Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07HARARE952
2007-10-19 10:22:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Harare
Cable title:  

TONGOGARA REFUGEE CAMP TRIP REPORT

Tags:  PREF PHUM PREL ZI 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO4067
PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSB #0952/01 2921022
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 191022Z OCT 07 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2050
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEHJB/AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA 0001
RUEHLGB/AMEMBASSY KIGALI 0449
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 1747
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 1804
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0868
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HARARE 000952 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREF PHUM PREL ZI
SUBJECT: TONGOGARA REFUGEE CAMP TRIP REPORT

--------
Summary
--------

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HARARE 000952

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREF PHUM PREL ZI
SUBJECT: TONGOGARA REFUGEE CAMP TRIP REPORT

--------------
Summary
--------------


1. Representatives from the Bureau of Population Refugees
and Migration (PRM) Mary Lange and Nancy Jackson, accompanied
by EmbOff, visited Tongogara refugee camp on September 29.
Despite harsh economic conditions in Zimbabwe, the nearly
2,700 refugees in Tongogara camp are receiving adequate
shelter, food, and water, and have access to basic health
care, social services, and education. Most of the refugees
in the camp have been there for years, and while many could
probably return home, or at least find their way to better
opportunities in Zimbabwe's neighboring countries, they
remain in Tongogara, holding out for resettlement. To
bolster their claims for resettlement, refugees complain
about food rations and camp living; these complaints appear
largely unsubstantiated. While it is unlikely the majority
of the population will be resettled, there may be some
vulnerable individuals, particularly among the Somali
community and among the young female heads of household, who
could be good candidates for third country resettlement. End
Summary.

--------------
Refugee Caseload
--------------


2. According to the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),there are 4,311 refugees
and asylum seekers in Zimbabwe, of which 2,673 are living in
the Tongogara camp located in southern Zimbabwe along the
border with Mozambique. The remaining 1,638 refugees are
living in urban areas, primarily in Harare. The Zimbabwean
government has an encampment policy for refugees. Only those
with valid reasons for remaining in urban centers, such as
employment, education or medical treatment, are granted
permission to live in urban centers. The majority of
refugees are from the Great Lakes region. Refugees from the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are the largest single
group, totaling 2,792, followed by Rwandans (651) and
Burundians (597). The remaining 271 refugees are from
numerous other countries, including Somalia, Ethiopia,
Angola, and Uganda.


3. Despite Zimbabwe's deteriorating economic situation,
asylum seekers from the DRC and Somala continue to arrive at
the Harare Waterfalls Trnsit Center. Many wind up leaving
Zimbabwe for etter economic opportunities in South Africa.

Whle the Tongogara camp population has remained relatvely
stable over the past five years, Zimbabwe'surban refugee
population has dramatically declind as hyper-inflation,
rampant unemployment, government-induced displacement as a
result of Operation Restore Order, and food and fuel
shortages have made living and working in Zimbabwe
increasingly difficult. (Prior to 2006, urban refugees
totaled more than 8,000.) Aside from registration and
issuance of an ID card, urban refugees receive no material
support from UNHCR. Food rations and non-food items are
distributed only to camp-based refugees.

--------------
General PRM/Embassy Observations
--------------


4. Tongogara camp was established in 1984 to house
Mozambican refugees. At the time of the Mozambican
repatriation operations in 1994, the camp was home to some
58,000 refugees. After more than 20 years of operation, the
camp has more of a village character than a camp fell. There
are permanent housing structures with electricity, schools,
churches, a mosque, a police station, shops, a clinic, and at
least two bars. The camp is fairly isolated, however, with
the nearest major city (Mutare) about a two-hour drive away.
The area is very dry, and heavily dependent on irrigation,
which in turn is dependent upon increasingly scarce power and
fuel supplies. Few prospects exist for refugee
self-sufficiency in the area.


5. Refugees appear to be in good health. UNHCR has done an
excellent job in supplying the camp in the face of the
economic crisis in the country. Food rations meet or in some
instances exceed minimum standards (more than 2,100
kilocalories/person/day),and the warehouse is full of both
food and non-food items, many of which are nearly impossible
to find in the rest of Zimbabwe. In fact, local Zimbabwean
officials who accompanied us were amazed by the abundance of

HARARE 00000952 002 OF 003


such staples as sugar and maize, none of which can be found
now on the local market.


6. Supplies must be trucked in from South Africa, and this
poses a significant drain on operating funds. UNHCR has
creatively managed to obtain six months worth of food rations
from the World Food Program (WFP) in 2007, despite the fact
that WFP does not typically provide food for refugee camp
populations of less than 5,000 people. Firewood is scarce in
this dry area, and UNHCR should consider including in
non-food distributions some alternative sources of fuel, such
as energy bricks.


7. Refugees report receiving their full rations, but
complain that rations are insufficient. However, when we
asked our Zimbabwean driver about the amount of rations an
average Zimbabwean family would consume in a month, it was
clear that the refugee rations exceed this average. Since
the refugees have better access to food than the local
population, some refugees trade or sell their food to the
local community for other commodities. Refugees also
supplement their monthly food rations by maintaining
household gardens and livestock. Some also run small scale
trading businesses with the surrounding rural areas.
Children seemed well fed and energetic, and all were clothed
and shoed. All the children we spoke with were enrolled in
school, and camp administrators report that some 500 children
are attending primary school. Due to the high number of
students, the primary school operates in shifts. Sixty-nine
students attend secondary school at the camp, and UNHCR
sponsors another 49 students at boarding schools.


8. The camp clinic is clean, well organized, and well
stocked with drugs, supplies and equipment. It is staffed
with two nurses, two nurse elders and one general helper,
although refugees complained about the lack of regular access
to a medical doctor (another shortage in Zimbabwe in
general). The nurses treat from 60 to 120 patients per day,
30 percent of whom are Zimbabweans from the nearby town,
Chipinge. Malaria, acute respiratory infection, and skin
disease are the most common illnesses, followed by diarrhea,
injuries, and sexually transmitted infections. There have
been no reported cases of malnutrition in the camp.


9. Refugees have access to sufficient shelter, latrines, and
potable water. Although part of the camp has electricity,
some generators are awaiting repair and newer sections of the
camp have no access to electricity. With the relocation of
some urban refugees to the camp in the wake of the
government's 2005 Operation Restore Order campaign (that
destroyed high density housing areas in and around Harare and
displaced hundreds of thousands of people),UNHCR has
expanded Tongagara Camp's capacity. Twenty-five new huts
have been added to the camp and new latrines have been
constructed with FY06 Ambassadors Fund for Refugees support
to World Vision. The primary school will also be expanded
with FY07 Ambassadors' Fund support to the Inter-Regional
Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA).


10. In consultation with refugee leaders, UNHCR has formed
refugee committees to discuss gender-based violence (GBV),
child protection, education, and HIV/AIDS. The GBV committee
is working to promote the identification and reporting of
cases, but work on combating GBV should be expanded. The
HIV/AIDS committee is promoting voluntary counseling and
training and working to combat the stigma of the disease.
Surprisingly, the camp's HIV/AIDS prevalence rate is
extremely low (3 percent of those tested are positive).
Those who do test positive are referred to Zimbabwean social
services where they receive free anti-retroviral medication
and counseling.

--------------
Durable Solutions
--------------


11. Most of the camp-based refugees have been living in
Tongogara since the mid 1990's. Single males and young girls
under 16 years of age make up the majority of the camp
population. Most of this protracted caseload desires third
country resettlement. Some resettlement is occurring: UNHCR
Zimbabwe has resettled some 280 refugees in the past year,
mostly DRC refugees to Australia, and anticipates similar
figures for 2008. UNHCR's resettlement criteria include
victims of torture and/or violence, women at risk, and
refugees lacking another durable solution. In November, the
US/Joint Voluntary Agency (JVA) in Nairobi will travel to

HARARE 00000952 003 OF 003


Tongogara to pre-screen UNHCR resettlement referrals for the
US refugee resettlement program. PRM indicated that they
would recommend possibly increasing resettlement
opportunities for Somalis (who clearly cannot return to their
country of origin) as well as many of the refugee women in
the camp who could be at risk given the predominately young
(and very aggressive) male refugee population.


12. While resettlement may be an option for some of the
refugees, repatriation is possible for many other groups
including the Rwandans, Burundians, Angolans, and Congolese
(with the exception of those from the Kivu Provinces).
However, these groups have resisted repatriation, despite
intensive information campaigns, "go and see" visits and
tripartite agreements, choosing to remain in Tongogara with
the expectation that they will eventually be resettled to
Australia, the US, Canada or the Nordic countries. Greater
efforts could be made, perhaps following the JVA visit, to
explain resettlement procedures to refugees and ensure that
their expectations are more in line with reality.
DHANANI