Refugee repatriation takes time

Editor,Reference is made to the editorial, “Have DR Congo refugees been forgotten?” (The Sunday Times, December 22).My view is that despite the defeat of the M23 rebels, there is no guarantee that there will be durable peace and stability in the DR Congo. Moreover, in normal conditions, refugees’ repatriation is a matter of voluntarism and personal consent.These are some of the key reasons why you see the UNHCR helping the Government of Rwandan to build new camps for Congolese refugees. In other words, it takes one hour or one day to become a refugee but it may take years to go back home.We should not forget that the only circumstance refugee camps can become a threat to a host government is when the camps are used for political and military propaganda, which has been avoided in the Rwandan context.Ultimately, time will come when Congolese refugees will go back to their home country.That is how the UNHCR conducts business with host countries to solve refugee problems around the world.Eddy Chiko, Baltimore, United States

Opinions

Refugee repatriation takes time