Relief and repatriation: Views by Rwandan refugees; lessons for humanitarian AID workers

African Affairs

Volumn 95, Issue 380, 1996, Pages 403-429

  Pottier, Johan ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF LONDON   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

AID POLICY; EMERGENCY AID; FOOD AID; REFUGEE REPATRIATION;

AFRICA, (CENTRAL); RWANDA;

EID: 0030473255     PISSN: 00019909     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a007740     Document Type: Article

References (71)

1. John R. Rogge, 'Repatriation of Refugees: a not so simple "optimum" solution', in Tim Alien and Hubert Morsink (eds) When Refugees Go Home: African experiences (UNRISD, Geneva, 1994, in association with James Currey, London, and Africa World Press, Trenton, 1994), pp. 14-49.
2. Tim Alien and Hubert Morsink, 'Introduction: when refugees go home', in Allen and Morsink (eds) When Refugees Go Home, p. 2.
3. Art Hansen, 'Refugee Self-settlement versus Settlement on Government Schemes: the long term consequences for security, integration, and economic development of Angolan refugees (1966-1989) in Zambia'. Paper presented at 1991 Carter Lectures Conference on involuntary migration and resettlement in Africa. Melissa Leach, Dealing with displacement: refugee-host relations, food and forest resources in Sierra Leonean Mende communities during the Liberian Influx 1990-91 (Institute of Development Studies, Brighton, 1992, IDS research report 22), 51 pp. Finn Stepputat, 'Repatriation and the Politics of Space: the case of the Mayan Diaspora and Return Movement', Journal of Refugee Studies, 7 (1994), p. 175.
4. Art Hansen, 'Refugee Self-settlement versus Settlement on Government Schemes: the long term consequences for security, integration, and economic development of Angolan refugees (1966-1989) in Zambia'. Paper presented at 1991 Carter Lectures Conference on involuntary migration and resettlement in Africa. Melissa Leach, Dealing with displacement: refugee-host relations, food and forest resources in Sierra Leonean Mende communities during the Liberian Influx 1990-91 (Institute of Development Studies, Brighton, 1992, IDS research report 22), 51 pp. Finn Stepputat, 'Repatriation and the Politics of Space: the case of the Mayan Diaspora and Return Movement', Journal of Refugee Studies, 7 (1994), p. 175.
5. Art Hansen, 'Refugee Self-settlement versus Settlement on Government Schemes: the long term consequences for security, integration, and economic development of Angolan refugees (1966-1989) in Zambia'. Paper presented at 1991 Carter Lectures Conference on involuntary migration and resettlement in Africa. Melissa Leach, Dealing with displacement: refugee-host relations, food and forest resources in Sierra Leonean Mende communities during the Liberian Influx 1990-91 (Institute of Development Studies, Brighton, 1992, IDS research report 22), 51 pp. Finn Stepputat, 'Repatriation and the Politics of Space: the case of the Mayan Diaspora and Return Movement', Journal of Refugee Studies, 7 (1994), p. 175.
6. Allen and Morsink, 'Introduction: when refugees go home', p. 5. Barbara Hendrie, 'The Politics of Repatriation: the Tigrayan refugee repatriation 1985-1987', Journal of Refugee Studies, 4 (1991), p. 207.
7. Allen and Morsink, 'Introduction: when refugees go home', p. 5. Barbara Hendrie, 'The Politics of Repatriation: the Tigrayan refugee repatriation 1985-1987', Journal of Refugee Studies, 4 (1991), p. 207.
8. Allen and Morsink, 'Introduction: when refugees go home', p. 5.
9. The evaluation was undertaken on behalf of a Steering Committee comprising 37 agencies: OECD countries, the EU, UN agencies, international organizations, and NGO umbrella groups. The overall objective was to draw lessons from the crisis that would be useful for the present and for future complex emergencies, including their prevention.
10. Preliminary visits to the chosen refugee areas (Ngara, Goma, Bukavu) were undertaken from 24 April to 8 May 1995, while the research proper (Ngara, Goma) took place between 25 June and 25 July 1995. The views expressed in this paper are my own and not necessarily shared by other members of the Evaluation. Danielle de Lame, Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale, Tervuren, covered the Bukavu camps.
11. Alan Fowler, 'The Role of NGOs in Changing State-Society Relations: perspectives from Eastern and Southern Africa', Development Policy Review, 9 (1991), p. 74.
12. Mahmood Mamdani, 'Indirect Rule, Civil Society and Ethnicity', in Preben Kaarsholm (ed.), From Post- Traditional to Post-Modern?: interpreting the meaning of modernity in Third World urban societies (Roskilde University, International Development Studies, Roskilde, 1995), p. 224.
13. On the role of civil society in Rwanda's rehabilitation, see Traits d'Union Rwanda, 4, 11-12.
14. Traits d'Union Rwanda, Special Edition 2, p. 2; my translation.
15. Le Soir, 19 December 1994.
16. CFRC-IWACU stands for 'Centre de Formation et de Recherche Coopératives.' IWACU coordinates Rwandan NGO activities.
17. Traits d'Union Rwanda, Special Edition 2, p. 19; my translation and emphasis added.
18. RDR stands for le Rassemblement pour le Retour et la Démocratie au Rwanda. Founded in Mugunga on 3 April 1995, and led by the Major General of the ex-FAR, the group claims to have distanced itself from the old (interim) government, but is reported to have many extremist elements.
19. Traits d'Union Rwanda, Special Edition 2, p. 21; my translation.
20. Traits d'Union Rwanda, 3, p. 17; my translation.
21. Traits d'Union Rwanda, Special Edition 2, p. 21; my translation.
22. Johan Pottier, 'Debating Styles in a Rwandan Cooperative: Reflections on Language, Policy and Gender', in R. D. Grillo (ed.), Social Anthropology and the Politics of Language (Routledge, London, 1989), pp. 41-60.
23. For example, see Timothy Longman, 'Genocide and Socio-Political Change: massacres in two Rwandan villages', Issue: a Journal of Opinion, 23 (1995), pp. 18-21.
24. I never felt 'detached' during my time in the camps. Ever conscious of the friends I had lost during the war and in the genocide, and in the case of one moderate-Hutu friend receiving confirmation of his death directly from well informed refugees, I could never for a single moment forget the human slaughter and political motives behind the flight into exile. Mostly though, I adopted a pragmatic neutralism and shook off frustrations by reminding myself that lessons would be learned.
25. UNHCR Food Distribution Plan, 15 June 1995.
26. Lumasi was started in early June 1994 to decongest Benaco. Initially, relocated refugees came mainly from Byumba Prefecture. By mid-June 1994, as the RPF moved towards south Rwanda, tens of thousands of people from Kibungo streamed across the border to arrive in Lumasi.
27. Johan Portier, 'Taking Stock: Food Marketing Reform in Rwanda, 1982-1989', African Affairs, 92 (1989), pp. 5-30.
28. Ian Linden, Church and Revolution in Rwanda (Manchester University Press, Manchester, 1977), p. 286.
29. Monique Mujawamariya, 'Report of a visit to Rwanda, September 1-2, 1994', Issue: a journal of opinion, XXIII (1995), pp. 32-8.
30. Monique Mujawamariya, Rapport de Visite Effectuée au Rwanda du 1/9/94 au 22/9/94 (Mimeo, Montréal, Canada, 1994).
31. Filip Reyntjens, L'Afrique des Grands Lacs en Crise. Rwanda, Burundi: 1988-1994 (Karthala, Paris, 1994), pp. 184-185.
32. For an interesting discussion of the relationship between WFP and UNHCR, see Susanne Jaspars, 'The Rwandan Refugee Crisis in Tanzania: initial successes and failures in food assistance'. (ODI Relief and Rehabilitation Network, London) Network Paper 6.
33. A cellule comprises some 40 households on average.
34. See UNHCR Briefing Note, 25 April 1995.
35. Commune leaders had received their 'incentives' as camp assistants, not as commune administrators.
36. Associations included Wikwiheba ('Ne te décourages pas', an association for women affected by the war); AFERWA (Association des Femmes rwandaises); Duterimbere ('Progressons', promoting the collective management of small enterprises); Girl Guides; and the Association des Femmes Burundaises.
37. The Guardian, 16 May 1995.
38. Repatriation was not formally part of my brief under the Joint Evaluation's terms of reference. It was, however, a topic on every refugee's lips and impossible to ignore.
39. Among the participants were the Commissaire de Zone de Karisimbi, the assistant to the Commissaire de Zone de Goma, the UNHCR field coordinator for Mugunga and Lac Vert, some Zairean chefs de quartier, refugee chefs de quartier from Mugunga and Lac Vert, representatives of the Zairean Camp Security Contingent (ZCSC) and the Camp Security Liaison Group (CSLG), and representatives of various refugee associations.
40. This meeting was held on 8 July 1995.
41. Interestingly, HCR-Ngara was by then, at least among staff, actively planning to organize go-and-see day trips by selected refugees. By mid-October (if not earlier) these cross-border visits were effectively organized, but with a mixture of success and dramatic setbacks. A Belgian newspaper, Het Laatste Nieuws, 20 October 1995, brought extensive coverage of the cross-border visits. The journalist called the operation 'one of the many panicky experiments by HCR to convince the refugee population that it is safe now to go back'. One particular source of frustration was that day-trippers might have one version of their experience for HCR and another one, full of horror, for when they returned to the camp. The main problem, however, was that UNHCR was unable to tap into 'the dialogues' it was trying to encourage. Chris Bowers, UNHCR-Kigali, told the reporter about a bricklayer who day-tripped to his commune. The man 'was enthusiastic. Once back in his camp in Burundi, the man said exactly the opposite.' Many other questions also arose making open dialogue doubtful: Rwanda is well known for its 'polite conversations' whenever authority is involved, even in so-called normal times. It is hard to imagine that the one-day home visits would not be carefully orchestrated. Johan Portier, 'Three is a Crowd: Knowledge, Ignorance and Power in the context of Urban Agriculture in Rwanda', Africa, 54 (1989), pp. 461-77.
42. Interestingly, HCR-Ngara was by then, at least among staff, actively planning to organize go-and-see day trips by selected refugees. By mid-October (if not earlier) these cross-border visits were effectively organized, but with a mixture of success and dramatic setbacks. A Belgian newspaper, Het Laatste Nieuws, 20 October 1995, brought extensive coverage of the cross-border visits. The journalist called the operation 'one of the many panicky experiments by HCR to convince the refugee population that it is safe now to go back'. One particular source of frustration was that day-trippers might have one version of their experience for HCR and another one, full of horror, for when they returned to the camp. The main problem, however, was that UNHCR was unable to tap into 'the dialogues' it was trying to encourage. Chris Bowers, UNHCR-Kigali, told the reporter about a bricklayer who day-tripped to his commune. The man 'was enthusiastic. Once back in his camp in Burundi, the man said exactly the opposite.' Many other questions also arose making open dialogue doubtful: Rwanda is well known for its 'polite conversations' whenever authority is involved, even in so-called normal times. It is hard to imagine that the one-day home visits would not be carefully orchestrated. Johan Portier, 'Three is a Crowd: Knowledge, Ignorance and Power in the context of Urban Agriculture in Rwanda', Africa, 54 (1989), pp. 461-77.
43. Joint Evaluation of Emergency Assistance to Rwanda, The International Response to Conflict and Genocide: Lessons from the Rwanda Experience. Volume 3: Humanitarian Aid and Effects (Steering Committee of the Joint Evaluation to Emergency Assistance to Rwanda, Copenhagen, 1996), p. 74.
44. Nina Vinquist (ICRC) commented on Kibumba: 'The refugees are "remarkably well organized" . . . They have regrouped by Prefecture and by Commune. The majority among them had already been displaced inside Rwanda, following the successive invasions of the RPF. They spontaneously align behind the trucks that bring water or food' (Le Monde, 21 July 1994; my translation).
45. ADRA, MDM and MEMISA together requested a total of nearly 2,000 on 5 November 1994.
46. The relevant Rapport Hebdommadaire (5 November 1994), drafted by one HCR field assistant, reports the following measures (my translation): 1. For the purpose of needs identification, the Mugunga camp will henceforth be divided into five zones. Adra, MDM/E, ARC, Caritas, PMU will take charge of one zone each. 2. The above NGOs will draw up their own lists of deserving beneficiaries and present them for approval to UNHCR, who will then pass them on to World Vision, the distributing agency. 3. World Vision will decide when the distribution will take place, about which it will inform UNHCR. 4. UNHCR will then inform the NGO responsible for the zone to be served. After which, the NGO will inform the beneficiaries and its own helpers about when the distribution will take place. 5. UNHCR representatives will be welcome to inspect the distributions. 6. UNHCR has the right to carry out follow-up visits to the beneficiaries' homes.
47. Myriam Houtart, Community Services and Education: Ngara, Kagera Region, Tanzania (UNHCR, Ngara, 1995). Mimeo, p. 4.
48. Rukebesha, interview 12 July 1995.
49. Le Monde, 24-25 July 1994; emphasis added.
50. De Morgen, 6 January 1995.
51. De Standaard, 14 September 1995.
52. Le Courier de l'Escaut, 12 October 1995.
53. Médecins Sans Frontières-France, Messages (Journal Interne des Médecins Sans Frontières), 81 (1995).
54. Moreover, several hundred thousand cattle have also moved into Rwanda. Soon after its military victory, the RPF earmarked parts of Rwanda (such as Mutara and Bugesera) for 'old caseload' refugees and their cattle. Migration into Mutara started well before the war ended. A further reason for not wanting the Hutu refugees back is that they are potential anti-RPF voters.
55. Johan Pottier, Food Security and Agricultural Rehabilitation in Post-War Rwanda. (Save The Children Fund, London, 1994, Report with John Wilding), 113 pp.
56. Quoted in Le Soir, 28 July 1995.
57. Le Soir, 28 July 1995.
58. UNHCR dossier released in Kigali, quoted in La Libre Ḃelgique, 22 September 1995.
59. John R. Rogge, 'Repatriation of Refugees', p. 29.
60. Le Soir, 28 July 1995; emphasis added.
61. Le Soir, 28 July 1995; emphasis added.
62. For examples, see Johan Portier, Food Security and Agricultural Rehabilitation in Post-War Rwanda.
63. Lindsey Hilsum, 'Where is Kigali?', Grama Books, 51 (1995), p. 161. Johan Pottier, 'Representations of Ethnicity in Post-Genocide Writings on Rwanda', in Obi Igwara (ed.) Ethnic Hatred: genocide in Rwanda (ASEN Publication, London, 1995), pp. 35-57.
64. Lindsey Hilsum, 'Where is Kigali?', Grama Books, 51 (1995), p. 161. Johan Pottier, 'Representations of Ethnicity in Post-Genocide Writings on Rwanda', in Obi Igwara (ed.) Ethnic Hatred: genocide in Rwanda (ASEN Publication, London, 1995), pp. 35-57.
65. Gérard Prunier, The Rwanda Crisis, 1959-1994: history of a geonocide (Hurst, London, 1995), pp. 157-8.
66. African Rights, Not So Innocent: When women become killers (African Rights, London, 1995), 284 pp.
67. Finn Stepputat, 'Repatriation and the Politics of Space', p. 175.
68. John R. Rogge, 'Repatriation of Refugees', p. 29.
69. Joint Evaluation of Emergency Assistance to Rwanda, The International Response to Conflict and Genocide, pp. 158-9.
70. In complex emergencies, neutrality is a concept fraught with ethical dilemma, see African Rights, Humanitarianism Unbound? Current dilemmas facing multi-mandate relief operations in political emergencies (African Rights, London, 1994), 40 pp. Also, The Lancet, 4 March 1995, editorial.
71. In complex emergencies, neutrality is a concept fraught with ethical dilemma, see African Rights, Humanitarianism Unbound? Current dilemmas facing multi-mandate relief operations in political emergencies (African Rights, London, 1994), 40 pp. Also, The Lancet, 4 March 1995, editorial.