Sierra Leonean refugees to get identity cards

Sierra Leonean refugees will receive identity cards as soon as the Liberian government removes administrative bottlenecks delaying the process, an official of the Liberian Refugee, Repatriation and Resettlement Commission (LRRRC) told IRIN on Friday. The documents are awaiting the signature of a official yet to be designated by the government, the source said. The former official responsible has been reassigned, the source added. A representative of the Sierra Leonean welfare committee, Heixon Abdul, told independent Star radio in Sinje, Grand Cape Mount County, that without the document, refugees were being constantly harassed at checkpoints by security personnel. However, the LRRRC official said most refugees were not harassed, “except in isolated cases”. Refugees preferred identity documents, this official said, because these allowed them access into diamond fields. “Security is not an issue,” the official added. Nevertheless, the official said the documents - being issued by the government and the UNHCR - were valuable in instances such as accidents. Sierra Leone’s 100,000 refugees in Liberia are housed in four camps around Monrovia, two in Kalahun, Lofa County, one in Vahun, Lofa County, and one in Sinje. Among them, the LRRRC official said, are supporters of the RUF and Kamajors who are enemies in their country’s civil war.