US Ambassador David Young Faulted For Commenting Sensitive Issues On Refugees

David Young Would have commented on same sex marriages that his county US championing in the country

Malawi Government has faulted United States of America Ambassador David Young for his remarks on the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers being relocated to Dzaleka Refugees Camp in Dowa District.

In a statement issued on Saturday evening, Ministry of Homeland Security Principal Secretary Oliver Kumbambe said the operation to relocate refugees and asylum seekers residing outside the designated camp is justified because there have been concerns that some migrants were involved in illegal activities, including crossborder crimes, transnational crimes, human trafficking and smuggling as well as drug trafficking.

Young On Pressure to Comment why US is pushing Malawi on same sex marriages in the country

He said the Malawi Government was still committed to protect the refugees and asylum seekers, but at the designated place.

Said Kumbambe: “It is in this respect that Dzaleka Refugees Camp was established for the purposes of protecting the refugees and asylum seekers. All refugees and asylum seekers are, therefore, required to reside in the designated camp.

“It must be mentioned that in establishing the Dzaleka Refugees Camp with assistance from UNHCR [United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees], government made approapriate provisions for a safe stay of all refugees and asylum seekers.”

He said through the operation, Malawi was also assessing the status of the refugees and asylum seekers as no country in the world, including the US, receives and accepts people without an assessment.

Kumbambe said: “The public may further wish to note that increased numbers of asylum seekers are trekking into Malawi just to engage in undocumented and unauthorised businesses. Further, some are using Malawi as a route to resettle in third countries such as the United States.

In its edition of May 28 2023 our sister newspaper Nation on Sunday quoted Young as having condemned the government’s move to relocate refugees and asylum seekers to Dzaleka.

He questioned if Malawi would be pleased if thousands of its citizens who trekked to South Africa were forced to return.

Young said: “The Rwandans, Burundis and others came here with a lot of pain in their lives.

“They [the refugees] came with the same pain as someone travelling from Mzimba or Mangochi to Cape Town or Johannesburg for greener pastures. Do you want South Africa to push those people out and send them back home?”

Meanwhile, Malawi Police Service says it will start using force to relocate refugees who have returned to the country’s cities few days after they were relocated to Dzaleka.