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Coalition for refugees rights in the pipeline
2007-12-17 08:57:14
By Rose Mwalongo
The Tanganyika Christian Refugees Services is planning to form an organization which will involve human rights activists, religious leaders and other stakeholders to advocate for refugees` rights.
Speaking during a one-day workshop in Dar es Salaam on Friday, NGO-Refugee Advocacy Project Coordinator Sarah Mughwira said the workshop will endeavour to share experience on issues that affect refugees` rights in Tanzania and to form a coalition of network organisation that will spearhead and speak on behalf of refugees.
Mughwira mentioned some of the objectives as to identify policy issues that violate refugees` rights and identify ways to improve the current National Refugee Policy.
``Human rights activists must stand to ensure refugees gain their rights without creating conflicts with the government or any other group.
Most of those called as illegal immigrants are in actual fact refugees who live in hiding.
They move from one place to another for fear that someone would recognize them.
Some have children who can`t go to school because of fear. We need to find a mutual solution now because the uneducated children of refugees are a time bomb,`` pointed Mughwira.
She underscored the need to involve people with disabilities in the coalition, she said: ``Being a refugee is a problem but being a refugee with disability is even worse.``
For his part, the facilitator for the workshop and a human right activist Serges Ntirwihisha said human rights and refugees are inseparable saying you can’t discuss one without the other.
He said over population should not be the cause for people killing each other on account of big numbers adding the large number of refugees should not be used as an excuse to deprive them their rights as human beings.
``If you mistreat refugees you would traumatize them. If you come around a person who doesn`t want to go back home you should know that there is a problem,`` said Ntirwihisha.
He called upon the TCRS to involve people with disabilities in the coalition due to the group being the vulnerable ones.
The one day workshop brought together human right activists from various organizations and the media and was organized by the Tanganyika Christian Refugee Services (TCRS) in collaboration with Refugee Interest Group (RING).
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