VZCZCXRO4067
PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSB #0952/01 2921022
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 191022Z OCT 07 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2050
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEHJB/AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA 0001
RUEHLGB/AMEMBASSY KIGALI 0449
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 1747
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 1804
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0868

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HARARE 000952 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF PHUM PREL ZI
SUBJECT: TONGOGARA REFUGEE CAMP TRIP REPORT 
 
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Summary 
-------- 
 
¶1.  Representatives from the Bureau of Population Refugees 
and Migration (PRM) Mary Lange and Nancy Jackson, accompanied 
by EmbOff, visited Tongogara refugee camp on September 29. 
Despite harsh economic conditions in Zimbabwe, the nearly 
2,700 refugees in Tongogara camp are receiving adequate 
shelter, food, and water, and have access to basic health 
care, social services, and education.  Most of the refugees 
in the camp have been there for years, and while many could 
probably return home, or at least find their way to better 
opportunities in Zimbabwe's neighboring countries, they 
remain in Tongogara, holding out for resettlement.  To 
bolster their claims for resettlement, refugees complain 
about food rations and camp living; these complaints appear 
largely unsubstantiated.  While it is unlikely the majority 
of the population will be resettled, there may be some 
vulnerable individuals, particularly among the Somali 
community and among the young female heads of household, who 
could be good candidates for third country resettlement.  End 
Summary. 
 
----------------- 
Refugee Caseload 
----------------- 
 
¶2.  According to the Office of the United Nations High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are 4,311 refugees 
and asylum seekers in Zimbabwe, of which 2,673 are living in 
the Tongogara camp located in southern Zimbabwe along the 
border with Mozambique.  The remaining 1,638 refugees are 
living in urban areas, primarily in Harare.  The Zimbabwean 
government has an encampment policy for refugees.  Only those 
with valid reasons for remaining in urban centers, such as 
employment, education or medical treatment, are granted 
permission to live in urban centers.  The majority of 
refugees are from the Great Lakes region.  Refugees from the 
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are the largest single 
group, totaling 2,792, followed by Rwandans (651) and 
Burundians (597).  The remaining 271 refugees are from 
numerous other countries, including Somalia, Ethiopia, 
Angola, and Uganda. 
 
¶3.  Despite Zimbabwe's deteriorating economic situation, 
asylum seekers from the DRC and Somala continue to arrive at 
the Harare Waterfalls Trnsit Center.  Many wind up leaving 
Zimbabwe for etter economic opportunities in South Africa. 
Whle the Tongogara camp population has remained relatvely 
stable over the past five years, Zimbabwe'surban refugee 
population has dramatically declind as hyper-inflation, 
rampant unemployment, government-induced displacement as a 
result of Operation Restore Order, and food and fuel 
shortages have made living and working in Zimbabwe 
increasingly difficult.  (Prior to 2006, urban refugees 
totaled more than 8,000.)  Aside from registration and 
issuance of an ID card, urban refugees receive no material 
support from UNHCR.  Food rations and non-food items are 
distributed only to camp-based refugees. 
 
-------------------------------- 
General PRM/Embassy Observations 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  Tongogara camp was established in 1984 to house 
Mozambican refugees.  At the time of the Mozambican 
repatriation operations in 1994, the camp was home to some 
58,000 refugees.  After more than 20 years of operation, the 
camp has more of a village character than a camp fell.  There 
are permanent housing structures with electricity, schools, 
churches, a mosque, a police station, shops, a clinic, and at 
least two bars.  The camp is fairly isolated, however, with 
the nearest major city (Mutare) about a two-hour drive away. 
The area is very dry, and heavily dependent on irrigation, 
which in turn is dependent upon increasingly scarce power and 
fuel supplies.  Few prospects exist for refugee 
self-sufficiency in the area. 
 
¶5.  Refugees appear to be in good health.  UNHCR has done an 
excellent job in supplying the camp in the face of the 
economic crisis in the country.  Food rations meet or in some 
instances exceed minimum standards (more than 2,100 
kilocalories/person/day), and the warehouse is full of both 
food and non-food items, many of which are nearly impossible 
to find in the rest of Zimbabwe.  In fact, local Zimbabwean 
officials who accompanied us were amazed by the abundance of 
 
HARARE 00000952  002 OF 003 
 
 
such staples as sugar and maize, none of which can be found 
now on the local market. 
 
¶6.  Supplies must be trucked in from South Africa, and this 
poses a significant drain on operating funds.  UNHCR has 
creatively managed to obtain six months worth of food rations 
from the World Food Program (WFP) in 2007, despite the fact 
that WFP does not typically provide food for refugee camp 
populations of less than 5,000 people.  Firewood is scarce in 
this dry area, and UNHCR should consider including in 
non-food distributions some alternative sources of fuel, such 
as energy bricks. 
 
¶7.  Refugees report receiving their full rations, but 
complain that rations are insufficient.  However, when we 
asked our Zimbabwean driver about the amount of rations an 
average Zimbabwean family would consume in a month, it was 
clear that the refugee rations exceed this average.  Since 
the refugees have better access to food than the local 
population, some refugees trade or sell their food to the 
local community for other commodities.  Refugees also 
supplement their monthly food rations by maintaining 
household gardens and livestock.  Some also run small scale 
trading businesses with the surrounding rural areas. 
Children seemed well fed and energetic, and all were clothed 
and shoed.  All the children we spoke with were enrolled in 
school, and camp administrators report that some 500 children 
are attending primary school.  Due to the high number of 
students, the primary school operates in shifts.  Sixty-nine 
students attend secondary school at the camp, and UNHCR 
sponsors another 49 students at boarding schools. 
 
¶8.  The camp clinic is clean, well organized, and well 
stocked with drugs, supplies and equipment.   It is staffed 
with two nurses, two nurse elders and one general helper, 
although refugees complained about the lack of regular access 
to a medical doctor (another shortage in Zimbabwe in 
general).  The nurses treat from 60 to 120 patients per day, 
30 percent of whom are Zimbabweans from the nearby town, 
Chipinge.  Malaria, acute respiratory infection, and skin 
disease are the most common illnesses, followed by diarrhea, 
injuries, and sexually transmitted infections.  There have 
been no reported cases of malnutrition in the camp. 
 
¶9.  Refugees have access to sufficient shelter, latrines, and 
potable water.  Although part of the camp has electricity, 
some generators are awaiting repair and newer sections of the 
camp have no access to electricity.  With the relocation of 
some urban refugees to the camp in the wake of the 
government's 2005 Operation Restore Order campaign (that 
destroyed high density housing areas in and around Harare and 
displaced hundreds of thousands of people), UNHCR has 
expanded Tongagara Camp's capacity.  Twenty-five new huts 
have been added to the camp and new latrines have been 
constructed with FY06 Ambassadors Fund for Refugees support 
to World Vision.  The primary school will also be expanded 
with FY07 Ambassadors' Fund support to the Inter-Regional 
Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA). 
 
¶10.  In consultation with refugee leaders, UNHCR has formed 
refugee committees to discuss gender-based violence (GBV), 
child protection, education, and HIV/AIDS.  The GBV committee 
is working to promote the identification and reporting of 
cases, but work on combating GBV should be expanded.  The 
HIV/AIDS committee is promoting voluntary counseling and 
training and working to combat the stigma of the disease. 
Surprisingly, the camp's HIV/AIDS prevalence rate is 
extremely low (3 percent of those tested are positive). 
Those who do test positive are referred to Zimbabwean social 
services where they receive free anti-retroviral medication 
and counseling. 
 
----------------- 
Durable Solutions 
----------------- 
 
¶11.  Most of the camp-based refugees have been living in 
Tongogara since the mid 1990's.  Single males and young girls 
under 16 years of age make up the majority of the camp 
population.  Most of this protracted caseload desires third 
country resettlement.  Some resettlement is occurring: UNHCR 
Zimbabwe has resettled some 280 refugees in the past year, 
mostly DRC refugees to Australia, and anticipates similar 
figures for 2008.  UNHCR's resettlement criteria include 
victims of torture and/or violence, women at risk, and 
refugees lacking another durable solution.  In November, the 
US/Joint Voluntary Agency (JVA) in Nairobi will travel to 
 
HARARE 00000952  003 OF 003 
 
 
Tongogara to pre-screen UNHCR resettlement referrals for the 
US refugee resettlement program.  PRM indicated that they 
would recommend possibly increasing resettlement 
opportunities for Somalis (who clearly cannot return to their 
country of origin) as well as many of the refugee women in 
the camp who could be at risk given the predominately young 
(and very aggressive) male refugee population. 
 
¶12.  While resettlement may be an option for some of the 
refugees, repatriation is possible for many other groups 
including the Rwandans, Burundians, Angolans, and Congolese 
(with the exception of those from the Kivu Provinces). 
However, these groups have resisted repatriation, despite 
intensive information campaigns, "go and see" visits and 
tripartite agreements, choosing to remain in Tongogara with 
the expectation that they will eventually be resettled to 
Australia, the US, Canada or the Nordic countries.  Greater 
efforts could be made, perhaps following the JVA visit, to 
explain resettlement procedures to refugees and ensure that 
their expectations are more in line with reality. 
DHANANI