50,000 Sudanese refugees repatriated to South Sudan
April 10, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — On Monday, the UNHCR-assisted voluntary repatriation operation bringing South Sudanese refugees back to their homeland surpassed the 50,000 mark.
The day’s returnees included a convoy from Fugnido camp in Ethiopia bringing home 543 Sudanese refugees to Upper Nile State, and two flights organized in cooperation with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) with 84 returnees from Mboki camp in Central African Republic (CAR) to Yambio, Western Equatoria State.
Over the past weeks the repatriation movement peaked at nearly 4,000 returnees per week. As of today, 50,533 Sudanese have been assisted to return home since the repatriation exercise started in March 2005.
The 50,000th returnee in person was actually a family travelling on an organized flight from Mboki camp in the Central African Republic back to Yambio in Western Equatoria State after 16 years in exile. Luigi Bangbadi, the 62-year-old head of his family of 11, said: “Right now I’m not sure that I’m actually back home. It is a great surprise and I am very happy to see all this. It will not be easy to start again from zero, but we are confident, we will make it.”
Since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in January 2005 over 120,000 Sudanese refugees came back, 70,000 of them spontaneously, even though living conditions and the lack of infrastructure in South Sudan are challenging.
The humanitarian community has focused its efforts in return areas, to provide returning refugees, IDPs and the receiving communities with basic services and with shelter. Returnees however, are not discouraged by prevailing conditions. They claim that they want to be back in time for the planting season to witness their next harvest in their villages of origin and that they want to help rebuild their country.
UNHCR is engaged in reintegration projects in major areas of return in South Sudan, including health, educational, water and sanitation, agricultural and livelihood projects.
As of today, out of an estimated 418,000 Sudanese refugees, approximately 300,000 are left in countries of asylum. Repatriation movements are organized out of the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Egypt and Libya. In 2007, UNHCR expects to repatriate 102,000 Sudanese refugees and help them restart their lives.
(UNHCR)