Friday 15 August 2003

Press Briefing Notes
Friday 15 August 2003
Spokesperson: Christopher Lom

1. ZAMBIA / ANGOLA - Angolan Refugees Return Home
2. AFGHANISTAN - Independent Media Emerges

ZAMBIA / ANGOLA - Angolan Refugees Return Home - On Tuesday a sixth IOM road convoy left the Maheba Resettlement Camp in Zambia to help another group of Angolan refugees to return home.

The 1,144 returnees and their belongings were transported in 14 buses and 9 trucks.

At the Kamapanda Transit Centre on the Zambia Angola border, the NGO Lutheran World Federation (LWF) provided the returnees with food and cooking facilities. On Wednesday morning the convoy entered Angola and arrived safely at the Cazombo Receiving Center.

The return route includes the sometimes hazardous crossing of the Zambezi river by motorized canoe. Although the river is only 100 metres wide at the crossing point, there are strong currents and armed guards are needed to deal with the threat of crocodile attacks. The boats can carry 15-20 people at a time and IOM provides lifejackets.

Since the return operation began in mid July, IOM has assisted some 4,700 persons to return home. Working with UNHCR, IOM expects to assist a total of 13,000 Angolan refugees to return home from Zambia this year.

Afonso Mulim, 59, described his joy at returning home to Cazombo with his wife and nine children. "I am so happy to be back in my home after so many years of suffering far away. We left in 1992 and it was not easy to lose everything. Now my family has the chance to have a good future though we have to start from scratch," he said.

George Nduku, 38, returning to Calunda with his wife and three children, said: "I am looking forward to seeing my friends again and to be able to sleep at night knowing that peace has arrived for ever in Angola."

Once in Angola, the IOM office in Luanda provides transport assistance to the returnees and IOM trucks and buses help them to reach their final destination. IOM Luanda is also working with UNHCR, WFP and LWF to distribute food to the returnees.

The IOM Regional Representative for Southern Africa reports that the operation, which will expand and continue into 2004, has received over US$2 million for the repatriation of 13,000 Angolan refugees from Zambia, and calculates that a further US$7 million could be required.

IOM is appealing for some US$ 8.85 million from the international community for its operations on the Angolan side of the border over the next 20 months. To date it has received US$ 435,000 from UNHCR.

AFGHANISTAN - Independent Media Emerges - IOM is supporting the development of an independent Afghan media through its USAID-funded Afghanistan Transition Initiative (ATI). The programme has made 33 small media grants totalling some US$1.8 million. The projects include training, technical assistance, infrastructure and consultancy.

One project, designed to reach Afghans living outside urban centers, involves mobile cinemas touring Afghanistan and showing Afghan-produced films that provide essential information about upcoming events in the political process, health, land mines and other important issues.

To help women in journalism and the media, two communication workshops and two photography workshops have been held in Kabul for members of the NGO Afghan Women's Network. Three digital cameras were also provided to establish a media library.

Another grant supported the six-month training of 16 Afghan women filmmakers. The group produced a 52-minute documentary titled "Afghanistan Unveiled", which included interviews conducted with 100 Afghan women around the country; and a second documentary drawn from interviews with 100 women delegates to the Emergency Loya Jirga.

The Faculty of Journalism of the University of Herat has been provided with training facilities to give journalism students essential technical and reporting skills, as well as a thorough understanding of concepts of media independence and professionalism.

At the University of Kabul, a campus radio station/media centre was created in cooperation with UNESCO, and a 12-month "Novice Journalism Training Programme" was set up.

Other grants have supported the production of 17 thirty-minute radio talk shows, the salary of a consultant to work with the Information Unit of the President's Office, and the organization of a Conference on Media Development.

The rehabilitation of the Independent Media Resource Centre in Kabul was carried out, as well as the purchase of pre-printing equipment for a publishing house that provides low-cost printing for independent news organizations and NGOs. Radios were distributed to families in Istalif district.

ATI supported the production of "Morsal", a weekly magazine for Afghan women over a one year period. A two-week assessment was also undertaken to determine immediate communication needs for Afghanistan..

To bring information to all of the people in Afghanistan, a national and independent newspaper distribution network was set up. "Killid", an independent Afghan weekly in Dari and Pashto, and other publications are now delivered to major and minor urban centers on time.

The most recent IOM-ATI grant has helped build-up the first independent radio station in Kandahar. The station has the potential to reach 1.5 million listeners within 100 km of Kandahar and is staffed primarily by journalists from the area. Another grant made possible the establishment, equipping, and training of other 14 independent radio stations in different Afghan provinces.

The programme is driven by the belief that the development of an independent media in Afghanistan is an important element in the reconstruction process and will contribute to durable peace and stability.