Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia eager to return home
June 17, 2007 (GAMBELLA, Ethiopia) — Malony Bol beams with delight when asked about January 9, 2005, the day that gave him the opportunity to go back home to Sudan after 17 years of living in a squalid refugee camp in Ethiopia.
“I am very happy that there is a peaceful climate in Sudan these days,” the former child soldier says. “We never expected that peace would come to Sudan, I just hope it lasts.”
On that date Sudan’s Khartoum-based government signed a peace deal with ex-southern Sudan rebels, the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), ending more than 21 years of fighting that claimed at least 1.5 million people and displaced at least four million others.
Around 46,000 Sudanese refugees are currently living in four camps scattered around Ethiopia’s western regions of Gambela and Benishangul, a majority of which fled their villages after the outbreak of the conflict in 1983.
Five refugee camps were opened in western Ethiopia to host the increasing influx of Sudanese refugees in the early 1990s.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which coordinates the repatriation programme, has intensified its repatriation operations following the signing of the peace agreement.
Since the beginning of the program in 2006, UNHCR has managed to transport more than 17,000 returnees through road convoys and flights to Sudan. One of the five refugee camps has closed.
Situated deep in the heart of the region’s lush tropical rainforests, the four remaining camps are expected to be closed if the current repatriation rate is sustained.
In a recent survey, UNHCR has found out that over 90 percent of Sudanese refugees have asked to return back to their country and take advantage of the calm situation in their homeland.
“The refugees are very eager to go home, and we are encouraging them to do so. This year, our main target is to voluntarily return back 20,000 refugees to their homeland,” says Estifanos Gebremedhin, head of a government agency that works on refugees.
“There is a possibility that 80 percent of them might be repatriated next year,” he adds.
Malony agrees: “I am quite sure that most Sudanese refugees here would opt to return and find their long-lost loved ones back home. I myself have an uncle in Wau, I hope to see him soon someday.”
The African Union (AU), which sent a delegation to the Fugnido camp to observe first hand the situation, highlighted the importance of stability in the host country for the sake of refugees and possible return.
“Stability in the host country is absolutely essential for any repatriation operation,” says Lehbib Breica, head of the AU delegation adding that “any host country should make sure that it takes care of its refugees and all their needs are addressed.”
In addition to Ethiopia, other refugees are scattered in neigbouring countries notably in Kenya and Uganda.
(AFP)