DUBAI December 24, 2005 (Khaleej Times) — Hawa Ibrahim Koshen, a staff member at the Provost's office at Zayed University, Dubai, who recounted her experiences working with the UNHCR as a refugee consultant for Somali refugees in Nairobi, said that financial crunch was the biggest hurdle in the repatriation and rehabilitation of displaced people and refugees.

Since 1992, following conflicts and the outbreak of Civil war in Somalia, "over 1.5 million Somalis have been internally displaced or became refugees in various African countries," she said, urging people in the UAE and around the globe to extend financial assistance to the United Nations charity bodies to help accomplish repatriation, reintegration and resettlement of displaced Somalis.

Sharing her experience with the students, faculty and staff of Zayed University recently, Hawa said that her one-year special tenure from August 2004 until August 2005, with the UNHCR refugee camps in Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia was a heart rending, but 'overall satisfying' experience.

She narrated the poverty and dismal living conditions in refugee camps. Environmental damage and harsh landscapes, men, women and children preparing to go home with meager belongings, homes being dismantled, aid workers registering and recording and convoys of trucks traveling through the mountains are part of the long story of displacement and dispossession.

The students and others left the talk wondering how they could make a difference to the situation by contributing whatever little they could.

'How can we help them?' was the question asked by many, moved by the horrifying experiences that Hawa narrated about the psyche and lives of people in refugee camps. "International charity agencies need funds because the money generated around the globe is not enough to meet the problems of the displaced and refugees," she said.

Referring to the UNHCR's mandate set up in 1951 in response to the mass movement of people during World War II, she pointed out that the body aimed to ensure the international protection of the worlds' refugees and assist them in finding permanent solutions to their problems by reintegration, repatriation and resettlement.

Although Afghanistan tops the list with 2,085,000 refugees, the highest refugee populations are still in Africa . The figures for refugees in Africa are as follows: Sudan ( 731,000), Burundi (486,000), Dem Rep Congo (462,000), Somalia (389,000), Palestinian (351,800), Vietnam (350,000), Liberia (335,000), Iraq (312,000), and Azerbaijan (251,000).

Besides violation of human rights, protection of vulnerable groups, ratifying conventions, child protection, governance, mine clearance, and stopping of human trafficking are other important issues facing the displaced people and refugees, she said.

She pointed out that UAE lacked a programme to encourage people to join up as volunteers with international charity organizations. Although several charities are funded by the UAE government, there is still need for more aid and it is up to the young to come forward and support the cause of refugees around the globe, stressed Hawa.