Rwandan refugees return from DRCongo
Ninety one Rwandans have repatriated from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Friday morning via Rubavu district at the western border of Rwanda.
The returnees, largely women and children, were received at Nkamira transit camp in Rubavu district roughly 100km from Masisi and Karehe in Eastern DRC where they have been living.
The returnees claim it is difficult to return home due to lack of transport. An estimate 3 million Rwandans fled into DRC during the genocide against the Tutsi in 1994.
Some of them are families of FDLR militias. They say anyone who thinks of returning to Rwanda faces a death threat.
In the last six months, 2,500 Rwandans returned from DRC, the UNHCR says it is till conducting a census to establish how many Rwandan refugees live in DRC.
The Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugees Affairs (MIDMAR) says 3,456,429 have repatriated since 1994. There are more than 75,000 Rwandan refugees according to the UNHCR.
Those who return are registered to establish their home and given food, allowance for three months, basic home kits and clothes.
The budget for all these activities is covered by UNHCR.
“After the three months period, the local government supports the returnees through existing social mechanisms,” says Fredric Ntawukuriryayo, the Public Relations Officer for MIDMAR.
“We address returnees’ challenge on individual basis; some need to go to school, others need homes,” says Alivera Mukabaramba, State Minister for Social affairs in Ministry of Local Government.
