On arrival at djibo burkina faso 10 kms from mentao refugee camp we registered with the gendarmerie. Chance had it that I chose a gendarme in a good mood who welcomed us heartily and said I could depose Radwan at the camp. I asked if I had to register with the police or CONAREF and he said no I was free to go as I had informed him. We took radwan and ishmael back home from home to a tearful and relieved and grateful reception. After milk (sadly powdered, not straight from the cow as a few days ago when we were at radwans island) tea and some meat. I went back to Djobo to report to CONAREF, the Burkina Faso government authority who have overall authority over the refugee camps over and above the UN. You may remember that the reason I didnt go to burkina faso myself to collect Radwan for our assessment trip to timbuktu two weeks ago and he had to find his own way to meet me at boni in mali was that the burkina police, on the prompting of conaref, had held a tourist client passport accusing her of working for me to organise the return of all the refugees. This client had been on the caravan of peace organized bythe festival in the desert team. CONAREF had been alerted to my mission by lets say interests within the refugee community who dont want me to succeed in taking Radwan home for fear of what this may triggerand mean for their personal interests. (We have to look inside ourselves for the source of ultimate betrayal, as all in mali should have all too painfully learnt over the past two years and as I have experienced many times over on this project to help a family return.) This informing against me, combined with wild rumour circulating in the camp that a white man was coming to take all the refugees home for free (if only I could!) and was providing cows and goats and sheep on return with colour tvs for those who had lost them, had so threatened conaref (without the refugees conaref has no purpose) that it could threaten my mission. My reason for accompanying radwan to burkina was to test how this madness and corruption was going to impact on an attempt to get betsy to the camp. Betsy was not with me but back on mali.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Feb 2014 13:59:51 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015