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News 20/2/12 – Refugees Flee Violence In Mali

Feb20
2012 Written by admin

The western African country of Mali is the latest area of the continent to be feeling the effects of internal conflict.  Landlocked between Mauritania, Algeria, Niger, Burkino Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea and Senegal, Mali doesn’t often make the news; it’s not one of Africa’s leading progressive lights but it’s not one of the worst either.

What’s currently happening dates back some years.  Like many Saharan countries, Mali has a sizeable minority of Tuaregs and it is the Tuareg’s desire for some sort of autonomy within these countries which has often led to violence.  The first Tuareg rebellion was in 1990 and there have been several more in the years between then and 2009, each separated by peace negotiations, reparations and uneasy agreements.  In 2009 an official agreement seemed to have ended the conflict and that ceasefire was holding until recently.

Fighting between Tuareg separatists and Malian government forces has broken out in the north of Mali and there are more reports of conflict between the two sides in Tessalit and Tinezewadam near the Algerian border.  Although that latter violence has not led to any noticeable placement so far, the fighting in the north of Mali has led to a large increase in the number of refugees crossing over into Mauritania (18,000), Niger (18,000) and Burkino Faso (8,000).

Malian refugee camp

Malian Refugees

Currently there are very few specific refugee sites in the areas to which Malians are fleeing;  villages close to the border areas have grown in size as makeshift shelters have been erected.  The problem has been exacerbated by a drought in the region which has been in evidence for several years.  This means a shortage of food is adding to the pressure on resources in the region and several aid agencies are moving in to fill the gap.

The UNHCR has started work on renovating the Mbéra refugee camp which was operational in the 1990s and has been flying and trucking in food, water and shelter.

 

Posted in Africa, News - Tagged , , , , , , , ,

News 23/1/12 – Unstable Yemen Still A Favoured Destination From East Africa

Jan23
2012 Written by admin

We’ve written before about the Middle Eastern country of Yemen.  It regularly tops the rankings of the Middle East unrest charts but is also situated in a geographically unenviable position just across the Gulf of Aden to Somalia and Ethiopia.

Yemen is a dangerous place to be for a refugee, asylum seeker or one of the majority who use it as a transit to a more stable Persian Gulf country.  Violence from the traffickers occurs even before the refugees have landed.  Somalians and Ethiopians are the most common refugees arriving here.  Somalis are in a better position as they are automatically recognized as refugees, negating the need for documentation and allowing mostly free movement.

Somali Refugees

Somali Refugees

Ethiopians on the other hand are not seen as refugees.  This is largely because they are economic migrants and heading on to another Gulf state.  It also means their movement in Yemen is restricted and their access to documentation is limited.  It also means they are often detained, forcing many to avoid the authorities but increasing the likelihood they will fall victim to robbers, blackmailers and extortionists.

The backdrop to this is an almost 100% increase in the number of refugees making the dangerous trip across the water.  103,000 refugees made the journey in 2011, in 2010 it was 53,000.  2011 was the highest total of any year on record.  Ethiopians also account for 75% of that total with Somalis making up the rest – however only 20% of these Ethiopian refugees actually apply for asylum in Yemen.

One can only surmise that these East African refugees regard Yemen, however harsh it might be, as better than where they are coming from.  Somalia has been a war-torn, chaotic country for several decades now and the famine of recent months had made the situation worse. so perhaps anything is better at the moment.  Ethiopia has also had it’s own issues in 2011 although it has largely escaped the famine affecting Somalia.  In fact it has some of the largest refugee camps in the region to house fleeing Somalis.

Posted in Africa, Middle East - Tagged , , , , , , , ,

News 5/1/12 – Buntha Mkewyu’s Journey Home

Jan05
2012 Written by admin

While the problems in the Blue Nile area of Sudan rumble on, refugees continue to arrive at the various refugee camps which cater to those fleeing from the trouble.  In mid December a rather strange story emerged revolving around a Thai national stranded in the Tongo refugee camp in Ethiopia.

65 year old Buntha Mkewyu went to work for an oil company in the Sudanese Blue Nile town of Maganza in 2007.  When fighting broke out between Sudanese faction in late 2011, Mkewyu was forced to flee but was picked up by Sudan People’s Liberation Army – North (SPLA-N) soldiers and dropped off at another foreign company for safekeeping.  Here he encountered John Borl Akol, a young Sudanese man also escaping from the violence who helped communicate with the non-English speaking Mkewyu.

Picking up a group of Indian nationals, the made their way to the towns of Dinduro, then Kurmuk, before nearby bombing raids forced them across the border to Ethiopia.  The Indians headed to their embassy for a speedy repatriation but Mkewyu, without any Thai embassy or representation nearby, had no choice but to join his Sudanese friends in approaching the Ethiopian Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA).  Normally, a citizen of a foreign country would not be eligible for this type of help; a UNHCR spokesperson explained that as “Mkewyu is not an asylum-seeker, refugee or stateless person…[or]….internally displaced” he would not receive aid.  But sometimes circumstances dictate otherwise and Mkewyu was signed in to Tongo refugee camp.

Mkewyu and Akol say farewell

Mkewyu and Akol say farewell

Mkewyu and Akol shared a tent and Akol made sure that his Thai companion had everything he needed to make his time in camp as comfortable as possible.  His neighbours also shared their meals and Mkewyu passed his time doing his share of the laundry and cooking while ARRA treid to work out what to do with him.

It appears that the main sticking point was obtaining a permit to travel within Ethiopia and leave the refugee camp.  The usual nature of this type of camp means the host government does not want the inhabitants leaving the site.  Eventually, following the involvement of UNHCR, ARRA, the International Organisation for Migration, Mkewyu’s employer and Thai officials, permission was finally granted by ARRA for him to leave the camp and make his way to a location in Ethiopia from where he could return to Thailand.

It’s a story with a happy ending of course, but the questions to be asked must be why Thailand has been so ineffective in helping its citizen out of a precarious situation.  Just because there is no official representation in the country, it shouldn’t have stopped the Thai authorities extricating one of their citizens immediately.  Thailand does seem to have some form in this area, leaving their citizens to their own devices in awkward situations.

Would the French government, or the German government, have allowed one of their nationals to languish in a refugee camp for even one day before pulling out all the stops to get them to a more appropriate place?  Thailand needs to do more to protect its citizens abroad.

 

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News 7/12/11 – Landmark Geneva Conference :: Refugee Boat Capsizes

Dec07
2011 Written by admin

Landmark Geneva Conference on Stateless

Geneva this week hosts what is though to be the biggest ever conference on the subject of refugees, displaced persons and the stateless.  It’s a UNHCR affair and designed to tie in with the 60th anniversary the UNHCR and the  UN Convention on the Status of Refugees. In it also the 50th anniversary of the Convention of the Reduction of Statelessness.

The importance of the occasion is highlighted by the list of those attending and the fact that more than 150 countries have said they are sending representatives to Geneva.  US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has confirmed her appearance as a representative of that country.

The remise of the meeting is that High Commissioner Antonio Guterres will speak about forthcoming proposals which the organisation feels are vital to enable the UNHCR to continue to deal with displaced and stateless people around the world.  Many countries have already accepted the new proposals in principle and it is also hoped that those who are are not yet signed up to the 1951 Refugee Convention will rethink their opposition to that most fundamental of agreements.  The meeting will also offer some of the most seriously affected countries a chance to elaborate on the specific and sometimes individual problems which affect them.

Refugee Boat Capsizes off Moroccan Coast

The Moroccan Royal Navy last week rescued many passengers from a refugee boat which had capsized not far from the Moroccan coast.  The boat was almost certainly en route to Europe when it got into difficulties late last week.  Although most were rescued by the Navy, four of the refugees are known to have drowned and several others are unaccounted for.

There appears to have been an increase in migrant crossings of this stretch of water in recent weeks and regional navies such as Italy, Libya and Malta have all reported seizures or rescues of overcrowded boats.

Somali Refugee Boat

Somali Refugee Boat

 

Posted in Africa, Europe, News, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees - Tagged , , , , , ,

News 17/11/11 – Sudan/South Sudan Border Battles

Nov17
2011 Written by admin

Two Countries Now But Tensions Remain

Most observers probably didn’t expect the independence of South Sudan to solve the tensions and violence which have dogged this area of East Africa for decades and those expectations are slowly being realised.  We have reported recently on the situation on the border between the two countries in Unity State, Blue Nile and the Upper Nile areas.

Bombing runs have been happening for some weeks now in these areas and the flow of refugees into the refugee camps in Ethiopia has been steadily increasing as the situation there becomes untenable.  Sudanese officials in Khartoum not surprisingly deny that they are behind the bombing, especially following the direct attack on the Yida camp in Unity State on Thursday 12th November.  Juba, the capital of South Sudan, says Sudan is trying to drag the area back into a “meaningless war“.

The Yida Refugee Camp - bombed recently

The Yida Refugee Camp - bombed recently

A more disturbing suspicion is that Khartoum is supporting disparate rebel groups in the South and there have been a number of attacks in areas, particularly in Unity State and Upper Nile, where oilfields are located.  For it’s part, Sudan’s government in Khartoum accuses Juba of supporting anti-government rebels in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan regions in the border areas of Sudan.

South Sudan Liberation Army

What’s in no doubt is the fact that the rebels exist, at least in the South;  the South Sudan Liberation Army (SSLA) maintain that they are fighting against mismanagement of oil revenues as well as government corruption and a lack of progress.  It’s an easy step to suggest that Sudan is supporting this group to attempt to destabilise the new country and to disrupt what should be a lucrative oil industry.

Many of the problems arise from issues which are still unresolved following the independence of South Sudan.  Some of the areas between Sudan and South Sudan have undetermined border demarkations and the destination of oil revenues has yet to be satisfactorily determined.

 

Posted in Africa, News - Tagged , , , , , , , , ,
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