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Dispatches No. 241
Up | July 16, 2008
REFUGEE NEWS BRIEFINGS
UPDATES ON JRS PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES
REFUGEE NEWS BRIEFINGS
UGANDA: ASYLUM SEEKERS IN NEED OF ASSISTANCE
Asylum seekers living in urban Uganda are finding it increasing hard to survive. With increasing food prices and little or no other assistance, asylum seekers are frequently exploited and abused in the informal labour market. Large and one-parent families are the worst hit.
JRS is the only organisation in the city providing emergency food and material assistance to asylum seekers. On 11 July, JRS Uganda spoke to Dispatches about the difficulties facing asylum seekers in the Ugandan capital, Kampala. JRS urges the international community to do more. One JRS project, although it does a lot, cannot meet the needs of all the asylum seekers in the city. The story of Marie, a beneficiary of JRS, is typical of what many asylum seekers go through.
After Marie and her young baby fled persecution in her country of origin, she was thankful to find safety in Uganda. She expected to be assisted by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR). However, she would soon learn that the UNHCR mandate does not extend to asylum seekers but only to recognised refugees who live in designated settlements. Until asylum seekers are legally recognised as refugees they must fend for themselves. Marie was concerned for her life and that of her baby.
Marie was subsequently raped by Ugandans and made pregnant while living on the streets. Her elder daughter later developed pneumonia and died. Still an asylum seeker, neither the UN agency nor the Ugandan authorities were able to assist her to bury her daughter. She was devastated by the premature death of her child. Unable to afford the expenses of a proper burial, her child's body would remain in the mortuary.
Eventually, Marie was told of the JRS Urban Programme in Kampala. When she approached JRS she was shocked to find people who took the time to listen to her. Thanks to JRS, she was able to bury her daughter with dignity.
For more information about Marie see www.jrs.net/reports
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SOUTH AFRICA: ZIMBABWEANS NOT RECOGNISED AS REFUGEES
On 11 July, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) expressed its concern that Zimbabweans fleeing violence at home were not being properly screened at the South African border, leading to the possible deportation of refugees.
According to the UN agency, Zimbabweans coming to South Africa speak of killings and beatings and have brutal injuries all over their bodies.
Since the March presidential and parliamentary elections in Zimbabwe, the number fleeing to South Africa has increased dramatically. In the last 40 days alone, South Africa has sent back some 17,000 Zimbabweans through the Beit Bridge border post, despite earlier calls from human rights organisations to halt all deportations. The organisations have also urged South Africa to grant exceptionally Zimbabweans temporary legal status which would allow them to stay in the country, an option which is foreseen in national legislation.
Of 35,000 Zimbabwean asylum seekers who arrived in South Africa in 2006 and 2007, only 500 have been recognised as refugees, according to government data. UNHCR stated that given the number of daily deportations, its staff were could only interview some five percent.
JRS, working in South Africa since the late 1990s, has noticed the recent change in the displacement of Zimbabweans. In the past a huge percentage were young single people fleeing poverty at home, more and more the new arrivals consist of families fleeing political violence.
"The trend is changing, we are getting entire family units, many with physical injuries, seeking asylum," said Thandi Hadebe, JRS South Africa project director in the northern border town of Mahkado in Limpopo province.
Since the start of June, this JRS office in the north of the country has helped more than 200 Zimbabweans a day.
The majority of Zimbabweans are entering South Africa through unauthorized border points, risking their lives to navigate dangerous rivers, barbed wire fences and random police controls.
There are presently more than 138,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers in South Africa, coming from a wide range of countries. Zimbabweans have also sought refuge in other countries.
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TIMOR LESTE: POLICE USE TEAR GAS TO QUELL STUDENT PROTEST
According to JRS Timor Leste, approximately 52 were arrested on 7 July after a student protest was violently quelled by the police. The protests took place amid a backdrop of soaring food and oil prices in a country where the average income is about 50 US cents a day and 42 percent are unemployed.
Around 1,000 protesters, mostly students of the national university, staged a rally on the grounds of the national university against plans by the government to spend more than $US2 million on the purchase of 65 luxury cars for parliamentarians. Despite the demonstrations which lasted until 11 July, parliament's plans remained unchanged.
According to local media reports, the police fired tear gas on the students without any provocation as they gathered inside the university. The actions of the police were condemned by civil society associations, the Church and the president himself, Jose Ramos-Horta.
The students have urged the government to control the rising price of staple foods, instead of purchasing unnecessary luxury cars for each parliamentarian and to respect the legal procedures for the government purchases. In addition, the students have stated that they are opposed to the idea of providing each parliamentarian with a car as their own personal property.
After two decades of conflict and occupation, the people of Timor Leste overwhelming voted for independence from Indonesia. The government and the UN launched a programme early this year to relocate some 30,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs). In October last, JRS began assisting IDPs in six camps. The overall goal of JRS Timor Leste is to facilitate the return or relocation of the displaced population.
For further information see www.jrs.net/reports
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BELGIUM: NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION IN FAVOUR OF UNDOCUMENTED MIGRANTS
On 29 June, a national demonstration was held in Brussels in support of undocumented migrants.
The demonstration was organised by JRS Belgium, in cooperation with other human rights NGOs, trade unions, lawyers, local churches and undocumented persons. The organisers sought to push the government to publish the long-awaited administrative guidelines for the criteria on the regularisation of residency status. The 1,500-strong crowd voiced its solidarity with some 150 hunger strikers in the Béguinage church in Brussels.
According to human rights NGOs in Belgium, the current criteria concerning the regularisation of undocumented migrants are considered opaque and incoherent. The absence of clear and fair criteria leads to arbitrary law. The status of some is regularised while others in similar circumstances are detained and deported. Many undocumented migrants in Belgium are unable to return to their countries of origin and as they are denied the right to work and social benefits become destitute.
A couple of days after the demonstration, 1 July, the undocumented migrants, who had been on hunger strike for more than 50 days, received 9-month residence permits. They received what is known as a C work permit which allows them to find employment in any sector of the economy. Those who obtain employment or establish their won businesses will become eligible for a residency permit.
The migrants had been pushed to the edge, physically and morally. Some were hospitalised, suffering from kidney problems, but their conditions were not thought to be life-threatening.
On 15 July, the campaign to convince the government suffered a further set back when the government fell. The coalition of French and Dutch-speaking Liberal and Christian Democrat parties, only four months after taking office, fractured after missing a self-imposed July 15 deadline for getting an agreement on regional autonomy and on splitting a disputed voting district.
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GERMANY: PREVENT DEATH AT EU BORDERS
"Year by year thousands die at Europe's borders: stop the death-trap at the EU borders!"
This is the slogan being used by JRS Germany and a number of other human rights NGOs in an appeal to stop the violation of human rights on EU borders.
The appeal, which began on 12 June, calls for an end to the activities by Frontex, which violate the fundamental human rights of migrants and refugees, explicitly contravening both the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights.
The appeal will culminate on Human Rights Day, 10 December 2008, where the members of the European Parliament will be presented with a signed petition.
According to the NGOs organising the appeal, FRONTEX, the EU border security agency, operates in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic with disregard for refugee and human rights. Refugee boats are pursued and driven away. Asylum seekers are therefore forced to take more dangerous escape routes. This increases the risk of death en route. The Mediterranean and parts of the Atlantic are developing into zones exempt from human rights.
In search of a dignified life thousands of refugees and migrants die at the borders of Europe. These are people who are driven from their homelands by war, persecution, violence and miserable living conditions. In order to escape they squeeze into tiny boats, hide in lorries, sleep in very basic campsites or in front of high security border controls.
The organisations also urged EU states to ensure that the safety of human beings in danger at sea is prioritised.
Drowning, suffocation and dehydration are frequent occurrences. Many die of exhaustion. Germany and other EU states react towards those seeking protection at its borders with armed resistance and deterrence. Humiliation and abuse, even extending to illegal rejection at the borders, have frequently been reported.
The activities of FRONTEX are made possible by the active and financial involvement of the EU Member states. In 2008 alone, 70 million euro of tax money in Europe will be used for this purpose.
The organisers are calling on European citizens not turn a blind eye to the activities of FRONTEX.
For more information on the appeal and to sign the petition, visit: http://www.stoppt-das-sterben.eu/en
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COLOMBIA: LEADER OF DISPLACED WOMEN ASSASSINATED
On 29 June, community and women's rights leader, Martha Obando was shot dead in the main street of her suburb in the outskirts of Buenaventura, Colombia. Obando, known affectionately as Doña Chila, had established a small organisation for women who had fled conflict.
Doña Chila was shot by unknown assailants on Sunday, 29 June at approximately 7.45 pm, in San Francisco district, and died from three gunshot wounds. She was shot one hour after she had finished presiding over an awards ceremony for a children's tournament of traditional games. Organised by 18 women leaders from San Francisco, the two month-long tournament was intended to persuade local children to take up traditional games, rather than joining illegal armed groups.
With the support of local NGOs, including the local JRS office, Obando had organised a children's tournament of traditional games, held to dissuade young people from engaging in violence. Although many Colombians are unfortunately killed each year, local activists fear Dona Chila's murder was related to her human rights advocacy.
Local activists stated that many women leaders who worked with Obando in Buenaventura now also fear for their safety. Human rights organisations in the Buenaventura area have received death threats from paramilitary groups.
For further information see www.jrs.net/reports
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PANAMA: DIFFICULT TO ACCESS THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN RECRUITED BY ARMED GROUPS
Nobody denies that some children living on the border with Colombia are interested in cooperating with armed groups. It is quite possible that young people from the Emberá and Wounaan, indigenous ethnic minorities, wish to join Colombian armed groups, says a refugee from Boca de Cupe, near river Turia in the border region of southern Panama. This is also what a JRS Panama report, undertaken in 2006, found.
Almost two years later, on 11 July last, JRS Panama director, José Mendoza, stated that although there are no exact statistics on the level of recruitment, there is still a constant flow of Emberá Wounaan communities into armed groups, particularly among children and adolescents. These mobilisations are camouflaged by a code of silence.
Mendoza, who in early July visited one of the indigenous communities in the border area, reported that the property and homes of displaced communities of indigenous Colombians had been recently attacked by armed groups. They are subsequently threatened by armed groups not to reveal what had happened, reinforcing the code of silence. This is why, Mendoza said, that when young people are recruited they lose all contact with their communities, making it more difficult to leave these illegal groups.
For further information see www.jrs.net/reports
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UPDATES ON JRS PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES
UGANDA: VOCATIONAL TRAINING PRODUCES CONCRETE RESULTS
"Most of the latest cycle of graduates from the Akwang centre in JRS community college have found employment" community college teacher Edward Ochoo told JRS Dispatches on 11 July.
The students began their studies in 2007 and received their certificates during the month of May. Even though some have had to travel south to the capital, Kampala, they have found employment, particularly in the catering sector. The luckier ones have found employment in the towns nearby the northern town of Kitgum, others are working in the camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs). Either way, finding employment has them to continue supporting their families who are living in the camps.
In 2007, JRS Kitgum launched a community college. The aim of this latest JRS intervention was to establish a system of education which would provide young displaced persons with vocational skills to find employment or become self employed. The JRS community college, in cooperation with the local community, offers an alternative system of education to disadvantaged students equipping them with the necessary skills to find employment.
The programme was implemented in two IDP camps. Young displaced persons in the most vulnerable circumstances were identified to offer them an opportunity to gain skills useful in the labour market. Those who were identified included children who have been adducted by armed groups, young mothers, orphans and persons with disabilities. They received vocational training in areas such as carpentry, joinery and catering. Moreover, they all received life skills training. This includes psychosocial support, responding to each students specific needs, and workshops in alcohol abuse, domestic violence, psychosocial healing, literacy programmes and peace building, conflict transformation and reconciliation.
The programme has been so popular that last May forty-four students enrolled in Akwang centre. They will be taught by three instructors. Most of them have never received a formal education and have lived all their lives in an IDP camp.
"This training is an opportunity for them to acquire skills and knowledge that will help them to provide for themselves and their families. It restores their ability to dream about their futures. Some already have plans for how they will reach their goals. Although the students still have a long way to go, they have already travelled a great distance from the place in their minds where they used to be — a place of hopelessness, frustration and despair" Mr Ochoo said.
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COTE D'IVOIRE: JRS AIDS PROJECT HANDED OVER TO RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY
On 30 June, responsibility for the JRS AIDS Project in Côte d'Ivoire's northern city of Bouaké, was officially handed over to the religious congregation, Les Sœurs de la Providence de la Pommeraye (POM).
JRS identified needs related to HIV/AIDS in the country after a 2002 coup d'état led to widespread sexual violence and prostitution. Consequently, there was an increase in the rate of HIV infection, which, according to an estimate in 2005 by the World Health Organisation reached 7.1%, the highest in West Africa. However, the Ivoirian State estimates the HIV-infection rate at 4.7%.
Since its conception in 2003, the project offered HIV-testing, counselling, medical treatment, vocational training, and small business support to more than 1,670 persons affected by HIV/AIDS. An awareness raising campaign on the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases was also implemented, targeting local communities through a network of churches and mosques in the region. Additionally, monthly food rations were distributed to beneficiaries in partnership with the UN World Food Programme.
Staff believe a strong need still exists for the centre, which currently serves about 350 persons.
"All activities are continuing as usual because of local staff's expertise and capacity. However, the congregation is seeking donor support to continue operations in the long term", Project Director, Sr Marie-Cécile Nomel, POM, told Dispatches on 10 July.
JRS handed the project over mainly due to the continued implementation of a March 2007 peace accord. The government has begun to re-deploy throughout the country and elections are planned for 30 November. Nonetheless, analysts express concern that election preparations continue despite delays in the disarmament process.
As the country stabilises, JRS encourages the administration to revive former conflict zones as soon as possible.
"The authorities have officially returned in different areas, but many services, such as healthcare centres, are not fully functional", JRS Communications Officer, Ashley Gagné, told Dispatches on 7 July.
"These services are essential for the favourable return of displaced persons and assuring that human rights are respected", Gagné added.
If you wish to support the former JRS project, AIDS Centre in Bouaké, please contact Sr Marie-Cécile Nomel, POM: mariececile_nomel@yahoo.fr, +225 05 75 38 98.
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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: TV FRONTERA SOLIDARIA FOR MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES
As from 7 July, Frontera Solidaria will be broadcast every Sunday between 1 and 2pm on the local Channel 6 of Dajabon Cablevisión TV.
The emission, a JRS Dominican initiative, from now on will be part of the communication media available for community groups working on issues concerning migrants, refugees, gender and human rights in the northern border city of Dajabón.
The Jesuit priest, Regino Martínez Bretón, director of the JRS Dominican Republic project, Solidaridad Fronteriza, said during the opening public presentation that the programme had long been requested by groups working with migrants in the local Dajabón market. They have long wanted to raise public awareness of the difficulties faced by Haitians working in the market in the border city. It was, he stated, also an opportunity to bring these issues to those in positions of power.
Through its social projects in the Dajabón province, the Society of Jesus will produce segments of the Sunday emissions as well as giving Dajabón community organisations a chance to participate in the programme.
Frontera Solidaria will be available to viewers living in the northern provinces of Montecristi and Dajabón and other subscribers to who are connected to Cablevisión TV.
With the launch of the TV programme Frontera Solidaria, JRS Dominican Republic now adds to the many media at its disposal to inform the public on the human rights situation in the northern Dominican Republic and over the border in neighbouring Haiti. JRS currently produces regular press releases, information on its website sjrdom.org, a monthly bulletin in Spanish and Creole, entitled "Aquí y Allá", a summary of news articles made available to national and international media, radio clips, and the production of posters and flyers on migration and refugee-related issues.
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