Angola Expels 8,000 Congolese Refugees
The United Nations says Angola has expelled more than 8,000 people who fled violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
At least 30,000 Congolese refugees have fled fighting in the Kasai regions since August, crossing into neighboring Angola. More than 1 million have been displaced inside the country by the fighting.
The recent expulsions follow years of mass deportations of Congolese from Angola. The country expelled more than 100,000 undocumented migrants from DRC in 2011. Human Rights Watch warned in 2012 of torture, sexual abuse and arbitrary detention of Congolese migrants in Angola during the deportations.
Uganda Aid Pledges ‘Disappointing’; Food Aid Runs Low
Aid pledges fell far short of expectations at a summit in Uganda meant to help the country shelter nearly 1 million South Sudanese refugees.
The Solidarity Summit on Refugees on Friday aimed to raise at least $2 billion (1.8 billion euros). Yet the pledges reached only $358 million, including $95 million (85 million euros) from the European Union.
Attending the summit, U.N. secretary-general Antonio Guterres said of the pledges: “I think it is a very good start but we cannot stop.”
But Yuna Cho of Medecins sans Frontieres warned: “The outcome is disappointing, worrying.”
The head of the U.N. refugee agency, Filippo Grandi, told the summit that food aid will soon run out for South Sudanese refugees in Uganda. Food rations have already been halved for some refugees in Uganda.
U.S. Releases Data on Refugee Arrivals Since Trump Took Office
The U.S. admitted 13,000 refugees in the first three months of the Trump administration, according to latest data from the State Department.
That is about half the number of refugees resettled in the U.S. during the previous three months, when 25,000 arrived in the U.S.
The Obama administration had significantly stepped up refugee resettlement during his final months in office.
Compared to earlier periods, the decrease in refugee resettlement under Trump is less dramatic – a 12 percent decrease compared to the same period in 2016.
The data also showed that the countries of origin for refugees arriving in the U.S. has not shifted under Trump. Around two-thirds of refugees continue to come from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, Iraq, Somalia and Myanmar.
Recommended Reads:
- Center for Migration Studies: Point of No Return: The Fear and Criminalization of Central American Refugees
- The Associated Press: South Sudanese Refugees Grapple With Honoring Their Dead
- The Guardian: ‘I Feel Betrayed’: The Somali Refugees Sent From Safety Into a War Zone
- Global Voices: Filmed Beating of Somali Woman Highlights the Dangers That Europe-Bound Refugees Face
- The New York Times: To Make Sense of American Politics, Immigrants Find Clues From Lands They Left