More returnees from Guinea-Bissau

Over 100 refugees have returned to Senegal since members of Guinea-Bissau’s security forces burnt homes in a village populated by Casamance refugees during a search for suspected members of the Mouvement des forces democratiques de Casamance (MFDC), according to sources in Ziguinchor. Martin Mane, head of the Ziguinchor chapter of the CONGAD, an NGO umbrella, told IRIN one of the most pressing needs now was for food stocks for the large number of returning refugees which, he said, were being expected in Ziguinchor, the main town in southern Senegal’s Casamance area. CONGAD belongs to the Cellule Régionale de Coordination pour les réfugiés, les rapatriés et les personnes déplacées, a body comprising representatives of state institutions and NGOs that coordinates action in favour of refugees, IDPs and returnees. Since the first refugees arrived a week ago, the Cellule set up a follow-up committee that meets daily to assess the situation and prepare further action. Mane said representatives of the Cellule have been travelling daily to Salmingu, a town on the Guinea-Bissau side of the border, to assess the situation of the refugees. The returnees are being provided with food for three days, vaccinated and given some non-food items such as clothes at a transit centre just outside Ziguinchor. After three days they are accompanied to their home villages by members of the Cellule, Mane said. The idea is that they go back to the farms they fled as a result of the conflict. However, until they can harvest their crops, they will need about 600 grammes of rice per day, Mane said. He added that other solutions have to be found for those whose homes have been destroyed or who come from areas that are mined. Children, who make up the bulk of the returnees, pose a special challenge, according to Mane. On Monday, the committee began photographing the many children born in Guinea-Bissau so that they can receive Senegalese identity cards. It also intends to obtain birth certificates for those who have none. Where education is concerned, special provision will need to be made for the children, most of whom speak only local languages and Criolho, the lingua franca in Guinea-Bissau, whereas the language of instruction in Senegal is French, Mane said. He said NGOs were worried that there might not be enough food to go around if large numbers of refugees started returning at the same time. Some NGOs have been donating food and non-food items. The Christian Children’s Fund, for example, has provided 50 treated mosquito nets, 30 matresses, 1 mt of rice, medicines, and the equivalent of US $75 for buying firewood. Other NGOs such as Catholic Relief Services, the Association des Jeunes Agriculteurs de Casamance (Casamance Young Farmers Association), and CONGAD and state services have also made donations.