Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement

Last updated
Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement
Uganda location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement
Coordinates: 1°57′25″N32°10′52″E / 1.957°N 32.181°E / 1.957; 32.181
CountryFlag of Uganda.svg  Uganda

Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement is a refugee camp in Bweyale in Kiryandongo district Uganda.

Contents

It is a home for refugees from Burundi, DR Congo, Rwanda, Kenya and South Sudan. [1]

Population

As of October 2021, the camp, Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement, hosted over 73780 refugees. The settlement is dominated by refugees from South Sudan. [2]

History

The Kiryandongo area was first used for resettling refugees in 1954 [3] when the British colonial administration asked the Bunyoro Native Government to give the Colonial Government of the Governor to move Kenyan refugees fleeing the Mau Mau Uprising to Kigumba in what was then Masindi District. The Bunyoro Native Government gave land to the Governor for the period of 49 years. During the Idi Amin administration, the land was part of a large-scale government ranching scheme, of which reminders remain today in the names of the subdivisions of the camp. This left the land sparsely populated. [4]

In 1990 the Ugandan government gazetted the virtually uninhabited land around Kiryandongo for refugee resettlement. Ethnic Acholi people fleeing the Sudan People's Liberation Army from Parjok in South Sudan were settled in Kiryandongo after temporarily being held in Kitgum and Masindi. During the 1990s the Sudanese refugees were joined by Ugandan Acholi IDPs from the LRA-affected areas of Gulu and Kitgum. [4]

Kiryandongo also served as an interim stop for displaced people transiting to other camps, including 22,000 who moved from the Achol-Pii Refugee Settlement to Kyangwali in 2002. [5]

Social services

The Youth Peacemaker Network provides youth programs to more than 65,000 refugees at Kiryandongo. It is a collaboration with the Western Union Foundation. [6]

Health care and sanitation

As part of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Kiryandongo provides basic necessities to over 100,000 refugees. [7]

Some of the health centers in the settlement were taken by RMF which included, Panyadi Health Centre III, Panyadi Hills Health Centre II, and Reception Centre Clinic. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Refugee</span> Displaced person

A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a person who has lost the protection of their country of origin and who cannot or is unwilling to return there due to well-founded fear of persecution. Such a person may be called an asylum seeker until granted refugee status by the contracting state or the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) if they formally make a claim for asylum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luo peoples</span> Ethnolinguistic Nilotic groups inhabit to central and Northeastern Africa

The Luo, are several ethnically and linguistically related Nilotic ethnic groups that inhabit an area ranging from Egypt and Sudan to South Sudan and Ethiopia, through Northern Uganda and eastern Congo (DRC), into western Kenya, and the Mara Region of Tanzania. Their Luo languages belong to the western branch of the Nilotic language family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internally displaced person</span> Person forced to leave their home who remains within their country

An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Refugee camp</span> Temporary settlement for refugees

A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displaced people. Usually, refugees seek asylum after they have escaped war in their home countries, but some camps also house environmental and economic migrants. Camps with over a hundred thousand people are common, but as of 2012, the average-sized camp housed around 11,400. They are usually built and run by a government, the United Nations, international organizations, or non-governmental organization. Unofficial refugee camps, such as Idomeni in Greece or the Calais jungle in France, are where refugees are largely left without the support of governments or international organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kitgum District</span> District in Northern Uganda, Uganda

Kitgum District is a district in Northern Uganda. It is named after its major town of Kitgum, where the district headquarters is located. It has suffered many deaths and social disruption resulting from the 20-year civil war within the region during the late 20th century. The government moved tens of thousands of residents to internally displaced persons camps for their protection, where they were subject to raids by the rebels and also harsh conditions, including disease.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Masindi District</span> District in Western Uganda, Uganda

Masindi District is a district in Western Uganda. Like many other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town' of Masindi, the location of the district headquarters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lord's Resistance Army insurgency (1994–2002)</span>

The start of the period 1994 to 2002 of the Lord's Resistance Army insurgency in northern Uganda saw the conflict intensifying due to Sudanese support to the rebels. There was a peak of bloodshed in the mid-1990s and then a gradual subsiding of the conflict. Violence was renewed beginning with the offensive by the Uganda People's Defence Force in 2002.

The military history of Uganda begins with actions before the conquest of the country by the British Empire. After the British conquered the country, there were various actions, including in 1887, and independence was granted in 1962. After independence, Uganda was plagued with a series of conflicts, most rooted in the problems caused by colonialism. Like many African nations, Uganda endured a series of civil wars and coup d'états. Since the 2000s in particular, the Uganda People's Defence Force has been active in peacekeeping operations for the African Union and the United Nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buliisa District</span> Ugandan administrative district

Buliisa District is a district in Western Uganda. As with most Ugandan districts, Buliisa District is named after its "main town" Buliisa, where the district headquarters are located. Bugungu has 6 sub counties: Kigwera, Ngwedo, Buliisa, Butiaba, Kihungya, and Biiso. It also contain 3 town councils: Buliisa, Butiaba and Biiso.

Kigumba is a town in Kiryandongo District, northwestern Uganda. It is one of the urban centers in the district. The other urban centres in Kiryandongo District include: (a) Karuma b) Kiryandongo (c) Bweyale and (d) Masindi Port.

Sudanese refugees are persons originating from the country of Sudan, but seeking refuge outside the borders of their native country. In recent history, Sudan has been the stage for prolonged conflicts and civil wars, as well as environmental changes, namely desertification. These forces have resulted not only in violence and famine but also the forced migration of large numbers of the Sudanese population, both inside and outside the country's borders. Given the expansive geographic territory of Sudan, and the regional and ethnic tensions and conflicts, much of the forced migration in Sudan has been internal. Yet, these populations are not immune to similar issues that typically accompany refugeedom, including economic hardship and providing themselves and their families with sustenance and basic needs. With the creation of a South Sudanese state, questions surrounding southern Sudanese IDPs may become questions of South Sudanese refugees.

By January 2011 the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that there are 262,900 Sudanese refugees in Chad. The majority of them left Sudan escaping from the violence of the ongoing Darfur crisis, which began in 2003. UNHCR has given the Sudanese refugees shelter in 12 different camps situated along the Chad–Sudan border. The most pressing issues UNHCR has to deal with in the refugee camps in Chad are related to insecurity in the camps,, malnutrition, access to water, HIV and AIDS, and education.

Rwekunye–Apac–Aduku–Lira–Kitgum–Musingo Road is a road in the Northern Region of Uganda, connecting the towns of Masindi Port in Kiryandongo District to Apac in Apac District, Lira in Lira District, Acholibur in Pader District, Kitgum in Kitgum District, and Musingo in Lamwo District at the international border with South Sudan.

Rwekunye is a settlement in Kiryandongo District in the Western Region of Uganda.

South Sudanese refugees are persons originating from the African country of South Sudan, but seeking refuge outside the borders of their native country. The world's youngest independent country has a recent and troubled history of prolonged conflicts and ecosystem mismanagement such as overlogging, which has led to desertification. These forces have resulted not only in violence and famine, but also the forced migration of large numbers of the population, both inside and outside the country's borders. South Sudan was cited as the largest refugee crisis in 2016, being the world's third largest, followed by Syria and Afghanistan. As of 2022, the UNHCR estimated that there were 2.4 million refugees under its mandate originating from South Sudan, making the country the fifth largest source of refugees.

Pagirinya Refugee Settlement is a refugee camp in Eastern Adjumani District in Northern Uganda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bidibidi Refugee Settlement</span> Place in Yumbe, Uganda

Bidibidi Refugee Settlement is a refugee camp in the Yumbe District of northwestern Uganda. Home to over 270,000 South Sudanese refugees fleeing the ongoing civil war in early 2017, it was among the largest refugee settlements in the world at the time, and may have been the largest. As of 2018, that distinction was claimed by Kutupalong refugee camp for displaced Rohingya in Bangladesh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Refugees of Uganda</span> One of the largest refugee-hosting nations in the world

Uganda is one of the largest refugee-hosting nations in the world, with 1,529,904 refugees. The vast influx of refugees is due to several factors in Uganda's neighboring countries, especially war and violence in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and associated economic crisis and political instability in the region. Uganda has relatively 'friendly' policies that provide rights to the refugees, such as rights to education, work, private property, healthcare and other basic social services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acholi people</span> Ethnic group of South Sudan and Northern Uganda

The Acholi people are a Nilotic ethnic group of Luo peoples, found in Magwi County in South Sudan and Northern Uganda, including the districts of Agago, Amuru, Gulu, Kitgum, Nwoya, Lamwo, Pader and Omoro District. The Acholi were estimated to number 2.3 million people and over 45,000 more were living in South Sudan in 2000.

Mungula II Refugee Settlement is a refugee camp found in Adjumani District Itirikwa subcounty in Northern Uganda.

References

  1. Kibego, John (6 August 2014). "Uganda: Kenyan Refugees Demand to Go Home". The Observer. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  2. "Uganda Refugee Response Monitoring Settlement Fact Sheet: Kiryandongo (January 2018) - Uganda". ReliefWeb. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  3. Kintz, Carrie (2019-01-08). "The History of the Kiryandongo Refugee Camp • With Open Eyes". With Open Eyes. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  4. 1 2 Kaiser, Tania (October 2000). "UNHCR's withdrawal from Kiryandongo: anatomy of a handover" (PDF). New Issues in Refugee Research. Geneva: UNHCR (32). ISSN   1020-7473 . Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  5. Mutuli, Milicent (9 September 2002). "Displaced refugees in Uganda start move to permanent site". UNHCR. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  6. "Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement". WPDI. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  7. "Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement Project". Real Medicine Foundation. 2013-07-10. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  8. "Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement Project". Real Medicine Foundation. 2013-07-10. Retrieved 2023-05-01.