7/16/08

Congo-Kinshasa: Being a Refugee Becomes a Dream


Inter Press Service (Johannesburg)
 

Email This Page

Print This Page

Comment on this article

Aldo Ciummo
Rome

Ernestine Kayindo fled Goma town in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1997 amidst fighting between the regular army and rebels of the National Congress for the Defence of the People (NCDP), a Tutsi armed group that is still active.

"All of us Congolese felt in danger of being killed," says Kayindo, who now works in Rome with the Società Civile Congolese.

More than four million died in the 1997-2003 civil war that destroyed most of Congo. Many fled the violence, famine and disease.

Some sought refuge in Italy. But today they face uncertainty again, as parliament considers a law to punish undocumented migrants with six months to four years imprisonment. Many of those who fled violent conflict, and without documents under the circumstances, may now be refused asylum, and instead face jail.

The new law would be lethal for migrants like the Congolese in Italy. These number less than 4,000 within a migrant population of about 3.7 million. But their plight is a vivid illustration of the dangers from the proposed law.

The Commission for Constitutional Affairs and the Commission of Justice of the Italian Senate will finish examining the proposed immigration law Jul. 18. The Senate will vote on the penalty for undocumented migrants Jul. 24.

Last year only 57 Congolese submitted requests for asylum, and just 14 were successful. In 2006, 102 Congolese citizens applied for asylum; only 33 were accepted.

Under the present law, any foreigner persecuted for his or her race, religion, opinion, nationality or through belonging to a social group can seek refugee status. But "when the authorities give an answer -- be it positive or negative -- to a person that demands protection, they don't give you a reason for the decision," says Antonella De Donato from the Italian Council for the Refugee.

And things may not improve for those accepted as refugees.

"In Italy we know of refugees who haven't a place to sleep," says Kila Tampwu, a Congolese refugee who works with the Italian Council for the Refugee and other organisations. "This happens because it is not easy to fight for a right if there isn't a law that says you're right...You can be recognised as a refugee, but this status doesn't entitle you to a concrete right."

Italy received 10,350 requests for asylum in 2006, according to Caritas, a Catholic organisation. Migration authorities examined more than 14,000 requests that year, but only 1,037 were accepted as refugees.

In all 5,321 were given reduced humanitarian protection, which means permission to live in Italy as long as he or she could be in danger in the country of origin. The applications of 4,677 were refused.

According to the Italian Council for the Refugee, only 3,000 accepted refugees have access to assistance in specialised centres.

Besides Italy, other European Union nations received 8,726 asylum requests from displaced people from Congo over 2006 and 2007.

About 370,000 Congolese have fled to destinations around the world, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Many are denied a proper status as refugees.

The Congolese war -- in which Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Namibia, Angola, Chad and Zimbabwe were also involved -- generated 1.3 million internally displaced persons. That makes the Democratic Republic of Congo the third biggest country with displaced people, after Colombia (3 million) and Iraq (2.4 million).

On Independence Day Jun. 30 (Belgium left the Congo in 1960), many from the Congolese community gathered in Rome "in memory of Congolese victims." This was the first time the Congolese in Italy sought to publicise their difficulties and of those they left behind.

Several organisations including Maman Claudine Mbuyi, which promotes health cooperation between Italy and Congo, Salotto Africano (an association promoting dialogue between African groups in Italy), the Permanent Committee for the Congolese Victims, Diaspora Africana (an association of immigrants debating African problems), Sorriso dall'Africa (an Italian group of artists and activists addressing poverty in Congo), Salotto dei Medici and Mutualità Congolese (that work for cooperation between all the Congolese) participated.

The situation in Italy is getting ever more knotty, members of these groups said. Claudine Mbuyi (who has a foundation in her name) told IPS that "to be an immigrant here is sufficient to cause suspicion. For this reason, many potential refugees now prefer to go to Canada or to other countries, not to Italy."






--
Jean-Louis Kayitenkore
Procurement Consultant
Gsm: +250-08470205
Home: +250-55104140
P.O. Box 3867
Kigali-Rwanda
East Africa
Blog: http://www.cepgl.blogspot.com
Skype ID : Kayisa66

No comments:

Post a Comment