Many years after the formation of the United Nations and its body UNHCR charged with the responsibility of protecting the interests of refugees, the problem of refugees still remains a global phenomenon. To majority of the Rwandan people both young and old, the issue of refugees is nothing new or news to them. Many have lived the story and there is nothing much to pontificate to them. From way back as 1959 to 1994 and shortly thereafter a big number of the Rwandan people lived in camps in foreign lands.The negative aspects of such a life are so many; ranging from latent to manifest xenophobia by some sections of the host population to outright expulsion. This is not to mention such issues as being dispossessed of what belongs to refugees in their mother land. More still is the fact that one can not live in his or her own country simply because of political or ethnic considerations is anathema in a world where all are supposedly born equal. “When you hear gunfire you do not think about your belongings. You just take your children and run” a Congolese refugee explained recently to the UNHCR. This captures the predicament of several people who find themselves in circumstances that force them into fleeing the homes and ending up in refugee camps. Refugees amidst foreign peoples Historically the refugee scenario revolved around people who had to flee their countries and live in most especially neighbouring countries. This was the situation in 1959 when the first Rwandan Genocide occurred. Many people considered Tutsi at that time had to leave the country and lived a life of refugees for more than three decades in neighbouring and far off countries. The issue of Rwandan refugees was never resolved until the refugees themselves organised their own liberation and that of their country men and women that lived under a divisive and oppressive dictatorship. However this was after more than three decades of life in exile. Apart from the Rwandan refugee crisis many people of other nationalities have also endured the harsh life of exile. A case that is always highlighted in all literature to do with the issue of refugees in modern history is the Afghan refugee crisis. Following the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, a series of events led to a refugee crisis that up to now is yet to be resolved. The Afghan refugee situation is considered by amnesty international to be the world’s single largest refugee group. “Two decades of civil war and serious human rights abuses have forced thousands of Afghan men, women and children to flee their homes and seek refugee in other parts of Afghanistan or other parts of the world” say amnesty internationals website. Over a fifth of the Afghan population has been force into exile at one point in their lives. This problem has also been witnessed in Palestine where by the entire population lived for so long in refugee camps in Lebanon. This scenario is widely believed to be the origin of Pan Arab nationalism that was later transformed into global terrorism. The Palestine refugee camps in Lebanon were not spared. At one time Israel force descended into the camps and wrecked havoc. In this decade the world has faced another refugee crisis in Darfur region of the Western Sudan. According to refugees international the Darfur crisis that begun more than three years ago has forced more than 2.2 million people into the refugee situation. Like the case was with the Rwanda refugee crisis, the international response to the Darfur refugee crisis has not been adequate. So why is it that many years after world powers declared their intentions of resolving this world crisis of refugees, the issue remains up in the air? It must be recalled that it is in 1951 that the convention relating to the rights and status of refugees came into effect. It was aimed at ultimately resolving the problems faced by refugees and ultimately resolving the issue once and for all. In a final analysis one can safely state that the refugee situation will only be resolved once the reasons that cause people to flee their home countries are solved. These include light armed conflicts and interstate wars. Internally displaced persons In recent times, a global phenomenon has taken root. The issue of internally displaced persons has gained a lot of attention following the upsurge of intrastate conflicts. This is a group quite distinct from refugees. This is so because whereas IDPS are also forced to flee their homes like refugees, they do remain within the borders of their countries. It is worth noting that the issue of internally displaced persons has not been given as much attention as refugees. This is mainly because it is easy to establish whether someone has fled his country, but quite hard to establish whether people who have fled their home villages to cities are to be considered IDPS or just opportunists. In addition, what may be lacking as evidenced in different parts of the world is the fact that there is little political will on part of global actors. This extends to state actors in some countries where such a situation prevails. It is further apparent that in some cases, IDPS are caused primarily by the actions of some state actors or the entire politics at play by the state. Therefore what remains to be seen in as far as resolving this crisis is the commitment of all stake holders in ending the reasons behind the causes of refugees and internally displaced persons. Ends
