Program helping refugees from war-ravaged African countries living in Malawi return home

LILONGWE, Malawi

Scores of refugees and asylum seekers from war-torn African nations who have been living in Malawi for decades are returning to their native countries due to a voluntary repatriation program the government is running in conjunction with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

Around 53,000 refugees and asylum seekers from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia have been living in the Dzaleka Refugee Camp in central Malawi since the 1990s.

Hilda Kausiwa, senior administrative and operations manager in the Department of Refugees under the Ministry of Homeland Security, told Anadolu that the program was initiated in collaboration with the UNHCR to provide a "safe space for refugees willing to return to their native countries (and) to do so without any obstacles."

'Neither the government of Malawi nor the UNHCR is forcing any refugee to go back to their countries. They are doing this on their own. We are just facilitating their return," Kausiwa said.

This voluntary repatriation program not only promotes the safe return of individuals to their home countries but also serves as a testament to the evolving dynamics of refugee management and support in Malawi," she added.

She said partners have been raising awareness among the refugee community about the program, and "so far, there is growing support for the program from the refugees and we have about 200 refugees and asylum seekers who have gone back home and about 800 of them who are willing to go."

Kausiwa noted that the UNHCR is providing funding and "other essential support" to facilitate the repatriation.

A cross-section of refugees Anadolu spoke to at the Dzaleka Refugee Camp lauded the repatriation program, describing it as a "gesture coming at the right time."

Ameen Saudi, an asylum seeker from Somalia who has been in Malawi since 2000, said that for so long, he has been willing to return home, and "this program has therefore come at a right time for me. I will seize this opportunity to go back to my native country."

In 2023, the Malawian government forcibly removed all refugees who were running businesses in the country's major towns and cities and relocated them to the camp, a move which was widely condemned by human rights bodies. At the camp, they are provided with a monthly living allowance and food rations.