- Title: Mozambican refugees pack up and head home from Malawi
- Date: 6th November 2018
- Summary: NENO, MALAWI (NOVEMBER 4, 2018) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF REFUGEES LOADING THEIR BELONGINGS ONTO A TRUCK AERIAL VIEW OF THE LUWANI REFUGEE CAMP AERIAL VIEW OF REFUGEES DURING A ROLL CALL (SOUNDBITE) (Chichewa) MOZAMBICAN REFUGEE, VIOLET KASINIKA, SAYING: "I am going back and my hope is that after next year's elections there will be peace in my country. I will be following events and if they take a bad turn, I will definitely come back here." VARIOUS OF REFUGEES WAITING FOR U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY (UNHCR) OFFICIAL TO CALL THEIR NAMES VARIOUS OF LANGITONI WANDARAZ WAITING WITH HIS FAMILY (SOUNDBITE) (Chichewa) MOZAMBICAN REFUGEE, LANGITONI WANDARAZ, SAYING: "I heard that the fighting has stopped in my country and that is why I have decided to go back. However things could turn violent at any time because I do not trust the politicians in my homeland." REFUGEES CROWDED AROUND UNHCR OFFICIAL (SOUNDBITE) (Chichewa) MOZAMBICAN REFUGEE, DELELIAS NYAMUKANI, SAYING; "Before we came here, some of us, like me, were involved in politics. But now that we are going back, we have learnt to live in harmony and to respect each other's human rights. I plan to respect everyone, take good care of my family, and focus on farming." REFUGEES REGISTERING VARIOUS OF REFUGEES LOADING THEIR BELONGINGS ONTO A TRUCK
- Embargoed: 20th November 2018 12:01
- Keywords: returning home seeking asylum refugees UNHCR southern Africa civil war disputed elections
- Location: NENO, MALAWI
- City: NENO, MALAWI
- Country: Malawi
- Topics: Asylum/Immigration/Refugees,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA00195DB23B
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Thousands of Mozambican refugees are returning home from camps in Malawi, the neighbouring state they fled to in a bid to escape fighting in their homeland three years ago.
The U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said tens of thousands of Mozambicans began fleeing into Malawi in December 2015 and that the exodus peaked in early March 2016 at over 250 people per day.
Tensions erupted between Mozambique's Frelimo government forces and Renamo guerrillas in 2014, an escalation of a simmering conflict between old foes who fought a 16-year war.
Several refugees at the Luwani camp in southern Malawi told Reuters that the ongoing peace process has given them the confidence they need to go back. Mozambique will hold presidential, parliamentary and provincial polls in October 2019.
"I am going back and my hope is that after next year's elections there will be peace in my country. I will be following events and if they take a bad turn, I will definitely come back here," said Violet Kasinika, one of the refugees.
But violence has flared up sporadically in the southern African country since the end of the civil war in 1992, including after Renamo challenged the results of a 2014 election.
"I heard that the fighting has stopped in my country and that is why I have decided to go back. However things could turn violent at any time because I do not trust the politicians in my homeland," said Langitoni Wandaraz.
Analysts say competition over natural resources could also be exacerbating unrest - Mozambique is on the verge of developing huge offshore gas reserves which could transform one of the world's poorest countries into a middle-income state. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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