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UNHCR starts country-wide refugee census in Sierra Leone
23 May 2003 Together with the government and partner agencies, the UN refugee agency is in the process of counting and categorising refugees throughout Sierra Leone. This will help UNHCR to plan better programmes to assist and protect refugees, and culminate in the distribution of refugee identity cards. -
Lubbers hails peace process, spirit of recovery in Sierra Leone
16 May 2003 On mission in Sierra Leone, UN refugee agency chief Ruud Lubbers has praised the country's smooth transition to peace and the indomitable spirit of returnees and refugees on the road to recovery. -
UNHCR resumes sea returns from Liberia; repatriation on track in region
13 May 2003 Hundreds of Sierra Leonean refugees have sailed home from Monrovia as UNHCR resumes repatriation operations by sea. Returns have also picked up from Guinea with the opening of the Parrot's Beak route, raising hopes that most Sierra Leonean refugees in the region can go home within a year. -
Scholarship helps ex-refugee stay in school despite strife
8 Apr 2003 A Sierra Leonean returnee who has persevered with her higher education through two disruptive civil wars. -
Fast track back to Sierra Leone raises hopes of complete repatriation by end 2004
7 Apr 2003 Hundreds of Sierra Leonean refugees went home over the weekend through a new direct route from central Guinea. This has sped up returns and raised hopes that the repatriation of Sierra Leonean refugees in the region can be completed by the end of next year. -
UNHCR joins fight against Lassa fever in Sierra Leonean camps
1 Apr 2003 The UN refugee agency has signed an agreement with the Sierra Leonean government and other humanitarian agencies to co-ordinate efforts to contain the spread of the deadly disease in Bo and Kenema districts' refugee camps. -
Thousands flee Liberian conflict; UNHCR tries to repatriate Sierra Leoneans
17 Feb 2003 Some 6,000 Liberians have fled rebel fighting in the west, while Sierra Leonean refugees near Monrovia risk getting caught in the conflict. In view of rising tensions, the UN refugee agency is working to relocate or repatriate some 17,500 Sierra Leoneans in Liberia. -
Feature: Liberia's child soldiers relive lost childhood in Sierra Leone
12 Feb 2003 Abducted by rebel forces in Monrovia, teenagers Moses and Joshua were forced to grow up on the frontlines of Liberia's brutal civil war. But they managed to escape to Sierra Leone, where after a period of imprisonment, they are now restarting their lives in Bandajuma refugee camp. -
Feature: School or the streets? Young refugees in Freetown must choose as UNHCR funds diminish
25 Nov 2002 Liberian refugees Zinnah and Owita Mansally live hand to mouth in Freetown, Sierra Leone. The sisters' only outlet is through school, where tuition fees and school uniforms are provided by the UN refugee agency. But the agency's current shortfall may force the girls out of school and into the streets.