This file is copyright of Jens Schriver (c) It originates from the Evil House of Cheat More essays can always be found at: --- http://www.CheatHouse.com --- ... and contact can always be made to: Webmaster@cheathouse.com -------------------------------------------------------------- Essay Name : 1502.txt Uploader : Yannick Wurm Email Address : yannick@geocities.com Language : english Subject : Geography Title : Refugees in Africa Grade : 15/20 (B+) School System : French Country : France Author Comments : email me if you liked it and would like to trade other essays with me Teacher Comments : Date : 11.23.96 Site found at : search engine -------------------------------------------------------------- Report on Refugees in Africa aka Da Foo-Gees ihn Ahfrikah Definition: A refugee is a person who has fled or been expelled from his or her country of origin because of natural catastrophe, war or military occupation, or fear of religious, racial, or political persecution. (Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia). Where African refugees are found: Africa, with more than 600 different ethnic groups, has about one-third of the world¹s refugees, people uprooted by famine or by political liberation struggles and escaping racial and ethnic oppression and economic hardship. Caught in the turmoil that characterizes developing nations in the 20th century, some African nations have refugees going both in and out of their country, something that exists nowhere else. There are currently over 6,500,000 refugees in Africa. Here is a small list of how many they are, and where they can be found: ® Zaire: This country has by far the largest number of refugees in Africa. On the 21st of November 1996, the High Commissioner reported that over 1.4 million Rwandan Hutus were currently in this country. In addition there are about 500,000 Angolan, Sudanese and Burundi refugees in Zaire. ® Malawi is inhabited by 700,000 refugees from Mozambique. ® Sudan: The 650,000 refugees in Sudan come from Eritrea, Ethiopia and Chad ® Guinea: There are about 600,000 refugees in Guinea. Most of them are from Liberia and Sierra Leone. ® Tanzania hosts 500,000 Burundi¹s and refugees from Mozambique These are only the five most significant African refugee host countries. Most other African countries also host refugees but this is where the largest part of them is. A typical case study: A political crisis in Burundi: Fights between government forces and armed groups in the area of a refugee camp in Burundi (Mugano) in January 1996 resulted in the mass departure of 15000 refugees from this camp (Rwandese) into neighboring Tanzania. Tanzania already hosts 700 000 Rwandese and Burundi refugees. In the same month, an additional 16 000 refugees from Burundi (mostly Rwandese but also some Burundi) were attempting to go into Tanzania. Since 1993 about 200 000 people from Burundi have left their country, due to violent political fights. It is estimated that at least 400 000 people inside Burundi have been forced out of their own place of origin and are dispersed somewhere in Burundi, now refugees within their home country. Problems faced by African host countries: When refugees enter an African host country, many problems are encountered. The largest problem is supplying the refugees with enough food and water. When in a host country, these refugees usually don¹t work themselves, so they are dependent on other sources for food, water and medical supplies. In refugee camps, malnutrition, high infection-rates by contaminated water, insufficient health care against infections and disease lead to a high death rate. The first to die are always children and the elderly, because they are the most vulnerable to infections. Very often, the UN and NGOs (non-government organizations) have to send medical aid and food to refugee camps. Without these supplies and the aid supplied by external sources, many refugees would certainly die because of starvation or epidemic diseases (Cholera, etc.). Another problem are the tensions that sometimes develop between a host countries natives and the refugees that live there. An example of this is in Zaire, where there were tensions between Zairian natives and the Hutu refugees (from Rwanda) that lived on the outskirts of their cities. A final problem is that of jealousy. When food and medicine comes to the refugee camps, natives can often become jealous because their living standards are frequently just as low as those of the refugees¹. On top of that, the refugees don¹t have to work for what they get. They just have to be there and they get fed and taken care of. The natives often work hard all day but don¹t get enough to eat or drink anyway. Responses and solutions to the refugee problem: a) humanitarian NGOs and also governments (mostly from the northern hemisphere) help refugees in several different ways. An example of an NGO that helps is Médecins sans frontières, a French organization that sends doctors, nurses and medicine to refugees. This type of help does not solve the basic reason for the existence of the refugees: return of the uprooted people to those countries or areas where they consider themselves at home. b) political The main problem with refugees is of course a political one. Unfortunately, African political systems have not yet achieved the degree of stability and justice people would hope for. The results of this are frequently wars and battles between different ethnic groups which have some kind of access to the power structure in the different countries. It seems difficult, as can be seen by the present tensions and wars between Hutus and Tutsis in Zaire, Burundi and Rwanda, to influence the African politics from outside Africa. One could hope that neighboring countries would come together and provide help and advice and further the development of more mature political systems. Why people leave their countries: The reasons people have to flee their country are complex. Sometimes people leave because they don¹t have enough food or work to be able to survive. Mostly they leave because of fear of war. The developed world certainly plays a role in these wars, be it directly or indirectly: ® Many of the problems that appear today originally stem from when, in the 19th cenutry, European statesmen devided Africa up into colonies without respecting the natives. ® Some countries, particularily England, France, Germany and Austria make money by selling weapons all over the world, not caring about how and by whom these weapons are going to be used. ® If Western countries had put more political willpower into reducing poverty, lack of education and tension in Africa, they would have succeded. How the international community can help: Individual countries can help by not selling weapons or ammunition to third world countries. This would reduce the military power of dictatorships and maybe some of the wars between different ethnic groups that force people to leave their home countries. The international community can also help by making the sales of weapons by individual western countries to Africa, especially to regions in which there are human right problems, public. The press could then report these sales and possibly apply pressure on the individual governments, by influencing the public¹s opinion. Western countries play an important role by supplying food and medicine to refugees. In politics they should be more cautious and act through international organizations, like the United Nations. Sources: International Herald Tribune, November 12-18 and Nov. 19-24 Material by Amnesty International on political crisis in Burundi, responsible for refugees to be pushed into Zaire and Tanzania Refugees and Migration, by Peter Stalker 1995 Societies, Choices and Environments by Frances Slater The Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia The World Almanac and Book of Facts World Refugee Survey 1993, by the US Committee for Refugees. --------------------------------------------------------------