The Namibian (Windhoek)
Nangula Shejavali
23 June 2009
WORLD Refugee Day was commemorated on Saturday, "to remember the millions of forcibly displaced and stateless people ... who are struggling with their day-to-day lives."
The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) says that for the 42 million uprooted people around the world, a shortage or lack of the essentials of life - clean water, food, sanitation, shelter, healthcare and protection from violence and abuse - means that every day can be a struggle just to survive.
But remembering the past and the conditions that displaced them is also a daily struggle - particularly for the refugees themselves, many of whom are fraught with worry over their futures and the loved ones they have left behind or lost to war and civil conflict.
The difficulty of remembering was clear on Friday, when The Namibian joined the UNHCR in marking the day at Namibia's Osire Refugee Camp - home to more than 7 000 refugees, most of whom have been displaced by the wars in Angola, the DRC, Rwanda and Burundi.
LOVE LOST
The commemoration of World Refugee day brought with it a bag of mixed emotions.
For Esperance Nkurunziza, the day could not be a happy one, she says, because in the six years she has lived at the camp, she feels she has had no sense of freedom, and feels unhappy in her state as a refugee.
"I think too much about my children, and about the future," she says.
Esperance, originally from Burundi, fled the DRC and arrived at Osire in 2003. Her two children, now 14 and 10, were separated from her, and in all the time that she has been at Osire, she hasn't heard of them. Her husband, who joined her at the camp in 2005, abandoned her six months ago.
"My heart is paining too much," says Esperance, tears welling up in her eyes. "I don't know what to do. I would like to leave the camp, but it is difficult to go home now because we don't know where we are going to with regards to our future."
Esperance's feelings of uncertainty are shared by many, and the memory of a painful history is clear in her eyes, giving personal depth to this year's theme: 'Real People, Real Needs'.
Isabel Kanyemba, who has been at Osire since 1999 after fleeing Angola at the age of 23 and being split from her parents and siblings in the process, says that fleeing her country and becoming a refugee was difficult.
But she says that in commemorating World Refugee Day, she feels fortunate to be in this position compared to where she's coming from. "I feel that on this day, we have to remember others who are suffering, and still in very crucial situations; who are still running away or being persecuted."
LOVE FOUND
Isabel found love in Osire, and married her husband, a Congolese, in 2000. He had been at the camp since 1993, and she says their return home - either to Angola or DRC - is simply dependent on the repatriation process.
But while efforts continue in the Government-advised process of voluntary repatriation of refugees to their countries, through tripartite agreements with the Governments of Angola, Rwanda, and the UNHCR, some refugees feel that integration into Namibian society should be extended to them as an option.
Felismina Nduva Chiamba, also from Angola, came to Osire 16 years ago with eight of her nine children. Her personal hope is to remain in Namibia, and find a way of coping in this country.
A teacher by profession, she says "Angola is a rich country, but with poor people. If there is a chance of acceptance (in Namibia), I would find a way to cope."
She says the uncertainty of returning to a country from which she had to flee during war, with their homes destroyed, would make repatriation difficult.
"It is difficult to forget what we faced before - and we faced a lot. People dying, suffering, and so on. We didn't forget our country, but need peace and stability."
Her friend Isabel Sompyav of the DRC, says that "home is home; your country is your country", and looks forward to returning to her home "one good day".
LONGING
Isabel, a widow, came to the camp with her three children in 2001, and was later joined by her sister, who passed away recently.
She says that "repatriation, integration, and resettlement as the three integral solutions for refugees" should continue to be considered.
But while they differ on their wishes to return home, the two agree that some sort of greater integration into Namibian society is important.
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration, refugees at the camp "are allowed to leave to go to nearby towns such as Otjiwarongo for shopping twice a week upon obtaining permits from the Camp Administrator", but other issues do stand out to hamper their development.
Isabel and Felismina say that attempts to create businesses are hard to sustain because of the closed market in which they have to operate. And because they are unable to make a reasonable income, they can not afford to send their children for tertiary education once they have finished Grade 12 at the camp's school.
"It is not the fault of our children to live in this situation. We need to do something for them, and we would like to appeal to Government to recognise them for further study," they say, acknowledging the work that the Government has done at the camp in providing educational, medical, and other basic facilities.
In commemorating World Refugee Day - which was organised by the UNHCR and marked with an address by First Lady Penehupifo Pohamba in the presence of several diplomats, members of the United Nations, Ministries associated with issues at the camp, and other organisations - Isabel reflects the mixed feelings of the thousands of other refugees, each with their own story.
She says: "When the music plays, we are happy; but we are not really happy. It's nice to celebrate, but we also have to remember where we are coming from. We are here, but our identity is as refugees. So we feel some positive, but we also feel the reflection of the past."
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