African Unification Front
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A REPORT & STUDY OF A REFUGEE CAMP
Half-yearly report - Dzakela Transit Shelter
Context:
The coming of new refugees to Malawi has been continuous since 1998. At the same time, many refugee leave Malawi for third country placement. The young are many, and in 1999 Dzekela received a 75 years old man, from Rwanda.
Refugees statistics in Dzaleka camp on 31/5/2000
Origins No. of families No. of individuals
Somalians 55 205
Congolese 279 697
Burundese 175 450
Rwandese 331 1023
Ugandans 1 1
Eritreans 7 7
Sudanese 6 9
Ethiopians 1 1
The Transit Shelter is managed by the Malawi Red Cross, with an Officer full time on the spot to receive the people as they come into the country. The first interviews take place there as well. 158 asylum seekers passed through the Transit Shelter for the month of May alone, the biggest number coming from DRC, followed by Rwanda and Burundi.
It is difficult to find lodging at the camp, even the tents are hard to get. Those who have the means build their own houses. The others share houses until something is found. There are refugees living in Lilongwe who let the new comers use their place at the camp for a while. The Malawi Commissioner for the refugees, on Africa Refugee Day warned again the refugees that it is illegal for them to live outside the camp, Dzaleka is their place of residence, where they are given assistance and protection.
Education
The primary complaint here is about education. Even though it is now theoretically available to all, in reality it is not easy to find a place. Educating refugees is not a government priority since education is not accessible for all Malawians, and money and scholarships are scarce, especially for higher studies. The other difficulty is due to the instability of the refugees themselves. Some have been helped by JRS or others, and left the country before the end of their course, or simply did not finish the course. It is very hard to find out whom to help, even when they assure you of their intention to remain in Malawi.
In March 2000, 17 youngsters joined a Day Secondary School approximately 6 Km from the camp. Malawi Red Cross takes care of fees, uniforms and books. The building of the new school has met with some difficulties. The local Chiefs, who had agreed that the villagers would mould the bricks, now refuse to do so, thus the project is bogged down in village politics. Everything came to a standstill and the workers had to be sent away. The donors are waiting for the bricks to be done before they send the material or further funding. Anyhow, after many meetings the chiefs seem to have ome to a solution, and they should start this week or next. After many false hopes it seems that this time it is true, however, we still have to see. All the same, the children have moved into the two first blocks that are completed and they look quite happy.
Refugee Status
The Technical Committee for granting Refuge Status has resumed the interviews this year and the results are still to come. Some people have been here for a couple of years already. Forms for resettlement are being given out and again people are trying their luck.
Activities and Services
Organizing activities in the camp remains a problem. The knitting groups for women and girls are still on. A woman has offered her skills to help the girls in the camp; group discussion on behavior, a bit of psychology, skills training etc. It is still in the process, maybe this time it will work coming from one of them. A few associations or groups got started by some young men; cultural, adult literacy, computer and accountancy classes. Now they are coming to us for assistance, we are looking into that.
This week we purchased 2000 blankets for the refugees in the camp. No blanket had been given since last year and UNHCR could not meet the needs of two blankets per person. We also received some medicines for the clinic. We will provide newborn babies with diapers and soap for a few months, when the Red Cross will include this item in their budget. We will also help with milk for the undernourished.
The library is always well attended by all the communities. It provides them with a quiet place to work, read, study and write letters. It is also used at times for group activities, meetings etc. We sometimes feel that little is being done, but we try to be present to the refugees, to listen to them and sustain their hope in a better future for them and for their children.
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