French Congo, Ubangi-Shari, and Chad. It existed from 1910 to 1958 and its administration was based in Brazzav ...
. After Chad gained independence in 1960, Goz Beïda, like many other areas of the new country, faced challenges in integration and development. In the early 21st century, the town hosted tens of thousands of
Sudanese refugees Sudanese refugees are people originating from the country of Sudan, seeking refuge outside the borders of their native country. In recent history, Sudan has been the stage for prolonged conflicts and civil wars, as well as environmental changes, ...
due to the Darfur conflict. Additionally, it hosted tens of thousands of
internally displaced An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee. I ...
Chadian, primarily due to internal conflicts in the country at the time. As a result, Goz Beïda has been surrounded by
refugee camps A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displac ...
managed by international humanitarian organizations. One example is the Djabel camp, located 4 km from the town center, managed by
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, l ...
(UNHCR). In addition to the challenges of supporting refugees, Goz Beïda was targeted in attacks between 2006 and 2008 by the Union of Forces for Democracy, a Chadian rebel group active during that period that aimed to overthrow then-
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Idriss Déby Idriss Déby Itno ( '; 18 June 1952 – 20 April 2021) was a Chadian politician and military officer who was the sixth List of heads of state of Chad, president of Chad from 1991 until his death in 2021 during the 2021 Northern Chad offensive, No ...
. With the outbreak of new conflicts in Sudan in 2023, Goz Beïda received a new influx of
refugees A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...
. According to UNHCR, there were about 30,000 people in the Djabel refugee camp in August of that year, although this number dropped to just over 11,000 by the end of 2024.


Geography

Goz Beïda is strategically located in a flat area, surrounded by five mountains and with a vast green zone that sustains rich fauna and flora. The town faces difficulties in connecting with other parts of the country, especially during the
rainy season The rainy season is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Rainy Season may also refer to: * ''Rainy Season'' (short story), a 1989 short horror story by Stephen King * "Rainy Season", a 2018 song by Monni * '' ...
. The presence of ''ouaddis'' (rivers or channels that carry water from one place to another) can cause erosion and the destruction of infrastructure and housing. The most common climate-related disasters in the region are
floods A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...
and
droughts A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D.  Jiang, A.  Khan, W.  Pokam Mba, D.  Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, ...
. It has a variety of
housing Housing refers to a property containing one or more Shelter (building), shelter as a living space. Housing spaces are inhabited either by individuals or a collective group of people. Housing is also referred to as a human need and right to ...
types, including both formal (structured and recognized) and informal settlements. These informal settlements often face infrastructure problems, such as lack of planning, instability, and security, and may be located in risky areas, such as sandy or rocky terrain (
dolomites The Dolomites ( ), also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range in northeastern Italy. They form part of the Southern Limestone Alps and extend from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Va ...
and
sand dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...
). Living conditions for many are difficult, with a lack of food,
drinking water Drinking water or potable water is water that is safe for ingestion, either when drunk directly in liquid form or consumed indirectly through food preparation. It is often (but not always) supplied through taps, in which case it is also calle ...
, and basic facilities for education and sanitation. The town also serves as a starting point for those wishing to explore the nearby Goz Beïda National Park, an important site for wildlife observation, including
zebras Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped Animal coat, coats. There are three Extant taxon, living species: Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), the plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and t ...
,
lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the tip of its tail. It is se ...
,
leopards The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...
,
elephants Elephants are the Largest and heaviest animals, largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant (''Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian ele ...
,
wild boars The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...
, rhinos, and a wide variety of
birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...
and other animals. 5The park covers approximately 3,000 square kilometers and, although it has been affected by conflicts,
poaching Poaching is the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set against the huntin ...
, and other atrocities, it remains a refuge for rare and endangered species.


Demographics

Before the 1970s, Goz Beïda had a population of around 7,000 inhabitants. This number increased to about 20,000 in 1998, and officially reached 41,248 in the 2009 census, making it the tenth most populous settlement in Chad. This significant growth was primarily driven by the tens of thousands of internally displaced Chadians, many of whom had fled due to conflicts in the country, as well as Sudanese refugees from the Darfur conflict. By 2016, it was estimated that at least 20,000 Sudanese lived in Goz Beïda and the surrounding area. This population growth has placed pressure on local ecosystems, making them more fragile and difficult to sustain. Furthermore, the population increase has created challenges in essential areas such as potable water,
electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
, stormwater drainage,
public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...
, and social infrastructure.


Society

The social organization of Goz Beïda is based on same blood, ethnic origin and cultural perspectives, with a strong emphasis on kinship ties and cultural practices. The town's development has been oriented towards meeting these social needs, particularly in terms of kinship solidarity, defense, social order, and religious practices. Local cultural beliefs also regulate the separation between the sexes, influencing how public and private spaces are organized and used. The Sultanate of Dar Sila Daju still exists informally, with Goz Beïda as its capital, and the sultan holding a predominantly religious role today, but continuing to represent tribal identity and community unity.


See also

*
Dar Sila Dar Sila is the name of the wandering sultanate of the Dar Sila Daju, a multi-tribal ethnic group in Chad and Sudan. The number of the people in this group exceeds 50,000. They speak the Sila language, a Nilo-Saharan language. Most members of this ...


References


Citations


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


14,000 refugees in camp near Goz Beïda

UNHCR report from Goz Beïda
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goz Beida Sila Region Populated places in Chad