Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Volume 37, Number 5. 3rd April 1974
Refugees adjust well
Refugees adjust well
There are no law-and-order problems in the settlement, despite the fact that while we were there we saw a beer party in full suing. The only real problem facing the settlement springs from the fact that it lies on the Great East Road. Refugees living in Zambian villages are taken to the settlement to live. Often they try to return to the village in which they were found. Refugees are not allowed into the villages. The Great Hast Road provides those who wish to leave the settlement and live in the villages with an easy exit route.
This rule is necessary for a number of reasons. With no possessions and no money, a refugee would quickly become an imposition on the local community if he lived outside the settlements provided for him. Although some countries integrate refugees into the general population, Zambia does not want to do this, chiefly for reasons of security and the one mentioned above.
Surrounded for the most part by hostile powers, young and under-developed, Zambia is showing the world that she will not run away from her commitments and from her principles, whatever the cost.