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UNHCR and Angola release studies on key needs in areas of refugee return
28 Mar 2006 In some parts of Angola refugees who have returned home make up 90 percent of the local population. On Tuesday, the UN refugee agency and the Angolan government released detailed profiles of areas with the highest percentage of former refugees, which will be used as a guide for their successful reintegration. -
Thirty years on, UNHCR seeks full integration for Congolese refugees in Angola
21 Mar 2006 Thousands of Congolese refugees who fled in the 1970s to Angola from what was then Zaire, are having to decide whether to officially integrate or go home to the now Democratic Republic of the Congo - a country which many of them have never stepped foot in. -
Angolan peace-building efforts shift from repatriation to reintegration
16 Mar 2006 Angolans across the country are working together to build a common future after the devastation of nearly three decades of war. Reflecting this, the work of UNHCR is shifting from repatriating the hundreds of thousands of Angolans who fled the war, to helping them reintegrate with those who stayed behind. -
UNHCR extends opportunity for Angolan refugees in Zambia to go home
14 Mar 2006 UNHCR is extending its programme of voluntary assisted repatriation of Angolan refugees in Zambia until the end of the year. The organised repatriation officially ended in December 2005, but thousands of refugees still in camps in Zambia have said they want to go back. -
Signs of rebirth and reconciliation in Angola as returnees settle back home
13 Mar 2006 After nearly three decades of civil war in Angola, thousands of refugees have come home. But now they are facing the challenge of re-establishing themselves in a country which for many of their children is a foreign land. Coping with resentment of those who remained in Angola during the war as well as the lack of employment opportunities, are just some of the difficulties the returnees face. But in spite of the problems, there are real signs of hope. -
Micro-credit scheme gives refugees in Angola chance to end dependency
5 Jan 2006 Henri, a Congolese refugee living in Angola since 1978, is one of the first to benefit from a UNHCR-funded small-loan programme to boost his business and break the chain of dependency that has affected the majority of the 14,000 refugees in the country. After seeing the impact on people like Henri, more refugees are becoming interested in the scheme. -
UNHCR's Angola repatriation operation draws to a close with last flight
20 Dec 2005 After more than three years, UNHCR's repatriation operation to bring home Angolans living in exile during the country's 27-year-long war, has drawn to a close with a last flight of returnees from Botswana. An estimated half a million Angolans have returned to their war-ravaged country since the peace accords were signed in April 2002, some 123,000 with UNHCR assistance. -
Extra plane provides boost to Angolan repatriation
1 Nov 2005 The acquisition of a second aircraft has given a significant boost to the number of Angolan refugees able to return home each week from Zambia, with a total of 22,000 now expected to return from Zambia by the end of this year. -
Angolan returnees in vanguard of fight against superstition
31 Oct 2005 In some countries, witchcraft has been reduced to a once-a-year joke to be celebrated with pumpkins and pointed hats at Halloween. In others, such as Angola, it is still a matter of life and death despite the valiant efforts of a group of dedicated returnees to steer their compatriots away from superstition and encourage good citizenship instead.