African refugees find a new home in Rwanda EDITOR: Bob Koigi, NairobiWhen a UNHCR-chartered plane recently touched down at the Kigali International Airport in Rwanda, it ushered in a new life for 66 refugees and migrants who had been held in detention camps in Libya as they tried to cross over to Europe through the Mediterranean. This is the first set of refugees who have found a second chance at life following an Emergency Transit Mechanism that was agreed upon between the Rwanda government, UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and the African Union. The UNHCR estimates that there are over 40,000 Africans trying to access Europe who are held in Libya under inhumane conditions. Rwanda intends to accommodate as many as 30,000 evacuees a decision President Kagame made last year at a time when news broke of slave auctions in the North African country. While the migration topic has become controversial and emotive, the gesture by Rwanda, a country of 12 million people struggling with its internal problems to accommodate African refugees even as the rest of Africa remains apprehensive and cagey deserves applause and recognition as one of the most proactive and a true embodiment of the African spirit, ‘Africans for Africans’.

Source: The North Africa Journal October 07, 2019 04:30 UTC