By Robert Nayeja
Nsanje, January 31, Mana: President of the Institute of Disaster Management Affairs (INGA) in Mozambique, Luisa Celma Meque has praised the Malawi government for providing support to asylum seekers who are seeking refuge in Nsanje District.
She said this on Friday when she visited Nyamithuthu Camp in Nsanje, which is keeping asylum seekers from Mozambique.
“The support that the Malawi Government renders to the asylum seekers is a true testimony of the good bilateral relationship between the two countries. We thank the Malawi Government for providing food and shelter to the people of Mozambique who are seeking refuge here in Nsanje,” said Meque.
She said the Mozambican Government appreciates the challenges the communities are facing at the camp.
“We have brought some food and non-food items for our people, like rice, flour, blankets, and salts, among others,” she stated.
She therefore assured the Mozambicans at the camp that security has been tightening at Zambezia Province and that people can return to their respective homes.
“The Mozambican Government will arrange transportation to repatriate all its citizens, and we urge you all to register with relevant authorities. The Mozambican Government will provide a start-up package to asylum seekers once they go back to Mozambique,” she added.
Mozambican High Commissioner to Malawi Alexandre Herculano Manjate assured asylum seekers that his government was doing everything possible to repatriate people who fled political violence in Mozambique and are living in Malawi at Nyamithuthu camp.
One of the asylum seekers, Isabella Bernardo Vinte, said they are facing numerous challenges at the camp and appealed for more support.
“We are living under tough conditions. There is a shortage of water and also few toilets, which we would appreciate if authorities would help us,” said Vinte.
Commissioner for Refugees in the Department for Refugees, Retired General Ignacio Maulana, said the department has so far registered 7456 asylum seekers from Mozambicans.
