200 South Sudanese refugees return home

At least 200 South Sudanese refugees formerly residing at Boroli Settlement Camp in Pakelle Sub-county in Adjumani District have escaped and returned to their home country.
Ms Kevin Juliet Maia, the refugee welfare council II (RWC II) chairperson of Boroli Refugee Settlement Camp, told Sunday Monitor early this week that refugees who abandoned the settlement complained of starvation brought by the reduction in food ratio by the World Food Programme (WFP), destruction of food crops caused by the recent floods and fear of election-related violence as witnessed by the recent killings in some parts of the country.

She said the refugees who decided to go back to their native country usually sneak out of the settlement in shifts during wee hours of the night for fear of being intercepted by officials from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) and Uganda Police Force.

“Some of them told me calm has returned in some parts of South Sudan and that’s why they decided to return home,” Ms Maia said.
Ms Maia disclosed that the returning refugees mainly use the porous border points to enter into South Sudan mainly on foot, while others hire passenger service vehicles to transport their family members to Elegu border point in Atiak Sub-county, Amuru District from where they find their way back home.  

Ms Rebecca Arual, the RWC II women representative for Nyumanzi Refugee Settlement in Dzaipi Sub-county in Adjumani District, said she cannot wait for official reparation of refugees back to South Sudan.
She said while in Uganda, she has pursued a diploma in Logistics and Procurement Management, a skill she is willing to put into use in the development of her native country.

“Educated young people like me are willing to go back home and work to earn a living but the elderly and the sick are comfortable staying in the settlement,” she said.
Mr Moses Nyang, the RWC II chairperson for Nyumanzi Refugee Settlement Camp in Adjumani District, equally confirmed that an unspecified number of South Sudanese refugees in his settlement have crossed back to South Sudan to seek medical attention and to assist their relatives during the harvest season, among other reasons.
He echoed that the reduction in food ration has affected the relationship between the refugees and the host communities.

“Our children end up in the cassava gardens of the host communities because of hunger and once they are intercepted, the end result is conflict,” he said.    
The Minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, Mr Hillary Onek, confirmed that refugees in Uganda are grappling with numerous challenges brought about by what he described as “donor fatigue”.