CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
Africa
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REFUGEES
One of the most dramatic events of our time is the major movement of populations,
both within individual countries and across national frontiers.
The number
of refugees and displaced persons is continually on the increase and is
a serious problem
Civilians are the main victims of contemporary conflicts and civil wars. Forced migration, including large-scale movement of refugees, has become one of the defining characteristics of the post-Cold War world. The refugee phenomenon poses both practical challenges and ethical dilemmas.
Millions of children, women and men have suffered in the explosion of ethnic, religious and civil conflicts since the end of the Cold War. In 1994, conflict and genocidal acts in Rwanda and continuing emergencies elsewhere -– particularly in Africa, Western Asia, former Yugoslavia and some areas of the former Soviet Union -– further strained a system already stretched in its efforts to provide international humanitarian assistance.
The root of the refugee problem
Although refugee movements have occurred worldwide, in recent times Africa has witnessed an alarming movement of refugees and displaced persons. Why is this so? Reasons include economic hardships due to natural calamities (e.g. earthquakes, droughts, famine, and floods); economic hardships due to lack of income-generating opportunities at the place of origin; political instability which has forced population movement at both national and international levels (e.g. in Sierra Leone, Congo RDC, Guinea, Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia, Sudan).
Africa’s former colonial masters must carry some of the blame. The colonial boundaries drawn across Africa by European powers were artificial and separated tribal and ethnic groups. But looking at the problem in greater detail, Chibale Mabwe, writing in the Times of Zambia on 19 June 1999, says: «The refugee problem in Africa is the result of an interplay of political, social, economic and environmental factors. The factors that generate refugees are inextricably intertwined with each other, and is important to take all of them into account in the explanation of the problem. The causes of exodus vary from country to another but all have a common denominator -– fragrant violation of fundamental human rights. This is often compounded by population growth, economic stagnation, famine, political instability, super-power rivalry, the ever growing arms trade and increased militarism».
In 1994, Sadako Ogata, who was then the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said in a foreword to «Human Rights: The New Consensus», (published by Regency Press (Humanity Ltd.) «The issue of human rights and the problems of refugees are inextricably linked. The vast majority of refugees are driven from their homes by human rights abuses. Persecution, torture, killings and the reprehensible practice of “ethnic cleansing” generate huge flows of refugees».
The arms industry is also to blame for the vast majority of conflicts, which have resulted in massive movements of people. Dr. Oscar Arias, the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize winner from Costa Rica, said in June 1999: «While the arms industry profits, people throughout the world suffer. Surely the continued arms trade represents one of the most pervasive forms of corruption. Political and military leaders in many countries, ignoring the needs of their people, often encourage arms purchases and stockpiling; we know that in many cases they have been able to personally reap financial gain from such transactions. Meanwhile, the weapons often become tools to thwart democratic processes and oppress the people».
Dignity lost
Francis Cheupe, 24, is from Buthare in Rwanda. He comes from a family of five. He left Rwanda in August 1996 and stayed in Tanzania for four months. He arrived in Malawi in January 1997. He had to leave Tanzania because the government there said he was persona non grata. He arrived at Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Central Malawi and stayed there for six months. He’s no longer at the camp because now he’s staying with his brother, Thom, in Lilongwe where he runs a bottle store called «Peace and Love». Francis says refugees in Malawi receive very little respect. He feels Malawi just wants to benefit from the refugee assistance which is offered by the international organisation. However, he thinks that what is important is, peace on earth and not refugee assistance!
Let’s take a closer look at Dzaleka Refugee Camp. It’s home to almost 3,800 refugees with 1,297 families represented. Established on 21 December 1994, the camp used to be a notorious detention centre used in the era of late President Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda. It now houses refugees and asylum seekers from Somalia, Congo RDC, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Eritrea, Sudan, Ethiopia, Angola and Comoros.
The camp has a primary school, which takes in pupils within the refugee community and from the surrounding Malawian villages. There are almost 749 students at the school, which has also started serving as an adult literacy centre. It caters for some adult refugees, mainly from non-English speaking countries, who want to learn English. Malawian pupils thus have the opportunity of learning French at a tender age. The school employs two refugees who are French speakers to teach the subject.
Don Kulapani is a journalist with the weekly Chronicle newspaper. In Volume 9, issue 305, he wrote: «For refugees, integration has become an illusive dream. They are given a ration of rice that has to last for a month. Plus a packet of beans full of weevils for relish. Despite having to survive on this meagre ration, some manage to sell part of their ration to buy other essentials such as clothes.».
The people at Dzaleka strive never to be demoralised by their predicament. The camp has its own professional class — medical doctors, lawyers, engineers and agriculturists. Kambining Jones, Community leader for the Congolese says: «It is said that the Malawi Government and the UNHCR forget that refugees are also human beings who happen to have been driven from their countries through no fault of their own. Since we came here seven years ago, we’ve been crying for integration. We are kept like prisoners here. Refugees at the camp have a lot of skills which are being wasted by inactivity. We want to be given a chance to use our skills. How long must we survive on a limited rice diet? Do you want us to continue begging? For how long?»
The Refugee Law needs reforming
The legal status of refugees is defined in two international treaties. There’s the 1951 Convention relating to the status of refugees and its 1967 Protocol, which define the rights and duties of refugees. As of 1 May 1995, 128 States were parties to one or both instruments. Another important legal instrument is the Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, adopted by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1969, to which 41 States were party by 1 May 1995.
However, Cheupe feels there is need to reform the Refugee Law, citing the situation in Malawi where there are restrictions placed on refugees working outside the camps. And he continues: «Even if we were to run business inside the camp, who will buy from us? If we go to town to survive, we break the law. The fact is, the Refugee Law needs to be changed. Those who have a refugee status need to be assisted fully. As things are, we are treated like beggars»
Any solution in sight?
From the point of view of the UNHCR, there are basically three solutions available for African refugees: Repatriation, resettlement and integration into the host country.
The first and most preferred is repatriation to their home country. More than 2 million voluntary repatriations were recorded worldwide in 1994, mostly in Africa and Asia. Repatriation to Mozambique was the largest such operation ever undertaken by the UNHCR in Africa. By April 1995, 1.6 million Mozambican refugees in six neighbouring countries had returned home. To ensure that refugees and internally displaced persons can rebuild their lives when they return home, the UNHCR works with a range of other agencies to facilitate reintegration. Successful reintegration requires emergency assistance for those affected, supported by development programmes for the areas which have been devastated, to ensure that there will be income-earning opportunities for the returnees.
Integration into the host country takes two forms. Refugees are established in agricultural settlements in their first country of asylum. The idea is to ensure that refugees become economically independent in the shortest possible time. Once this is done, they can be removed from the «charity status». However, Malawi already has a major land ownership problem, so what chances to the refugees have to work the land?
Alternatively, refugees are left to settle among local communities along border areas. But again, that’s not always a very practical solution.
Michael Owor, UNHCR‘s Head of Liaison says: «Integrating refugees in a country of settlement does not come overnight. After all, they are human beings who have just been displaced from other countries and they must be given every opportunity to have a normal life».
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