How is Africa responding to internal refugees and economic migrants?
Malawi’s Dzaleka Refugee Camp was meant to house 12,000 refugees, but now has over 50,000. As asylum seekers continue to flock in from the DRC and Rwanda, how will Malawi cope?
“People come here as asylum seekers and their intention is not to stay as asylum seekers. They are actually here to run small businesses, and that’s illegalâ€
In recent years, Malawi and South Africa have been facing similar challenges relating to asylum seekers.
People are flocking into Malawi to seek refuge, fleeing conflict in the DRC and other troubled parts of the continent.
In May, the government of that country arrested nearly a thousand refugees and sent them back to a camp specifically set up to house them.
At the same time, South Africa is tightening its immigration rules and regulations in the small business sector.
That’s because some asylum seekers have been breaking the country’s laws by setting up businesses without the relevant immigration documents.
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