Maravi

The end of refugee status for Angolans in Zambia

The end of refugee status for Angolans in Zambia
By The Post
Sun 24 June 2012, 13:30 CAT

THE refugee status of Angolan refugees in Zambia who fled Angola as a result of the armed conflict between 1961 and 2002 will cease as of Saturday, June 30, 2012. 'Migrations' of this nature are not new to our continent. Most of our people are where they are as a result of fleeing from conflicts.

Our migrations around the savanna were not necessarily in search of fortunes but as a result of fleeing from conflicts within families, clans and tribes. This was easy before Africa was curved into the modern states we have.

At that time nobody was considered a refugee. For centuries, our ancient continent has bled from many gaping sword wounds. We don't want any more conflicts, any more displacements of people, any more refugees. One disturbilising conflict anywhere on our continent is one too many.

Conflict threatens not only the gains we have made but also our collective future. And we should treat the question of peace and stability on our continent as a common challenge. Let's close this history of refugees. Let our people move or migrate from one country to another freely as part of our regional integration and not as a result of fleeing from conflict.

We are proud that our country has been for many decades a home for many Africans fleeing from conflict. The internal peace our country has enjoyed enabled our neighbours to have a home to run to, to escape to, to seek refuge in. We have honoured our human and international obligations to refugees with sufficient honour and integrity. In a few days' time, our Angolan brothers and sisters who were here as refugees will cease to have that status.

But this doesn't mean that they will cease to have anything to do with us. There are some who have to go back to Angola against their wishes. We would love them to stay and make our country theirs, their homeland. But this may not be possible in all individual cases. But as far as possible, we urge our government to extend permanent hospitality to those who need it under any status possible. There are many ways one can make or share with us the hospitality of our homeland. Those who qualify, those who can be taken on as citizens, let them be taken on as citizens. Those who can be taken on as permanent residents, let them make this country their permanent home. There are people who came in here as refugees and have spent most of their lives here. This is the only country they really know. It is inhuman to unjustly deny them the opportunity to stay in Zambia beyond June 30, 2012.

When some of these refugees were leaving Angola, their villages were on fire and have never been rebuilt. They will not be going back to their villages. They will be going back to a country they now don't know. The only country they know is Zambia. And there are also many children of refugees born here who don't know anything about Angola. The only country they know is Zambia. As far as possible, they should be allowed to stay here if they so desire.

However, in saying all this we do appreciate the challenges that this may entail on our government which is struggling to meet the needs of its own citizens. But there is no limit to being humane.

For more than 40 years we have lived with refugees from across the whole sub-region, but we are still there. Allowing those who are already here to stay may be a burden but it will not kill us. We therefore urge our government to bend backwards and accommodate the requests of those who want to remain in Zambia after June 30.

And what this calls for is increased economic cooperation among our countries. There is a lot Zambia and Angola need to do together for the benefit of all our people. And moreover, many Angolans have relatives in Zambia. They share common languages, culture and even chiefs. Where do the Mbunda people of Zambia come from? Is it not from Angola?

Let's find a better and more durable way of dealing with the issues of migrations among our people. And we can achieve this through meaningful regional integration.

As we stand on the threshold of a new African era characterised by democracy, sustainable economic development and a reawakening of our rich cultural values and heritage, regional integration remains our hope. But the challenge on this front is to move from rhetoric to action.

The reality can no longer be ignored that we live in an interdependent region, continent, world which is bound together to a common destiny. We operate in a region which is searching for a better life together. Let us join hands to ensure that we strengthen the democratic initiatives that are being undertaken by our people and the independence of our countries and translate these into peace, prosperity and equity for all our people. And as our consciousness grows about our interdependence, so should all the major decisions that our countries make become subject to common review.

For as long as the majority of people anywhere on the continent feel oppressed, are not allowed democratic participation in decision-making process, and cannot elect their own leaders in free and fair elections, there will always be tension and conflict. And where there is tension and conflict, there is likely to be some people fleeing the tension and conflict and take refuge in other countries. We should never allow any of our countries to have such tensions and conflicts anymore.

It is in the character of growth that we should learn from both our pleasant and unpleasant experiences. The suffering of people in any single country in our region affects all of us no matter where we find ourselves. Peace and prosperity, tranquillity and security are only possible if they are enjoyed by all.

We should never again allow political intolerance to unleash waves and waves of refugees in our region. Nor shall our voices be stifled if we see a sister nation heading toward the path of political intolerance that will result in refugees. The great lesson of our time is that no regime can survive if it acts above the heads of the ordinary citizens of the country.

As for us Zambians having had a peaceful existence since independence, we can fall into the trap of washing our hands of difficulties that others face. Let's always treat the problems and challenges of our neighbours as ours. And be always concerned about their plight and take it as ours as well. The spirit of Ubuntu, that profound African sense that we are human only through the humanity of other human beings - is not a parochial phenomenon, but has added globally to our common search for a better world.

Labels: ANGOLA, REFUGEES

posted by MrK @ 4:11 PM