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Life in Dzaleka Refugee Camp In Malawi 06 August 2015

Life has a lot of factors which determine the status of a person at a particular place in the world. The war in the countries of the great lake region has been the cause of the refugee situation around the world. The article aims to give you a short story about life in a refugee camp especially in Malawi. The article provides some details about food, school, medical care, shelter, and water source for refugees in Dzaleka camp. Shortly the article states about the three durable solutions possible to refugees and asylum seekers mandated and promoted by United nations high commissioner for refugees. For much details let's go ahead with reading in the article and you will be able to know more about life in a refugee camp.

Who is a refugee or asylum seeker?

As we continue with the article let first seek to understand well about who is a refugee or asylum seeker. For good distinction of these two words describing the same person in a similar situation. An asylum seeker is a person who fled his own country and seek protection in other country. Refugee is “any person who owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country” (United Nations Convention on Refugees, 1951).

Any one can become an asylum seeker or a refugee every where in the world. Today the refugee population is increasing every month according to the statistic of refugees and internally displaced people, mostly in Africa and Asia. According to UNHCR(2014 report), the population is going up to 50 million. Many refugee camps are in Africa due to its political crisis which results the very huge ethnic conflicts reinforcing the refugee movement and internal displacements. Some people during conflict are persecuted and forced to flee out side the country for further protection and they become Refugee or Asylum seeker.

Malawi and Refugee Life

Malawi is located in the Southern Africa, formerly called “Nyasaland”. Malawians are very proud of their nation despite of its economic situation and classified as one of the poorest nations in the world. Still Malawians said that their country is the warm heart of Africa. Malawi was under British colony before it gained its independence in 1964.

Malawi is a community of generous people, people who have a good character to live or host foreigners or people with unclear identities based in a refugee camp. In 2004 Malawi had two official refugee camps. The first is Dzaleka refugee camp which was opened in 1994 and it is still the only existing refugee camp in Malawi after the other Luwani refugee camp that was opened in 2004 and closed in 2007. The refugees from Luwani were moved to Dzaleka to make one camp in the country in end May 2007.

The demographical population of Dzaleka refugee camp is about 19,000 people men, women and children (year 2014). These refugees and asylum seekers are coming from different countries. Mainly in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Burundi, Rwanda, Somalia, Ethiopia, Angola, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda, Sieraleone, Eritrea, Brazil and one was from Sir lanker.

After an asylum seeker is reported to the immigration officer, he/she is kept in the transit center to wait for other asylums to come and make the reasonable number to be taken to the refugee camp in Dzaleka. Every month about 300 individuals are coming to the camp.The government of Malawi and UHNCR Malawi provide the transport means from Karonga transit located in the Northern region of the country.

The orientation meeting is held by the government officials to give information to the new arriving asylum seekers about the procedures and steps to undertake for their settlement in the Dzaleka refugee camp. Dzaleka refugee camp is located in the central region, Dowa district about 45 km away from Lilongwe the capital city of Malawi. See the image of Dzaleka refugee camp.

The government of Malawi provides plots for the new arriving asylum seekers to build the shelter (house). After they are given plots, they mould bricks first and start building their houses as a permanent indwelling home for the whole family.

The registration exercise follow whereby the new arriving asylum seekers get photo captured by UNHCR registration officer to get data entry into UNHCR data base system. Then after, they issue the ration card that refugees and asylum seekers use to get the monthly food ration and other non food items.

After the asylum seeker is settled and has a permanent location number ,he or she registers to the refugee status determination unit (RSD) ,a government unit that interviews  and assesses asylum seekers claims for refugee status grant.

Food and survival

All refugees and asylum seekers in Dzaleka refugee camp rely on the food ration provided by the united nation trough world food program (WFP ).The food received still not enough to sustain their livings but a survival ration because the available commodities are not enough to meet the standard scheme.

In Malawi refugees and asylum seekers receive 13.5kg of maize corn, 40g cooking oil, 50g soyer flour and cereal for infants of 24 months of age, 60g beans or peas,two tablets of soap and at a period a blanket per individual. Some other times food ration is cut off so refugees and asylum seekers starve. Life turns to be more harsh when food ration becomes less to support the living of people who don't have other source of survival.

In this situation unmarried women, young girls, unaccompanied minors, elderly people and other group of asylum seekers and refugees of concern are most vulnerable and find difficult to survive where there is no other option to take. Many unmarried and young girls are engaged in a survival sex to cover other basic needs which are not provided by the humanitarian agencies. But they expose themselves to the sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV and AIDS that is highly spread in the camp.

Some implementing partners working with UNHCR Malawi such as PLAN Malawi, PRDO are conducting many awareness activities aiming to reduce the spread of this pandemic disease to the residents of Dzaleka refugee camp. Some victims of this survival sex claim to being forced by the hardship of life and find that there is no other option to look up to.

Young girls are trafficked or smuggled to different towns of the country to become sex workers. Still other young girls of age between 14 to 18 are dropping out of school and become mother trough transaction sex at early age. Poverty in the refugee life has been the beam for school young girls to engage in the transactional sex to get other basic needs that parents are not  able to provide. When they become pregnant they drop out due to the peer critics and stigmatization.

Water and sanitation

Bore holes are the source of water in Dzaleka refugee camp. It has become very difficult for homes to have adequate and enough water due to the overpopulation of the camp. Bore holes or water sources are few and high demand is standing. Water is needed for many tasks. Some people need water for home use, others for bricks moulding, still others for washing closes. Lots of abuses are happening to women and children at the bore holes. Physical assault, insults and other sort of abuses are being reported to the police station based in the camp.

The picture above shows refugees of Dzaleka fetching water from the bore hole. Houses of the camp are very congested surrounding bore holes, toilettes are coming closer to the water sources which can be easier way to spread up diseases and other bacterias affecting peoples' lives. Littering and exposures of used stuff, throwing everywhere the left over food, stagnant water near bore holes or water source are the risks associating to the cause of some other diseases such as malaria, cholera etc.

Health care system There is a health centre or clinic in Dzaleka refugee camp where health issues are handled. It is a common centre where both refugees and the villages around the camp get medical care, HIV/AIDS counseling and maternity. Because of the high demand of medical treatment, refugees and the local villagers queue up themselves early morning. And because of long queue some people who can come late get treated late as well. The same as to the maternity ,as women in needs are very many but the medical personnel are very few due to the funds available. Isolation is happening during cholera outbreak to try to minimize the contamination rate and preventing others from being contaminated as people are collectively agglomerated together.

Special medical cases are transferred to appropriate hospitals in the country for further attention. Some times it may be very difficult to reach the appropriate hospital because of funds to support ambulances circulation for farer hospitals in other regions of the country.

Education and schools The UNHCR is trying its best to provide education to refugees and asylum seekers even if school enrollment is very high. Through Jesuit refugee service (JRS) organization, school and education issues are handled and administrated. The educational institution has different establishments: pre-school, primary and secondary school,adult education and vocational centers, and University.

Umozi Katubza primary school host about 5000 school children, many are from the refugee community and the surrounding Malawian children. It is very difficult for children to get proper education because the learning condition is not good due to less facilities available. Class rooms are very big and some of the children are sitting down on the floor, lot of noise because class size is big of over 100 children.

This learning condition has brought concerns to both Jesuit refugee services and parents. But the fundings matter and no other option beside, but education should be the priority. Children still willing and proud to learn despite the condition.

The Dzaleka community day secondary school also provides education to boys and girls from both Malawian and refugee communities. After the secondary school education, the graduated student may stay in the camp and go through the normal life like other refugees. Still other who performed well can apply to WUSC (world University service of Canada) a refugee program that grants scholarship to refugee students to study in Canada.

Jesuit Commons High Education at the Margins is an other program that provides an on line studies through Regis University and other  Jesuit colleges in the USA. The graduated students from Dzaleka secondary school and few others from the camp community undergo the selection process and few places are available in the mildest of many applications. The program provides liberal studies with three concentrations. Education, business and social studies are the curriculum for three years and the diploma is awarded after completion officially by Regis University. Also some community learning tracks are provided by the Jesuit Commons High Education at the Margins, a 15 weeks class session in community health, special needs, communication and journalism, psycho-social counseling, training of trainers, performing arts, child protection, Business and entrepreneurship.

The adult education provides language lessons to the refugee community and to interested Malawians. English, French and kiswahili are the most language that the adult education program focuses on. In the vocational training centre Jesuit Refugee Services provides computer training, brick laying, carpentry and joinery, tailoring etc.

Livelihood and movement

The survival of refugees and asylum seekers depends on the ration provided by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees(UNHCR) through World Food Program (WFP ). By the commodities available, refugees and asylum seekers find not enough to carry on their livings. Some refugees and asylum seekers are engaged in a survival agricultural farming whereby they grow maize crop and beans. Lack of chemical substances to fertilize the soil their harvest is at a very low scale.

In Malawi there is no freedom of movement to Refugees. Though commercial movement and activities in tows is not legally allowed. Other people among refugees have qualifications to hold professional occupation but the law hinders and hold them in the camp. Life is totally hard and difficult to manage. The extreme poverty is ravaging the community of Dzaleka refugee camp.

Durable solutions

Good number of refugees and asylum seekers are in the protracted situations due to their countries ongoing situations of conflicts and wars. This has been the reason for some other refugees and asylum seekers have been staying longer in Dzaleka refugee camp since its existence. Some children who were born in the refugee situation grew up and have children as well in the camp and they don't know anything about their countries of origins.

The unending political crisis in countries of great lake region has been the barrier for refugees and asylum seekers to go back home. In this case the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has mandated to work on durable solutions on the refugee situations. Three solutions came out: 1. Voluntary repatriation, 2. Local integration and 3. Resettlement to the third country.

One of these possible solutions is not applicable in Malawi. Due to some other economic situation of the country, Malawi does not grant the local integration to refugees. In other cases voluntary repatriation is the first option of the durable solutions to refugees but not in full because of the country of origin situation. For Congolese refugees some of the regions are not yet secured for them to go back. The Eastern part of the country still facing some movements and activities which disrupt the public order.

In case of Rwandan and Burundian refugees, it has been said that they do not know anything about their countries because of the protracted situation. The generation that was born out side the countries does not know any place in Burundi or Rwanda. Lands owned by their parents have new occupants legalized by the current government. So ,few number of refugees are being repatriated every year.

The new fleeing refugees are telling others about the current situation of the countries especially Rwanda and Burundi in case of willing to return. The media also is telling the ongoing situation of conflicts and crisis in the countries of great lake region.

The UNHCR Malawi has opted the resettlement as the other durable solution mostly for Congolese refugees because of the standing conflicts that are jeopardizing people lives in the Eastern party of the country. No peace yet restored in the region and a lot of inhumane activities such as rape, violence, massacres still sounding in the region of the country.

Every year the UNHCR Malawi is processing cases for quarter selection program. The screening interviews are conducted by UNHCR resettlement experts to determine those who are legible for resettlement to the third country for international protection. These are cases of refugees who are in well-founded fear and cannot go back to their home countries because of what would happen to them if they do.

As you read the whole article I hope that you are able to grasp the broad idea about refuge life and situation even if you haven't experienced the camp before. Get to know what is happening in refugee camps, in Malawi and all over the world. They are millions of people whom today are in a refugee situation. They don't have anything, they are going through a situation of a hard life.

Refugees are people of concern who always need your support and hope. It takes courage to be in the situation of refugee. Imagine the situation of refugees in Malawi as it said that Malawi is among the poorest nations of the globe. A life of poverty in the mildest of a poor community. Many challenges associate with the refugee life because people from different cultures, background different mode of life are living together in the environment of refuge.

By Lukogo Byona Joseph, Refugee from Dzaleka Refugee Camp,Malawi

References:

Joint Assessment mission report: Dzaleka Refugee camp, Malawi (20012) UNHCR - World Refugee Day: Global forced displacement ...