Tanzania home to 257,808 refugees and asylum seekers

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania is home to257,808 refugees and asylum seekers and the government says it is committed to continue being an icon of African generosity and hospitality toward refugees.

Speaking on Monday night during the Refugee Day, Minister for Foreign Affairs and East Africa Corporation Ms Liberata Mulamula said any refugee, anywhere in Tanzania is safe.

 “We have dedicated ourselves as a nation over the years to maintain that reputation, despite the expense and sacrifice that comes with it.”

She said Tanzania continues to keep its doors open to genuine and credible victims of persecution in need of International Protection and asylum from neighboring countries and even countries with which it has no direct border.

Ms Mulamula added that it's also important to remember that, as they consider how to address the challenges of hosting refugees, host communities should not be forgotten.

“ The most important aspect of providing refugee protection is finding a long-term solution to their plight.”

For her part UNHCR Country Representative Ms Mahoua Parums said there is renewed violence in places where protracted crises continue, such as in Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, DRC, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Burkina Faso and Ukraine. In Ukraine UNHCR has registered 7.6million refugees and more than 500,000 internally displaced persons.

She said last month reached 100 million displaced persons in the world of which nearly 40 million are refugees, meaning people who crossed an international border.

 Tanzania has a long history of receiving and hosting refugees, the country is hosting nearly 250,000 refugees mostly in the great Kigoma Region.

“ In Tanzania we have 19 nationalities including Syrians, Pakistanis, Ethiopians, Burundians, Congolese, Yemenis, Sudanese and South Sudanese, Lebanese etc. And as it is often the case 80 percent are women and children.”