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Henning Mankell

Uganda / Refugees / Hannin Mankell is interviewing a Congolese refugee woman in Rwamwanjia reception centre (Western Uganda). Nyirantezurundi Laurence, a single mother of two children whose husband was killed in DRC during the fighting. She feared of being killed herself and so fled with her two children and other families in the village to Uganda. This is her first time as a refugee and she has been at the centre for 1 month. Today she is leaving for the settlement. When asked what she hoped life in Uganda would be like, she hoped, with gods will that her children would be safe. Her son Steven is 2 years, 9 months and her daughter, Jennifer is 5 years old. In Rwamwanjia refugees spend up to a week before being allocated plots of land to live on and cultivate. UNHCR has set up to communal shelters accommodating up to 250 people each and new arrivals are provided with hot meals by WFP (through Samaritans Purse). They are also provided with packages of essential items including jerry cans, mats, treated poles, hoes, saucepans, plastic sheeting, mosquito nets, slashers, pangas, soap and rope before being allocated land./ UNHCR / M. Sibiloni / November 2013
© UNHCR/M.Sibiloni

About Henning

Henning Mankell, the internationally acclaimed Swedish author was best known for his crime novels, but was also celebrated for his activism and humanitarian work. Mankell was a passionate advocate for refugees in Africa and the work of UNHCR. Mankell’s relationship with UNHCR started in the 1980s when he visited camps run by UNHCR in Mozambique. A decade later he travelled with the then High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata to camps in South Africa. In October 2013, Mankell undertook his last mission with UNHCR. He visited Congolese refugees in Uganda, seeing UNHCR’s operations from the emergency stage to the transfer of refugees to long-term settlements. On his return he wrote articles on the plight of refugees in Africa. In January 2014, Henning Mankell shared the news with the public that he was battling with cancer and on 6 October 2015 the sad announcement was made that he had lost his life to the disease. 

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