Thousands of African refugees are returning home after living in Malawi for decades
Dozens of refugees and asylum seekers from war-affected African countries who had been living in Malawi for decades are now returning to their countries thanks to a voluntary repatriation program implemented by the government of Malawi and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). refugees.
Dozens of refugees and asylum seekers from war-affected African countries who had been living in Malawi for decades are now returning to their countries thanks to a voluntary repatriation program implemented by the government of Malawi and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). refugees.
Approximately 53,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia have been living in the Dzaleka refugee camp in central Malawi since 1990. Hilda Kausiwa General Manager of administration and operations in the Refugee Department in Malawi's Ministry of Internal Security has said that the program was established in collaboration with UNHCR to provide "safe space for refugees willing to return to their countries of origin without any restrictions."
He said, neither the government of Malawi nor the UNHCR is forcing any refugee to return to his country of origin. "They do this of their own free will, what we do is make their journeys successful." Hilda Kausiwa added that, this voluntary repatriation program not only enables the safe return of people to their countries but also serves as a testimony to the changes in the management and support measures for refugees in Malawi.
Ameen Saudi, a refugee from Somalia who had been living in Malawi since 2000, has said that he has been longing to return home for a long time and that the program of the government of Malawi and the UNHCR organization has come at the right time.
