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UN: smugglers force 100 overboard near Yemen
One hundred people are missing in the Gulf of Aden after smugglers forced them overboard off the coast of Yemen, a UN spokesman said Friday. The UN High Commission for Refugees in Yemen is taking care of 47 survivors, the spokesman said. The UN offered no additional details on the type of vessel or its route.
Meanwhile, UN High Commissioner for Refugees spokesman Ron Redmond told The Associated Press in Geneva that about 32,000 people have arrived in Yemen on boats since the start of the year.
Many of them are fleeing violence and hardship in Somalia and other countries in the Horn of Africa, he said.
UNHCR estimates at least 230 people have died and 365 remain missing, including 100 from the latest incident. One hundred people are missing in the Gulf of Aden after smugglers forced them overboard off the coast of Yemen, a UN spokesman said F... more -
Fighting for the Lost in Kabul
With over 1500 deaths, 2008 is the deadliest year for Afghan civilians since the fall of the Taliban. In the middle of this chaos, a young American named Erica Gaston is working to bring recognition to the “collateral damage” of our War on Terror. Meeting with displaced families in a refugee camp in Western Kabul, she learns about an airstrike that killed 15 villagers, an attack where no one ever bothered — at the very least — to apologize. With over 1500 deaths, 2008 is the deadliest year for Afghan civilians since the fall of the Taliban. In the middle of this chaos, a y... more
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Global Crises Compound Refugees' Woes: UN
The global financial, food, and fuel crises and the negative impacts of climate change pose a severe threat to the world's 37 million uprooted people, and will likely increase their numbers, warned the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Monday.
"Competition for scarce resources has become an increasingly important factor in provoking and perpetuating violence," said Antonio Guterres, addressing delegates from the UNHCR's 76-nation governing committee. As a result, the number of people forced to flee their homes is on the rise.
At the end of 2007, 11.4 million people were living as refugees and 26 million were displaced within their own country -- known as internally displaced people, or IDPs.
These latest figures mark the second straight year of increases after a five-year decline in the number of uprooted people around the world.
The underlying causes for the alarming trend in displacement range "from multiple new conflict-related emergencies in world hotspots to bad governance, climate-induced environmental degradation that increases competition for scarce resources, and extreme price hikes that have hit the poor the hardest and are generating instability in many places," said Guterres.
A doubling of world prices of staple foods such as rice and wheat has had a particular impact on refugees and IDPs, who leave behind most of their material possessions but also farms, small businesses, or jobs when they flee conflict or environmental disasters.
This July, hundreds of refugees from Cote d'Ivoire living in Guinea's capital asked to relocate to a United Nations-run refugee camp "to escape their precarious situation in Conakry, where they found serious difficulties in feeding themselves and finding accommodation," according to the UNHCR's spokesperson in Guinea.
"We are confronted with a series of interlinked conflicts in an arc of crisis that stretches from Southwest Asia to the Middle East and the Horn of Africa. Some of them are deepening, with important implications for global security," said Guterres.
Indeed, this new and complex constellation of violence has directly affected the United Nations' work with refugees and displaced people.
UNHCR funds used to address emergencies more than doubled from 2006 to 2007, and this year's expected $150 million budget for emergencies marks another significant leap from last year's $87 million.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has one of the highest numbers of IDPs in the world and it is also the site of one of the worst and least recognized humanitarian crises.
A group of 83 aid agencies and human rights groups recently called for immediate action to improve security and humanitarian assistance for civilians in Congo after renewed fighting displaced an additional 100,000 people in the eastern part of the country.
An estimated 1.2 million Congolese have been uprooted by the conflict, which the nonprofit International Rescue Committee has classified "the world's deadliest documented conflict since World War II."
However, financial constraints and safety precautions preclude sometimes even the most basic of humanitarian aid from reaching many of those who've fled their homes.
This has also been the case in Somalia, where 1.1 million people are displaced and almost half the population requires urgent assistance due to ongoing conflict and resource shortages.
In July, the Germany-based charity Bread for the World cut back operations in Somalia and the United Nations Development Program withdrew staff from the country amid rising safety concerns for their employees.
Concluding that "a hungry man is an angry man," Guterres cautioned the international community can either meet the basic needs of the world's poor -- many of whom are refugees or IDPs -- or "expect more social and political turmoil in the years to come."
Climate Refugees a Growing Concern
******CONTINUES The global financial, food, and fuel crises and the negative impacts of climate change pose a severe threat to the world's 37 mil... more -
Articolo 32
Un documentario sull'ospedale San Gallicano di Roma, ora diventato Istituto Nazionale per la promozione della salute delle popolazioni migranti e il contrasto delle malattie della povertà (INMP): le vite che si sono incrociate nella struttura di Trastevere, le testimonianze dei rifugiati di guerra e dei medici raccolte dai Elena, studentessa romana di 19 anni. Un documentario sull'ospedale San Gallicano di Roma, ora diventato Istituto Nazionale per la promozione della salute delle popola... more
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Somalis flee Mogadishu gun battles
Hundreds of Somalis have fled Mogadishu after several days of heavy fighting between anti-government fighters and Somali troops, supported by the Ethiopian military and African Union peacekeepers.
Witnesses said residents could be seen leaving the city aboard packed minibuses and lorries or on foot early on Wednesday
"I believe staying in Mogadishu is ... taking a risk because many civilians died yesterday and warring sides are still sharpening their swords for fresh attacks," Shamso Mohamed Ali, a mother of two, told the AFP news agency.
Fatuma Kassim, a mother-of-seven, said: "We have no hope now and I think this is the end of Mogadishu."
Aid agencies say that about one million Somalis live as internal refugees.
Heavy shelling
Residents said that there was heavy shelling overnight as AU forces clashed with armed men opposed to the Somali government, as well as the presence of Ethiopian and AU forces.
A group calling itself the Mujahidins of Raskamboni said that attacked one of the peacekeepers' bases sparking the fighting.
It was a retaliatory attack against the African forces and it was the heaviest ever waged against them," Mohamoud Dulyadeyn, a spokesman, said.
He said that his group "operates in Somali territories carrying out attacks against the enemy of Allah".
At least seven civilians were killed by artillery fire in two districts of southern Mogadishu, witnesses said.
"This is the heaviest fighting ever since the AU deployed. I have seen the African Union forces using tanks," Farah Hassan, a Mogadishu resident, said.
"I have seen many civilians crowded in minibuses [leaving the battle zone] and there was no access to hospital for the wounded in the whole neighbourhood."
Residents of the Taleh district told AFP that the shelling shattered many residential houses and set fire to a number of businesses.
Hostages removed
In another development, Ethiopian fficials and the Paris-based Medecins du Monde said on Tuesday that two foreign aid workers kidnapped in Ethiopia have been taken to central Somalia.
Local Somali authorities have sent security officials to seek the hostages' freedom from the unidentified abductors.
"We have sent security forces to search for the aid workers, who were brought to the region late yesterday," Ali Sheikh Hashi, a local official, said.
The pair, both employees of the French aid agency, were seized from Fadhigaradle village where they were visiting drought-hit areas in Ethiopia on Monday, Hareri Hassan Barre, the commissioner for the Balanbale district in central Somalia, said.
Kidnappings confirmed
Medecins du Monde confirmed the abductions, but did not give the nationality of its employees.
"The organisation is in permanent contact with the authorities, its team on the ground as well as other actors in the field," it said in a statement.
Somali fighters freed on Monday a German national and his Somali wife who had been abducted over the weekend in the northern Somali breakaway state of Puntland, where kidnapping is endemic.
Kidnappers have also been holding three journalists - a Canadian, an Australian and a Somali - since August 23 and are reportedly demanding $2.5 million for their release.
Gaining strength
The fighting in Somalia came after gun battles had broken out in several areas of Mogadishu over the weekend following an attack on the international airport as an African Union aircraft was landing. Scores of people have been killed in recent days.
***********CONTINUES Hundreds of Somalis have fled Mogadishu after several days of heavy fighting between anti-government fighters and Somali troops, suppo... more -
Migration towards Afganistan from Pakistan cross border
As many as 2800 families have been forced to move from tribal areas to Afghanistan due to heavy fighting between security forces and militants.
Majority of the migrating people include women and children.
Meanwhile, according to Afghan vice president for refugees Abdul Qadir Hadi, each family has on the average 20 members and most of them are women and children.
Hadi informed that these displaced families were being provided with quick relief with the assistance of UNICEF. As many as 2800 families have been forced to move from tribal areas to Afghanistan due to heavy fighting between security forces and m... more -
For Iraqis, Swedish life is so different - World Blog - msnbc.com
"Life is so different here than in Baghdad," Duraid Faraj said of his new, unlikely home of Sodertalje, a small Swedish city near Stockholm.
In a country known for its dark winters, and its seafaring and seafood-loving people, Middle Easterners can feel like fish out of water.
In the center of town, Swedes and Iraqis walk along the lakeside waterfront and watch their children play on jungle gyms, but they never appear to mix or talk with each other.
With around 6,000 Iraqis living in this city, refugees arriving here are welcomed by friends, relatives, and neighbors from back home and can easily get by only speaking Arabic. Although many Iraqis in Sweden are Muslim – especially around the southern city of Malmo – the vast majority in Sodertalje are Christian. Iraqi churches here serve as both places of worship and as informal community centers, offering refugees a sense of belonging. "Life is so different here than in Baghdad," Duraid Faraj said of his new, unlikely home of Sodertalje, a small Swedish city... more -
African Tilikum
A weekend summer camp with a dozen Somali-refugee youths that live in Portland, OR. Camp is near Newberg, Oregon.
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A new way to heal
The IRC’s Boise office is helping refugee children cope with mental anguish and trauma in a new program that combines art therapy and a psychotherapy technique called Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing, or EDMR. The program gives small children who have fled war and persecution a chance to work through traumatic memories without actually having to talk about them.
IRC Boise resettlement director Leslye Boban told The Boise Weekly that she hopes the program can one day be used to help adults cope with trauma too. “We’re working with a counseling group to also do the same technique with the parents, because you can’t work with the kids and open them up like that and go home to a chaotic, unstable environment.” The IRC’s Boise office is helping refugee children cope with mental anguish and trauma in a new program that combines art therapy and ... more -
Nepal says to deport illegal Tibetans back to Tibet
Nepal's Maoist-led government will deport Tibetan exiles living illegally in the country, an official said on Thursday, a move likely aimed at stopping regular protests against its influential neighbor China.
More than 20,000 Tibetans live in Nepal. Thousands fled Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.
Those early arrivals were given refugee status in Nepal. But new exiles from Tibet cannot stay in Nepal, which hands them over to the U.N. refugee agency for their onward journey to India, where their spiritual leader the Dalai Lama lives.
Now, Nepal wants to deport all Tibetans without either official refugee status or U.N. documents back to Tibet, where they could face action by Chinese authorities.
Tibetans are not allowed to organize any anti-China activities in Nepal, but in recent months they have staged near-daily demonstrations in Kathmandu against the Chinese crackdown on protests in Tibet in March.
The new Nepal move is seen as an attempt to discourage the exiles from organizing anti-China protests.
Home Ministry Spokesman Modraj Dotel said police had detained 106 Tibetans to see if they had necessary papers to establish their refugee status.
"If they have the status they will be allowed to stay," Dotel said. "Otherwise, they have to leave the country."
Dotel said the verification of papers was being done with the help of the United Nations refugee agency.
Beijing has been pressing Nepal to do more to stop the protests, mainly staged outside a Chinese consular office in Kathmandu.
Nepal's new leader, Maoist Prime Minister Prachanda visited China in August, when he met Chinese President Hu Jintao and reaffirmed Nepal's one-China policy. Nepal's Maoist-led government will deport Tibetan exiles living illegally in the country, an official said on Thursday, a move li... more -
Life in a Refugee Camp
Sydney shock: a refugee camp at Olympic Park!
Mock refugee camp out to raise awareness of the refugee experience.
Medecins Sans Frontieres reconstructs a refugee camp providing a dramatic insight into the experiences of the 42 million people throughout the world that have been forced to flee their homes and loved ones as a result of armed conflict.
Over the past five days almost 1000 people have taken tours, or just had a lunchtime wander through the camp, which has been created with the same temporary shelters and facilities used in refugee camps across the world.
Visitors are taken through the different aspects of the refugee camp experience, from construction, the allocation of scarce food and water resources and hygiene, to the medical conditions experienced by Medecins Sans Frontieres staff.
"If you ever see an adult suffering from severe dehydration as a result of cholera, you'll see how devastating relatively simple diseases can be," Dr Marquardt said.
"The first day I arrived in Liberia we had a group of men come in with cholera and we had to quickly set up treatment for them. It was certainly a baptism of fire."
Those visiting the camp have very different reactions, the field officers say - from shock at the rough nature of the accommodation and horror at the cramped medical treatment areas, to amazement at the ability of the workers to do so much with so little. Sydney shock: a refugee camp at Olympic Park! Mock refugee camp out to raise awareness of the refugee experience. ... more -
Le croci di Malta (parte 1)
Questo docu-film, uno dei quattro finalisti al Premio "Ilaria Alpi" 2008, è stato realizzato da Giuseppe Bucca, Enzo Dimasi, Gilberto Mastromatteo e Loris Zamparelli, del Master in giornalismo "Giorgio Lago" dell'Università di Padova.
Il reportage tratta delle difficili condizioni di vita dei migranti che sbarcano a Malta: l'illusione di una nuova vita, le difficoltà di integrazione, la realtà di una detenzione che può durare fino a 18 mesi. La linea dura del governo maltese, che l'unione europea ha scelto come modello. Questo docu-film, uno dei quattro finalisti al Premio "Ilaria Alpi" 2008, è stato realizzato da Giuseppe Bucca, Enz... more -
Le croci di Malta (parte 2)
Questo docu-film, uno dei quattro finalisti al Premio "Ilaria Alpi" 2008, è stato realizzato da Giuseppe Bucca, Enzo Dimasi, Gilberto Mastromatteo e Loris Zamparelli, del Master in giornalismo "Giorgio Lago" dell'Università di Padova.
Il reportage tratta delle difficili condizioni di vita dei migranti che sbarcano a Malta: l'illusione di una nuova vita, le difficoltà di integrazione, la realtà di una detenzione che può durare fino a 18 mesi. La linea dura del governo maltese, che l'unione europea ha scelto come modello. Questo docu-film, uno dei quattro finalisti al Premio "Ilaria Alpi" 2008, è stato realizzato da Giuseppe Bucca, Enz... more -
Le croci di Malta (parte 3)
Questo docu-film, uno dei quattro finalisti al Premio "Ilaria Alpi" 2008, è stato realizzato da Giuseppe Bucca, Enzo Dimasi, Gilberto Mastromatteo e Loris Zamparelli, del Master in giornalismo "Giorgio Lago" dell'Università di Padova.
Il reportage tratta delle difficili condizioni di vita dei migranti che sbarcano a Malta: l'illusione di una nuova vita, le difficoltà di integrazione, la realtà di una detenzione che può durare fino a 18 mesi. La linea dura del governo maltese, che l'unione europea ha scelto come modello. Questo docu-film, uno dei quattro finalisti al Premio "Ilaria Alpi" 2008, è stato realizzato da Giuseppe Bucca, Enzo Dimasi,... more -
Resettlement of Palestinians to Iceland
The link should work. If it doesn't, go to Yubanet.com and look at latest news articles in the world section. Or I've copied and pasted the article in full below after my comment.
This is a great success story in my opinion. It is grand to see Iceland help out in this way, especially concerning women and children. My hope would be to see more refugees relocated to areas where they can feel safe and stable until they can move back home, if and when that happens. Iceland is going a great services, no matter how few they can help, they are setting a precedence for us all.
If anyone can find pictures or related articles send them my way. Here's the article exactly from Yubanet.com :
Published on Sep 5, 2008 - 8:52:55 AM
By: UNHCR
Sept. 5, 2008 - A total of 29 vulnerable Palestinian refugees stranded for the last two years in a makeshift camp in the desert on the Iraq-Syria border are set to leave Monday to begin a new life in Iceland. The group includes some of the most vulnerable refugee women, several of whom lost their husbands during the conflict in Iraq - and their children. Given their vulnerability, UNHCR considers resettlement their only option and we appreciate Iceland's decision to accept them.
Iceland takes 25 to 30 refugees for resettlement annually and in recent years has focused in particular on resettling single women and single mothers with their children. In previous years, the country resettled Colombians and refugees from the Balkans, including Kosovars. Iceland has actively supported UNHCR in our efforts to broaden the base of new resettlement countries. It has also offered to act as a 'mentor' for new resettlement countries, particularly on how to help refugees integrate in their new home.
An estimated 2,300 Palestinians are still living in desperate conditions in two refugee camps along the Iraq-Syria border - Al Waleed inside Iraq, and Al Tanf in the no-man's land between the Iraqi and Syrian borders.
Of the estimated 34,000 Palestinians who lived in Iraq in 2003, an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 remain. Al Waleed camp is presently home to more than 1,400 refugees, while Al Tanf camp has doubled in size since October 2007, with some 900 refugees living there.
Another group of 155 Palestinians from Al Tanf are scheduled to resettle soon to Sweden.
The summers in the desert camp are excruciatingly hot, while in winter temperatures can drop to the freezing point. In general, living conditions are extremely harsh, with minimal services. Snakes and scorpions are common. Lacking proper medical care, the health of many refugees has become increasingly dire. Palestinian health workers in Al Waleed - who see patients every day - have identified medical conditions ranging from diabetes and birth defects to kidney problems, cancer and serious trauma. The nearest proper medical facility in Iraq is more than 400 kilometers away and patients have to be transported by taxi.
UNHCR has repeatedly called for international support for the Palestinians, but with few results. Few Palestinians in the border camps have been accepted for resettlement or offered shelter in third countries. Only some 300 Palestinians have gone to non-traditional resettlement countries such as Brazil and Chile. Some urgent medical cases were taken by a few European countries, but this is a very small proportion of the 2,300 Palestinians stranded in the desert.
UNHCR continues to advocate for alternative humane solutions in the hope that all of the Palestinians will be able to leave the harsh conditions of the camps. Their relocation would in no way jeopardize their right to return at any stage, if and when such a possibility arises. The link should work. If it doesn't, go to Yubanet.com and look at latest news articles in the world section. Or I've copi... more -
From Somalia to Seattle - Immigrant Mom Stands By Community, Faith and Tradition
Asha Mohamed knew America was the place for her soon after her arrival in a Kenyan refugee camp. “They gave me two books, a Bible and a pamphlet that talked about the American Constitution.” She was familiar with the former, but found the latter “the most fascinating document that I could ever read.”
As a refugee, Mohamed was then a young teenager who had become separated from her family during a chaotic episode of Somalia’s civil strife. “Strangers took me from Mogadishu to Mombasa,” she explained, adding that she knew little of the Somali language. Coming from a somewhat privileged family, she had been educated in Italy.
In Italian schools, the study of English was mandatory and Mohamed’s most vivid impressions of America had been gleaned not from the ideals of its founders, but from the glamour and glitz of U.S. television exports. “My view of America was Dallas, Dynasty, and,” she added zestfully,
“Wonderwoman!”
She was grateful to be eventually reunited with her family members who also had made their way to Kenya. “None of my closest relatives were harmed,” she said. After two years there, she received her parents’ permission to come to America to study to be lawyer. Though, traditionalists in many ways, they were afraid of losing their daughters to Western culture, yet cognizant of the skills needed to survive in an interdependent world. “I expected America to be this beacon of hope,” Mohamed said. Upon her arrival, she recalled being disappointed to find discrimination against women and “visible signs of racism.” There was economic shock as well.
Her legal sponsor was an aunt living in San Jose, one whose daily circumstances differed from what Mohamed had been accustomed. “In Africa, we were affluent …. We had everything on speed dial,” she said bemusedly. “My aunt said, ‘Asha, we are poor here. You need to understand that. ’” Mohamed did not. “I didn’t want to accept the reality that she lived.” She thought her aunt had “settled” for a lower socio-economic status; that she had “given up.” Reflecting, Mohamed said she realizes, “I was judgmental.” She knew little of the financial challenges of working class Americans.
In all her youthful naiveté, Mohamed too was still a product of a conservative Muslim culture. She said she chose to stand, like most Somali women, “by your community, by your faith, by your traditions.” She got married at 19. Her husband found a job in Seattle. “I wanted to go to New York .… He fell in love with the Emerald City.”
Now a mother of three, Mohamed is a counselor for the Seattle Housing Authority. She is also a community organizer, and a fervent immigrants’ and human rights activist at CURE – Coalition to Undo Racism Everywhere. She is looking forward to her role as a delegate to the Equal Voice for America’s Families town hall meeting in Los Angeles on Sept. 6. “We’re bringing 400 people from Seattle, 600 from the state,” she said energetically, prayerful that from within her group will emerge some who will help comprise “the next generation of critical thinkers.” Underwritten by the Marguerite Casey Foundation, there will be two other concurrent town halls in Birmingham and Chicago, respectively. The three-city event is expected to attract nearly 15,000 people, many of whom will have attended local and regional town halls 2007-2008. Asha Mohamed knew America was the place for her soon after her arrival in a Kenyan refugee camp. “They gave me two books, a Bible and ... more -
Darfurians Settle in Town Rather than Camp
Recent refugees from the Darfur conflict have settled outside the town of Birao, Central African Republic, rather than inside a camp. Even though, they would want more food aid, their life seems to be more normal. Recent refugees from the Darfur conflict have settled outside the town of Birao, Central African Republic, rather than inside a camp. ... more
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Sudan kills refugees in Darfur
Sudanese troops have opened fire inside a Darfur refugee camp, leaving 27 people dead, a rebel group has said.
Some 100 government trucks surrounded the Kalma camp, home to some 90,000 people who have fled their homes in Darfur, a rebel spokesman told the BBC.
There is no independent confirmation of the reports but international sources have been told that Sudan wants to disarm the camp's residents.
More than two million people have fled five years of conflict in Darfur.
Ahmed Abdel Shafie, who heads a faction of the rebel Sudan Liberation Army, told the BBC that the government wants to force people to leave the camp.
Another rebel leader puts the number of those killed higher. Abdel Wahed Mohamed al-Nur, said that 50 people had been killed.
"This really is a catastrophe. People are being killed while the world just watches," he said.
(continued at link) Sudanese troops have opened fire inside a Darfur refugee camp, leaving 27 people dead, a rebel group has said. ... more -
SUDAN-CHAD: Longing and gratitude – the refugee experience
It is pitch black; the sun has not yet risen, but Achta Abakar Ibrahim is kneeling outside her straw home in Djabal refugee camp in southeastern Chad, praying to God.
She thanks Him that she escaped war in Sudan and that she and her family are now safe in Chad. She thanks Him that the Chadian people have welcomed her so openly and that humanitarian workers have helped her build a temporary life.
She still has scars on her back from the beatings she received while pregnant, by armed men she calls `janjaweed', who stormed her village in western Sudan, burning homes, killing men and raping women.
"Until now, I do not have peace of mind," she told IRIN in January, in a small sand yard outside her straw hut. "I think what happened will happen again, even at the level of the [refugee] camps."
According to the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), which currently provides psycho-social support to some of the 250,000 Darfur refugees in Chad, trauma is a common problem.
"They talked about nightmares, about not being able to sleep, about hearing the bomber planes, about the orphans they found along the way from Sudan," said Rachel Zelon, former vice president of programme operations, who worked in Chad in 2004 when most Sudanese refugees arrived.
Four years later, the trauma continues, but in a different form. Julie Grier worked with the refugees early this year, as head of HIAS's team in the southeastern Chadian town of Goz Beida, the main town outside Djabal refugee camp.
"To realize that you have probably left your home forever is difficult," she told IRIN. "It's almost a trauma in itself.
"To realize that you are indefinitely going to have to rely on the assistance of other people can be disempowering, discouraging," she added, referring to a process of "learned helplessness" or unlearning how to help yourself.
"I feel I am living in dignity"
But despite these feelings, Abakar says she has much to be grateful for.
Her children never went to school in their home village of Tandoussa in Sudan - their father did not see it as a priority. Now they do, as is their right as international refugees. Those too young for school go to the nursery. Those too old have the option of literacy classes.
In their home villages, some Sudanese used to walk kilometres for unclean water, aid workers said. Now, clean water is just five minutes away in a public fountain constructed for the refugees.
Abakar used to pay every time she went to a hospital in Sudan, where "traditional doctors" were often part of the treatment. Now, when her children fall sick, she takes them to the free heath care clinic in the camp. And every month, she is guaranteed a ration of flour, oil, salt and sugar.
"I feel I am living in dignity," Abakar said. "The children go to school; they play with balls; they have fun; they have access to water. I thank God." *continues* It is pitch black; the sun has not yet risen, but Achta Abakar Ibrahim is kneeling outside her straw home in Djabal refugee camp in so... more -
BURUNDI: Land remains key challenge in reintegration of returnees
Although he looks frail, Cossan Ntabwigwa, in his late 60s, is a determined man. He recently returned from Tanzania, where he had been a refugee since 1972, and is seeking to resettle on a piece of land he left years ago.
Despite finding someone else occupying the land, Ntabwigwa is determined to reclaim it, and he says sharing it with the current occupant is out of the question.
"I left two other brothers there [in Tanzania] who are married and with children and who must also get a share of this land," he said.
When he repatriated from Gatumba settlement in Tanzania at the beginning of August, Ntabwigwa, who heads a 10-member family, spent three days at the commune headquarters in Nyanzalac, Makamba province, waiting to go home.
Like most Burundians, Ntabwigwa's strong attachment to land means he is unwilling to share his piece of land with the current occupant, whom he considers an outsider since he is not a family member.
Also in Nyanzalac, Alexis Anthony Kifumu, his wife and six children, have been squatting at an elementary school for two weeks. He returned to Burundi to find part of his land occupied by the school while a businessman had used another portion to put up a pub and a shop.
Local administrative officials advised Kifumu to use the remaining 30 metres to build himself a house.
"I have started making bricks, I think it will take me 14 days to get them ready and if I build a house, I will try to work and live as best as I can while waiting for my case to be settled," he said.
Sharing land
Although Kifumu calmly accepted the situation, in line with his Christian faith, he seemed disillusioned.
"I am surprised to find that I am not even authorised to use a classroom while waiting to build my house; when there is a disaster, people seek shelter in schools yet they have no pity for us," Kifumu said.
In March, the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, launched a repatriation operation for up to 46,000 "old caseload" refugees from the Tanzanian old settlements of Katumba, Mishamo and Ulyankulu.
According to a UNHCR factsheet for July, 11,020 of the returnees in 2008, estimated at 59,877, are refugees from the 1972 caseload.
While returnees who fled the country in 1993 find it slightly easier to resettle, the case is not the same for the 1972 caseload, as exemplified by the cases of Ntabwigwa and Kifumu, for whom disputes over land ownership can at times take long to resolve.
Indeed, the complex problem of land remains a major challenge to the reintegration of returnees. Not only do many, if not all returnees have a land-dispute related story to tell, but land has become a scarce commodity.
Bernard Ntagumuka, an advisor of the administrator at the commune of Nyanzalac, said the number of returnees who have resettled was insignificant compared to the number of returnees who find their land occupied by others, "either legally or illegally".
"Others [returnees] find that the government used them [their land] for social infrastructure; take the urban centre of Nyanzalac for instance, it was built on people's land," Ntagumuka said.
Ownership hitches
In other instances, returnees find their land has been resold and divided to the extent that reclaiming it becomes difficult since it has passed from one owner to another. In some cases, refugees returned home, sold their land and went back to Tanzania.
When civil war broke out in Burundi 1972, thousands of Burundians fled to neighbouring countries, leaving their property behind and their lands vacant. In many regions of Burundi, especially the southern provinces of Bururi and Makamba, the then government encouraged people from other regions to occupy the land.
Nestor Niyonkuru, an information officer for the Commission on Land and Other Properties, said: "Logic would dictate that the new occupant vacates the land and return it to the owner, but it is not as simple as it seems.
*continues* Although he looks frail, Cossan Ntabwigwa, in his late 60s, is a determined man. He recently returned from Tanzania, where he had been... more
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