Demonstrations started last week taking place inside the camp, but today refugees started to show their fury outside.
Speaking to IGIHE, the Director of Refugee Affairs Unit at the Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs, Jean Claude Rwahama said that it started as news rounds on social media that refugees have decided to go back to their country.
“It has been circulating on social media for some days. Some refugees are claiming that their food ration was cut, and that they are being categorized in social protection programme (Ubudehe), a programme which they say aims at turning them into Rwandan citizens,” he said.
However, Rwahama rejected the claims saying that the process was different from the claims.
“Though it is in the rights of refugees to go back to their mother country, but as you know their country (DRC) is not safe. We tried to discuss with them explaining how the decision is not right. They planned it before and started to implement it today morning. The majority are youth and children,” he said.
Rwahama said that all refugees out of the camp have camped at United Nations High Commission (UNHCR) Offices in Kibuye town Karongi District.
He said that those who decided to quit the camp are estimated between 500 and 1000, according to MIDIMAR officials on the field.
Rwahama said that Karongi District Mayor, yesterday visited the camp and discussed with refugees about all issues but they didn’t get contented.
“We consider the act as demonstration because it is against normal process; whoever wants to go back in their mother nation should inform UNHCR and follow legal process. So, going in such crowd is not allowed, and the reason why we consider the act as demonstration,” he said.
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Rwahama said that they are going to continue discussions with refugees, but added that when it is a case of demonstration, security institutions will intervene.
In December and November last year, food rations for refugees were reduced by 10% due to underfunding.
World Food Programme (WFP) and UNHCR appealed to donors to contribute funds to prevent a 25% reduction from January onwards in food and cash assistance.
In order to manage limited funding, in December last year, UNHCR, WFP and UNICEF held a taskforce meeting to discuss targeting assistance to the most vulnerable refugees through Rwanda’s social protection system known as Ubudehe.
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