Good News Tuesday: Refugee Havens in Uganda


Uganda hosts over 1 million refugees with a vast majority coming in from South Sudan(About 900k) and a big reason for the whole week of recognition the country received are the progressive laws that provide asylum seekers entitlements to live with dignity. Concerns over resource usage and culture clashes do abide ,but by and large, these have been peaceful settlements with Uganda being a great host especially in comparison to other host communities around the world
Now a few people have pointed out that they're skeptical of the 'hospitality and friendliness of Ugandans towards refugees and site feelings of hostility, and "What about us" sentiments that are expressed by citizens. It should be noted that these anecdotes are mainly sourced from the Central part of the country which oddly enough have seen refugees come through and work , almost on equal footing with other citizens. Refugees in the central also tend to be wealthier and better educated and so gravitate to an urban metropolis(I use the term loosely, because, well we have all seen Kampala) and this competition might be bound to cause ruffled feathers.
Nonetheless I think it's a salient point to note that despite some of these sentiments being felt, for the most part, Uganda has policies that allow for not only the recognition of refugees as people who can settle, own property, begin a trade and even have access to education and basic services. Communities up in Northern Uganda have for the most part integrated a lot of the people that have come in. In western Uganda, Congolese refugees work on tea plantations and mix and mingle with the community.
A wise man once told me that people don't care about how you feel but about how you behave. And I'll leave it to better minds than I to aid us in being more emotionally equipped to receive our brothers and sisters fleeing peril, but for now, I applaud the behavior we are seeing on display. One of recognition of the humanity in others.
There is no them, only us.
Cheers


UNHCR Camp 

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