Refugee movements

Some 48 Liberian refugees crossed into Sierra Leone from Guinea on 1 November, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said its latest weekly update. The refugees, who came from Kouankan camp in southern Guinea, entered Sierra Leone at the eastern town of Kailahun.

The returnees reported that many more refugees were expected in the coming weeks. UNHCR said their itinerary was Kouankan Camp to Gueckedou (southern Guinea), then to the Parrot's Beak, a strip of Guinean territory that juts into Sierra Leone. There they travelled to Nongoa and "Wendekenema, where they wait till market day, as they can mingle with market people without being noticed at the checkpoints and harassed". At Moa river, which separates the two countries, "they claimed to have paid 1000 Guinean francs [half a dollar] to cross over to Sierra Leone," UNHCR added.

UNHCR added that persistent reports from Kailahun about renewed fighting in Vahun and Kolahun, also in eastern Sierra Leone, and Zimmi in western Liberia had fed expectations that a fresh refugee influx was imminent.

It said that since the absorption capacity of existing camps was greatly reduced - due to UNHCR's inability to find its implementing partners - the sub-office in Kenema was unlikely to cope with any sizeable and sudden refugee influx. Kenema is in eastern Sierra Leone.

According to UNHCR, there are 42,291 refugees and returnees in 10 camps in Sierra Leone.

Meanwhile, UNHCR is likely to classify its repatriation and recovery operations in Sierra Leone in 2003 into four main categories: transport, sectoral support, community empowerment and national recovery. Nearly half of the programme resources, it said, will be used to make sure people move in maximum safety and dignity and to provide non-food items, a secondary transport allowance, and facilities en route.

It also hopes to focus on water, sanitation, hygiene education and the public health environment in general.

The programme will also focus on community development through quick-impact projects in the main areas to which ex-refugees return, while community development committees will be empowered with a focus on strengthening the position of women in society.