unitex@rubbs.fidonet.org (unitex) (08/23/89)
Where The Poor Play Host To The Poor; In Seach Of Refuge (Financial Times, August 17, BYLINE: Mike Hall) Huge cities of tiny mud huts have sprung up across southern Malawi, complete with bustling markets, clinics, schools and churches. They are home to 720,000 Mozambican refugees, arriving at a rate of 20,000 a month. For this small, poor and already populous country, that many refugees is equivalent to nearly 9 per cent of its own population of 8 m - one of the highest ratios anywhere. The heavy influx began in 1986 when conservative Malawi's relations with its Marxist neighbour were at a low over its alleged harbouring of members of Renamo, the Mozambican rebel organisation. Some of the early arrivals were simply escorted back across the border. However, by July 1986 it became clear the influx would not stop. The Government asked the Malawi Red Cross to provide relief to 70,000 Mozambicans and set up a Joint Operations Committee to co-ordinate government action. But within months Malawi was forced to ask for international help. By the time the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees established a presence in mid-1987, a quarter of a million people had already sought refuge. The burden is considerable. Yet foreign relief workers with experience elsewhere in Africa say they are amazed at how readily refugees have been accomodated and are impressed by the efficiency of the relief effort. Malawi is coping - but only just. There is still no food reserve to cope with any sudden transport holdups, a potentially serious problem for a land-locked country whose main route is through Mozambique. Rations had to be cut for several months this year when the food supply pipeline broke down, increasing malnutrition and disease in the refugee camps. Deliveries in remoter areas are erratic or non-existent. The UNHCR co-ordinates the relief effort formulating policy together with the Malawi President's office and cabinet. The Joint Operations Committee, whose members are aid donors and government ministries, acts as a consultative group. Others involved are the World Food Programme, the French group Medecins Sans Frontieres and the International Rescue Committee. The cost of the whole programme is difficult to determine. Food alone will cost Dollars 30 m this year. About 60 per cent is from WFP, the rest from the US, the European Community and other donors. The UNHCR budget this year stands at nearly Dollars 25 m. The impact of the refugee influx is not only negative. Politically, say western diplomats, it has considerably improved Malawi's relations with Mozambique and other neighbouring states. There have been economic benefits too. A significant new source of employment has emerged for Malawians engaged directly in relief work. Transporters, grain millers, textile makers and companies making cooking pots and water containers have also gained. So too have traders, village carpenters and potters. Some aid workers claim that a few estates employ refugees cheaply at peak times. The influx has also acted as a development catalyst increasing the provision of services from which Malawians also benefit, including new and closer clinics and water points, better access roads, afforestation schemes - even veterinary services. The government and UNHCR agree Malawians should benefit from the refugee programme. It makes little sense to exclude local people, some of whom are equally in need, and it prevents resentment. In a few areas, especially the more remote, this policy has even led local Malawians to settle near refugee camps to take advantage of the proximity of services. But despite the advantages for some, most aid workers, including a top World Bank economist, agree that the overall impact has been negative. Maize reserves were quickly depleted. Local villagers lost cultivable land to refugee huts and received no compensation. Transport costs went up as truckers ran relief supplies. Road have been damaged and tens of thousands of trees have been felled for fuel and building poles. Thatching grass is now in short supply, and the government has spent its own cash on administration and services for refugees. A recent joint World Bank and UN report estimates that Malawi will have spent Dollars 14.5 m in 1988 and Dollars 10 m more in 1989, most of it on hidden costs such as environmental damage. Repatriation is the only solution for Malawi. Despite an agreement between Malawi, Mozambique and the UNHCR in December last year, the prospect of large numbers returning is still remote. Malawians may have to live with the refugees for many years. Despite signs of an initiative to bring peace to Mozambique, many in Malawi's camps say they have at last found safety and will not go back until peace is certain. * Origin: UNITEX --> Toward a United Species (1:107/501) --- Patt Haring | UNITEX : United Nations patth@sci.ccny.cuny.edu | Information patth@ccnysci.BITNET | Transfer Exchange -=- Every child smiles in the same language. -=-