CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
by Médard Libani, Congo-Brazza, January 2000
THEME = REFUGEES
An ambitious operation is in progress, but its outcome remains to be seen
7,417 Rwandans and Burundians are already resettled in Congo- Brazzaville. They are at Loukoléla and Impfondo (800 km. north of Brazzaville), and at Kintélé (25 km. north of the capital, on the National Highway 2. They come from the region of Mbandaka in Congo RDC. They have lived in Congo-Brazza since fleeing the fighting which broke out in May 1997 between the forces of former President Mobutu Sésé Séko and those of Laurent-Desiré Kabila.
The Congo-Brazza government and the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR, looking for a lasting solution to this situation, decided to resettle them in Congo-Brazza. A census was taken before they were registered. 5,300 received full assistance for their resettlement, while 2,117 others whose status was unclear, were taken to villages in the Plateaux region and the central basin in the north of the country.
These Rwandans and Burundians make up 25% of the population in the villages where they have settled. In agreement with the government and other organisations, the UNHCR is responsible for transporting them from the refugee camps to the villages welcoming them. They are each given a pack of basic necessities to help them settle in. This consists of three month's food rations, a tarpaulin, tools, seeds etc., as well as building material, hinges, cement, sheet metal and timber. These supply their immediate needs till they can fend for themselves. An UNHCR member explains: "Provisional identity documents are given to each settler in the host villages, until each individual's status has been finally determined". Such documents not only attest to their participation in the resettlement exercise, but also affirms the legitimacy of their presence on Congo-Brazza's territory.
Loukoléla was chosen to pioneer the operation. An awareness campaign carried out among the local people and the refugees, explained the main aim of the exercise and the results expected. Both groups agreed to participate. 2,723 refugees are to be resettled in eleven villages. Transport from Loukoléla to the host villages is by barge, since these villages are on the banks of water courses. 906 refugees are already settled in six localities: Bokouango II, Boleko, Ngombe, Loboko-Sangha, Mbondo and Mokouango.
"After the resettlement carried out on the 2nd and 10th December", says an official from Congo's health ministry, "a joint UNHCR-government delegation came to Loukoléla on 10 January, to see how things were getting along in three of the villages. Their findings are encouraging. Both groups of people concerned, i.e. the local villagers and the settlers, are content". "We hope that fifty more Rwandans and Burundians will be settled in our locality", said one inhabitant from Bokouango II.
However, several problems have arisen. Following flooding of the northern regions of Congo-Brazza, the water supply has become badly polluted; the maize seed for given for sowing was of poor quality and medicines are in short supply. A solution is being studied. For the past few months at Loukoléla, they have started to record traditional marriages between Congolese and Rwandans. The transfers of populations will end there at the end of February, date for the closure of the refugees' camps.
4,166 Rwandans and Burundians will be resettled in Kintélé camp. This is in the Plateaux region and the basin in the north of Congo. Transport will be by road, with a night-stop at Gamboma (300 km. north of Brazzaville) where a transit camp has been constructed. The government has published a list of villages prepared to welcome the refugees.
Apart from Ntsokia which intends to welcome sixty refugees, a number of villages from Gamboma district are still reluctant to receive any refugees. There has been a campaign of disinformation emanating from Kintélé camp and the Gamboma transit camp. This has resulted in the government halting operations in these two areas. The Rwandans and Burundians there have also been less than enthusiastic. But there is a spark of hope: favourable reports from their fellow-countrymen, already settled in Boukéla have changed their opinions, and there will be new efforts to collaborate in preparing for transfers.
On the other hand, results are encouraging in certain villages in the Plateaux region, notably in the district of Ollombo (410 km. north of Brazzaville), where the inhabitants have declared themselves ready to accept the Rwandans and Burundians.
Ngassaki, a farmer from Ossio (5 km. from Gamboma) wonders: "Isn't there a risk of ghettos springing up, taking into account the various groups of people having different mentalities and cultures. Why not start a national debate on this question, so as to avoid the risk of conflict and marginalisation?" Far from being xenophobic, Mpaka, a peasant from Nkiélé (141 km. north of Brazzaville) thinks that the murderous clashes in Kivu in the east of Congo RDC, must put a question mark to the wisdom of the resettlement exercise.
Which only goes to show that the resettlement operation has caused a number of observers to raise their eyebrows. "It's much too soon to talk about results. Time must run its course", suggests Mouéle, a health worker. Let's hope that this bold initiative of Congo-Brazza's government and the UNHCR will be justified.
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