The Minister of Territorial Administration made the announcement during a ceremony organised at the Gado-Badzere , Garoua-Boulai subdivision, Lom and Djerem division of the East region to mark the voluntary repatriation of some 300 [more ]CAR refugees last Wednesday June 1, 2022.
Authorities hope to hit this target in 2022 from the Gado and Batouri refugee settlement sites, according to Minister Atanga Nji who made the statement during the ceremony to mark the relaunch of facilitation for the voluntary repatriation of some 2,500 CAR refugees.
The Country Representative for the United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR in Cameroon, Olivier Beer, praised the Cameroonian government for the empathy shown the Central African Republic, (CAR) refugees. The UN official who was part of the ceremony said the 300 refugees decided to go back home. He added that the refugees were returning to participate in the rebuilding of their country as peace surely returns. “The most important reason why they fled their country was insecurity and attacks but now they are going back because they have been informed that the places which they are returning are secure,” the UN official noted. He also assured the refuges that UNHCR will provide monthly food assistance accompanied with cash upon their return.
One More Gesture
During the ceremony, Minister Paul Atanga Nji handed over donations from the President of the Republic, Paul Biya to the 300 refugees. The pacakage from the Head of State included blankets, buckets, vegetable oil and other sanitary items. The MINAT boss said the gesture is the Head of State’s long commitment to always support refugees in Cameroon and on their return to their country of origin. “For the past 7 years, President Biya has put in a lot to support and assist refugees. He will always accompany them as you have noticed. Whenever they are leaving, there is a relief package from the Head of State which includes both food items and non-food items,” Minister Atanga Nji said. He added that the return is in “strict” respect of international laws. “President (Paul Biya) gave his instructions for us to respect the international conventions, which means, the repatriation must be voluntary and the convoy must have maximum security,” the Minister said. He also noted that the return of the CAR refugees signals the gradual return of peace to a country ravaged by war for several years. The returnees were received at the border by a CAR delegation led by its Minister of Humanitarian Affairs. Reports say about 315,000 CAR refugees are in the East and Adamawa regions. Thousands have benefited from the largesse of President Biya.
Jude VIBAN
