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UNHCR calls for access to three Ethiopian defectors in Djibouti
15 Jul 2005 Assistant High Commissioner Kamel Morjane has urged the Djibouti government for access to three Ethiopian airmen whose fate is unknown after they reportedly defected to Djibouti in early June. There are fears they have already been forcibly returned to Ethiopia. -
Camp closure brings UNHCR closer to phase-out from eastern Ethiopia
29 Jun 2005 Aisha camp has closed a month after the last convoy of Somali refugees went home. UNHCR handed over the land and facilities to the local authorities this week, and noted that with one camp left, the refugee agency was close to phasing out of what was once the world's largest refugee-hosting area. -
Refugees in Ethiopia celebrate "birthday"
23 Jun 2005 Refugees in Ethiopia's Sherkole camp pulled out all the stops in celebrating World Refugee Day, but they also took the opportunity to highlight some of their concerns. Meanwhile, current and former refugees shared their experiences in Addis Ababa. -
Don't forget us, say Ethiopians as last Somali convoy heads home
26 May 2005 Aisha camp in Ethiopia is set to close as the last convoy of refugees heads home to north-western Somalia this weekend. UNHCR is working to restore the environment and encourage development projects to ease the fears of the local community, which has come to rely on services at the camp. -
Eritreans look ahead to life in resettlement
6 Apr 2005 Two groups of Eritrean refugees were recently resettled from Shimelba camp in Ethiopia to New Zealand and the United States. While some are excited by the opportunities offered in their new country, others still hold on to the hope of going home one day. -
Somali refugees ponder future as neighbours go home
16 Mar 2005 Camps in eastern Ethiopia are emptying out as thousands of refugees return to Somaliland in north-western Somalia. But some 10,000 others are left behind, unable to go home due to lawlessness in southern and central Somalia. They will be moved into one last surviving camp, but some refugees have other ideas. -
International Women's Day: Somali refugee women come into their own outside of home
8 Mar 2005 Years of exile in Ethiopia's camps have given Somali refugee women and girls access to education as well as decision-making powers. Many of them are now pondering the future of their newfound rights as they prepare to return to the traditional, male-dominated society in Somaliland. -
"World's largest refugee camp" closes in Ethiopia
1 Jul 2004 Hartisheik, once the world's largest camp with over 250,000 Somali refugees, has closed after the final return convoy left for Somaliland yesterday. This marks a milestone in the Somali repatriation movement, which can only be sustained with international assistance to areas of return. -
UNHCR starts return convoys from Ethiopian camp
26 May 2004 A long convoy of hired buses and trucks set out today from eastern Ethiopia's Aisha camp, snaking across the parched desert towards northern Somalia with 970 refugees seeking to rebuild their lives and their war-ravaged homeland.