Facebook
Twitter
  • Home
  • News
  • Opinion
  • South Sudan
  • World
  • Education
  • Health
  • Travel
  • DONATE

Four Thousand Sudanese refugees reject repatriation

June 21, 2010ArticlesNo Commentssouthsudannews

By Tabu Butagira, Daily Monitor

June 20, 2010 (Kampala) — Nearly 4,000 mainly Sudanese refugees have declined to go home and are still holed up in Arua District, citing inter-tribal fights and lack of HIV/Aids anti-retroviral drugs in their country.

At celebrations on Friday to mark the World Refugee Day, which officially falls today, refugees from the restive Jonglei State in South Sudan also expressed worry about deplorable social services there.

Mr John Alinaitwe, the district’s refugee desk officer, said whereas the Uganda government will continue to support the refugees, they have a better choice to go home and contribute towards rebuilding their country.

“We will not force any refugee to go where they don’t feel it’s safe but we will continue to encourage them to take advantage of the prevailing peace in South Sudan and return to develop their area,” Mr Alinaitwe said.

United Nations High Commissioner Refugees António Guterres travelled to Arua in June 2006 to launch voluntarily repatriation of Sudanese refugees living in Uganda, an exercise expected to have ended by now.

Shrinking funding

It has emerged that the UN refugee agency, which in the past few years complained of shrinking donor funding, is stuck with thousands of unwilling refugees it can’t take home forcibly – and without stirring international hue-and-cry.

There were more than 60,000 Sudanese refugees in Arua District alone – and 170, 000 countrywide – at the inauguration of voluntary repatriation, a year after Sudan’s decades-old liberation war ended with signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

Yesterday, Mr Alinaitwe said there are Kenyan, Congolese and Central African Republic nationals among the refugee population stuck in Rhino-camp and Imvepi refugee settlements.

“Some of those who have not gone home are students, especially those in the candidate classes who want to complete their studies in Uganda,” he said. “We have been sensitising and mobilising them and hope to repatriate another batch this month.”

The Arua event, meant for entire West Nile region, was celebrated under this year’s World Refugee Day theme: ‘They took my home, but they can’t take my future.’

Earlier, UNHCR-Implementing partners, among them the Danish Refugee Council, German Development Services (Ded), AHA and Arua District Directorate of Health Services showcased technologies for improved agricultural productivity as well as teaching the refugees condom use to avoid catching HIV/Aids. (Daily Monitor-Uganda) 

Previous post South Sudan will never be distracted by Khartoum’s old ‘Jihad’ Rhetoric Next post Retrospect of Regional Government and GOSS after secession in 2011

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest News

  • SPLM-IO in the United States says Kiir violates peace over the sacking of defense minister March 7, 2023
  • The origins of hate March 4, 2023
  • Pope calls on South Sudanese to reject “venom of hatred”, urges hope February 5, 2023
  • South Sudan Shuns Uganda, Refuses to Attend Planned Security Meeting January 30, 2023
  • WFP launches school feeding program January 25, 2023
  • Pope’s Advance Team Arrived in Juba January 24, 2023
  • Practice of abductions in South Sudan is “barbaric,” UN says January 23, 2023
  • Kiir, Machar in talks to close gaps before Pope’s arrival in juba January 23, 2023
  • Why the UN Security Council Should Not Lift the South Sudan Arms Embargo January 21, 2023
  • Refocusing on nation-building beyond tribal mindsets and ethnic lines January 20, 2023
CultureElectionsAbout SSNAPrivacy PolicyTerms of UseSSNA ArchiveContact UsDonation Refund Policy
© Copyright South Sudan News Agency. All Rights Reserved.