Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Khartoum (Agenzia Fides) - The United Nations High Commission for Refugees is preparing to help refugees from southern Sudan to repatriate now than peace has been restored after 21 years of civil war. On December 1 UNHCR started what it calls “go and see visits” for two delegations from Kakuma camp in north east Kenya, to places of origin in southern Sudan. These visits allow refugees to see the conditions and then decide if they want to return to southern Sudan.
A delegation of five elderly people went to Kapoeta, 200 km from Juba, now capital city of southern Sudan. Another delegation of 8 refugee representatives went instead to Bor, 180 north of Juba. Recently UNHCR sent an emergency team to Kapoeta to open another office and reinforce its presence there.
In both cases the refugees met local authorities and visited the town, meeting family members for the first time in years. The delegations returned to Kakuma the same day and told the other people in the camp about the situation at home.
Even before the war the area suffered for lack of services. War destroyed most of the infrastructures. Despite difficulties many refugees want to go home after years of exile and UNHCR expects to start repatriation before the end of the year. Kakuma camp has about 73,000 refugees. So far 2,000 have registered with UNHCR for repatriation to their places of origin in southern Sudan.
Civil war in Sudan lasted 21 years and ended with a peace agreement in January 2005. It left 4 million internally displaced persons and 500,000 refugees in neighbouring countries. About 12,000 Dinka people originally from the west of southern Sudan with half a million animals are about to move towards Juba, which is on the way back to the region of Bor. For 16 years the Dinka-Bor have been displaced in western Sudan. These people had settled in 34 camps surrounded by fields for animals and are now moving from Kotobi and Lui - in Western Equatorial province - towards Juba. UNHCR with other UN organisations and NGOs has opened a transit centre at Lologo, 15 km north of Juba.
Returnees spend the night in the transit centre and are given two weeks WFP food supplies for the journey to Bor. UNHCR registers returnees in transit in Lologo and monitors their protection.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) is planning to move pregnant mothers and elderly and disabled people from Juba to Bor by boat on a two day journey. Men and animals will take longer to reach Bor. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 2/12/2005 righe 49 parole 659)
