Refugees in Malawi resist moving to overcrowded camp

Special Desk

Despite living in Malawi for years hundreds of refugees have to move to the only overcrowded refugee camp. Government of Malawi has ordered thousands of refugees to move to the country’s only refugee camp.

Some of the refugees have lived in Malawi for years, setting up businesses and marrying Malawians and have integrated into society. Authorities say they pose a threat to national security by living among local people.
Some refugees have said they will resist the order to move to the overcrowded Dzaleka camp.

The deadline to move to the camp was originally 28 April, but a temporary court injunction has provided a brief respite.

The camp, which is about 40km north of the capital, Lilongwe, has a capacity for up to 14,000 refugees but now houses nearly 50,000. Hundreds more are arriving each month, most of them coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“We are not chasing them, and we just want them to be where they should be,” Homeland Security Minister Richard Chimwendo told a news agency. “Those who have businesses… will have to operate from Dzaleka. If they are married they must apply for permanent residence. We are not sending them back to their countries,” he further explained the government’s stand.

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in Malawi estimates that about 2,000 refugees are affected by the order. It said the directive was in line with the country’s encampment laws, but warned of serious human rights implications and urged the government to reconsider.

In an email to AFP, the UNHCR said health facilities, water supplies and schools at the camp would be stretched even further by the move.

Chimwendo, however, denied that the decision was linked to the insurgency. He acknowledged that the camp was overcrowded, but said, “We are looking at how best we can settle that.”

Kanamula John, who represents Rwandan refugees in Dzaleka, said the overcrowding was a big concern, adding that some of us have married Malawian women and some Malawian men have married women refugees. Don’t know what will happen to children.