Caleb Bahikaho
15 November 2008
Kampala — AT least 2011 Congolese refugees have entered Uganda through Ishasha border in Kanungu district since November 1.
Kanungu District chairperson Josephine Kasya on Thursday told state minister for disaster preparedness Musa Ecweru about the increasing Congolese refugees at the border. Ecweru was on a fact-finding mission on the situation at the border.
"According to records, 2011 refugees have entered the country through Ishasha. They are now in Nakivale, Isingiro District. We have just flagged off 611 refugees to Nakivale today," Kasya told Ecweru.
She said they started receiving the refugees on October 31. "The 2011 are those already registered with us but we still have some who are not yet registered. Others are still coming," she said.
Kasya lamented the poor hygiene at the border, as there are not enough latrines. She said both refugees and Ugandan nationals share water with wild animals from Queen Elizabeth National park at Ishasha River.
She said Kihihi Sub-county had offered a place in Matanda parish to work as a receiving centre for the refugees, but the Government needs to construct a reception place there.
Ecweru promised to take up the idea and assured the refugees of security in the camp and asked those with weapons to hand them to the authorities before entering the camp.
He said the refugees would be given land and seeds to start cultivating while in the camp.
The minister said all children would access free primary and secondary education while in Uganda.
However, Kiiza Kamana, one of the refugees who said he was in S.6 at Nyamirima Institute, said it would be impossible for them to study with Ugandans as they do not know English. "In Congo we use French," he lamented.
Kiiza, who was interpreting for fellow Congolese, said he knew different languages because of listening to radio.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 New Vision. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
