UN refugee agency to assist 2,000 returnees

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in the Central African Republic (CAR) has set aside 10 million francs CFA (US $17,988) to assist some 2,000 people who have returned home since June, the agency's country representative, Emile Segbor, told IRIN on Thursday. He said the agency had identified health centres and schools in four neighbourhoods in the capital, Bangui, to receive the aid. These are the areas where most of the returnees settled when they arrived in the country. "Drugs will be distributed to health facilities and will certainly benefit other residents," he said. He added that the drugs would be dispensed free of charge for a certain period, and that the UN agency has been paying for medical tests, treatment and drugs for returnees who fell ill after their repatriation. He said that special attention would be paid to the vulnerable among the returnees. "We are going to assist schools with equipment and school stationery," he added. In June, the agency repatriated from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo about 2,000 refugees who had been living there since June 2001. About 200 were repatriated from Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of Congo (ROC), where some 100 more are yet to be repatriated. Until recently, the ROC was home to about 1,700 CAR refugees, who lived mainly in the northern towns of Impfondo and Betou. Segbor said that out of the 2,000 returnees, only 100 were originally from provinces other than Bangui. He said many had rejoined their home regions after the agency provided transport. He added that the agency was mobilising development partners to help provide funds that would enable the returnees to engage in revenue-generating activities. "We are starting the assistance process, then the government and other partners will take over," he said.