South Africa May 2006 |
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| Assisted repatriation for Angolans to end, (Business Day, 2006-05-15):-Angolan refugees in SA had until October to be repatriated with the help of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN body said last week. The organisation has been co-operating with government in a bid to encourage Angolans to voluntarily return home following the end of Anglola’s civil war after the death of Unita leader Jonas Savimbi in February 2002. The war began soon after the country’s independence in 1975 and left as many as 1-million people dead. Unita has since ruled out a return to violence and is now an opposition party to the ruling MPLA government of President Eduardo dos Santos. Angola is to hold multiparty elections this year. Abel Mbilinyi, UNHCR representative in Pretoria, said last week that about 14000 Angolan refugees would be told via an information campaign how to get help from the commission. While the repatriation was voluntary, the commission warned that its mandate to help would come to an end in October. October was the beginning of Angola’s rainy season, which would make road travel difficult, he said. “Voluntary repatriation remains one of the best options to end the cycle of exile where one can re-establish oneself in one’s own country,” said Mbilinyi. The UN decided in June 2003 that conditions in the country were safe for refugees to return. So far, 360000 refugees have returned to Angola. The commission said this represented 80% of those who had fled to various countries during the 27-year conflict between the Angolan government and Unita rebels. The commission’s assistance includes free air tickets for refugees and no taxes on belongings being brought into Angola. South African home affairs department director-general Mzuvukile Maqetuka said voluntary repatriation gave Angolans the opportunity to return home and make much-needed contributions to the rebuilding and development of their country. He thanked the Angolan government for having hosted South African refugees during the apartheid regime’s rule. Angolan government representative Antonio Rafael said the returning refugees would be given homes and helped to resume their work. Rafael said Angola had started bringing its citizens home from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia, Zambia and other neighbouring countries. “We are now in the reconstruction phase in our country and the main resource of this is human resources,” he said. | |
South African Migration Project (SAMP) - Queen's University - http://www.queensu.ca/samp |