| UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER |
October 6, 1997 Contact: Larry Thompson
Release (202) 828-0110
TUAREG REFUGEES RETURN TO BLEAK FUTURE IN MALI
The repatriation program in Mali of Tuareg and Moor refugees may be one of the most difficult challenges that UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has ever undertaken. The returning refugees have chosen to live at hundreds of sites over a huge, inaccessible area of desert and desert border. Most of these areas are waterless, roadless and lack industry and commerce to provide employment to returned refugees. The livestock herds the Tuaregs formerly owned have been decimated by drought and years of conflict. The economic and environmental viability of the Tuaregs resuming their former lifestyle of nomadic herding is questionable. Agriculture is only feasible in the few small areas with access to irrigation.
The personnel and resources from UNHCR, other international organizations, and non-governmental organizations are insufficient to deal adequately with the serious problems the returned refugees are facing. Despite recent contributions from the U.S. and the EU, the resources UNHCR has for the Mali program in 1997 add up to only about $6 million of the $17 million originally budgeted. The shortage of UNHCR resources has led to serious problems in meeting the most basic needs of the refugees.
WATER The RI team talked to hundreds of former refugees at more than twenty locations scattered over a crescent of land stretching five hundred miles along the border of the Sahara. The replies of the refugees were remarkably consistent: their main problem is water or, as some put it, thirst. The problem of insufficient water at many sites requires urgent attention. The "rainy" season in the desert will end shortly.
UNHCR estimates that 20 percent of the 171 refugee settlement sites in the Lere region do not have a well or easy access to water. Many sites in other locations also lack water, or have insufficient water. Some refugees must walk hours to the nearest well or waterhole. Even if adequate water for human consumption exists, the supply is often inadequate for agriculture or the Tuaregs' herds of goats. Without increasing the water supply available to the returned refugees, their prospects of achieving economic self-sufficiency are bleak.
FOOD The RI team observed several cases of severe malnutrition among the most vulnerable -- the oldest and youngest -- of the returned refugees. A few cases of starvation were reported. Most of the returnees have only very small food reserves, their attempts at agriculture are failing in some areas due to lack of rain or irrigation water; and their livestock are not numerous enough to provide them with the meat and milk that were formerly staples of their diet.
The food situation of the returned refugees may become worse in the months to come. There are few opportunities for employment at their present locations. Some refugees have moved to Bamako or other cities where they have been reduced to begging. Most, however, have close family and religious ties to the sites they have chosen to live and only the most extreme hardship will force them to move.
EDUCATION AND HEALTH Very few of the reintegration sites have any facilities for education or health care. Tuareg children at site after site asked for a school; many of them attended schools while they were in refugee camps in Mauritania, Algeria, or Burkina Faso and they wish to continue their education. Likewise, although a cadre of refugees was trained in first aid and elementary medicine in the refugee camps, there are no medicines or any other health care available in most locations. The RI team encountered a number of people with serious illnesses, including malaria.
The RI team encountered widespread dissatisfaction and even hostility toward the government of Mali, UN agencies, and foreign organizations. On several occasions refugees expressed their dissatisfaction with shortfalls in the repatriation program. "The UNHCR promised us water, food, schools and health, and it hasn't kept its promises" was a common refrain. There was also a darker suspicion among the returned refugees that they were brought back from the refugee camps in a conscious effort by the government and international organizations to destroy them through neglect.
The returnees told the RI team repeatedly that they are tired of charity and being international wards. They want to become independent again, but are waiting -- fruitlessly in most cases -- for the help that will make it possible for them to earn a living.
The clear problem with the refugee repatriation program in Mali is lack of financial and human resources to manage successfully a large, difficult, and demanding program. UNHCR urgently needs additional resources.
Recommendations: S The international community should increase contributions to the UNHCR program in Mali.
S UNHCR and its partners should accelerate -- as the top priority -- well digging programs. The provision of adequate water to every needful refugee site is absolutely crucial before the onset of the hot, dry season from March to May. If the well digging program is not successfully completed before then the consequences could be severe, risking lives.
S UNHCR and other international organizations should urgently implement small, quick-impact, income-generating development projects. The development problems are severe, as few readily-identifiable investment opportunities exist. Irrigation projects and water pumps are a priority in some areas with access to irrigation water.
S WFP food-for-work programs should be expanded to more locations to include greater numbers of returned refugees. Food-for-work projects address the problem of food scarcity among the returned refugees -- problems which may become more severe in the next few months.
S The international community should support the Malian government in its effort to expand basic education and health care to the returnees and other populations of this area. With few exceptions, no schools or health care are now available. The provision of traditional medicines included in the official Malian pharmacopoeia would be a first step in health care.
Refugees International -- 2639 Conn. Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20008 Phone: 202-828-0110 Fax: 202-828-0819 www: http://www.refintl.org
[Via the UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for West Africa (IRIN-WA) Reports mailing list. The material contained in this communication may not necessarily reflect the views of the UN or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts from this report should be attributed to the original sources where appropriate. For further information: e-mail irin-wa@africaonline.co.ci, Tel: +225 217367 Fax:+225 216335.]
Message-Id: <199710081405.RAA03673@dha.unon.org> Date: Tue, 07 Oct 1997 08:20:02 +0100 From: UN DHA IRIN - West Africa <irin-wa@africaonline.co.ci> Subject: MALI: RI Release, Tuareg refugees returne to bleak future 97.10.07
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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