Mauritanian refugees sit in limbo

RICHARD TOLL, SENEGAL // From his house on a sandy flat on the outskirts of town, Ousseynou Sy can see the trees rising from the banks of the Senegal River. His childhood home is only a few kilometres away, on the Mauritanian side, but it might as well be on another continent. Mr Sy was among 70,000 black Mauritanians who fled ethnic violence two decades ago. About 30,000 are still stranded in Senegal and Mali. Last year, the country's first democratically elected president promised to bring them home, but a recent military coup has thrown them into limbo once again.

"Right now we are not in a position to repatriate them," said Nsona Nascimento of the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). "We have to be sure on the other side that conditions are right. Right now, because of the situation, there is no movement." Working with Mauritania's president at the time, Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, the UNHCR managed to repatriate 4,670 refugees this year. But the programme was suspended after Mr Abdallahi was deposed by military leaders and placed under arrest, where he remains.

On Thursday, the African Union, the United Nations and the Arab League made public a joint statement calling for Mr Abdallahi's release. Two days earlier, Mauritanian legislators named a tribunal to try Mr Abdallahi on charges ranging from corruption to obstructing parliament. Also on Sept 9, the US Embassy in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, said it did not recognise the new military government.

Washington "continues to recognise President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi and Prime Minister Yahya Ould Ahmed Waghf as the legitimate government of Mauritania", the embassy said in a statement. Military leaders calling themselves the High Council of State have promised new elections, although they have not set a date, and they have pledged to honour the repatriation agreement. Mr Nascimento said he had reservations about such promises.

"How can one have faith in people who take power with guns?" he asked. "We are just waiting to see what will happen. They have a lot of convincing to do." The refugees also have their doubts. "We are worried," Mr Sy said. "The former government was doing good, but since they were taken out [of power] we are not expecting much from this government." At another camp in the region, where about 1,000 Mauritanians live, a community leader who did not wish to be named said the refugees have decided not to speak publicly about their situation because they do not want to jeopardise the repatriation agreement.

He said they remain hopeful in light of positive statements made by the new military government. But Mr Nascimento of the UNHCR said there is a lack of dialogue between the two sides. "The refugees have requested that the new authorities should come and address them because they have questions to ask. They have fears," he said. Mr Sy said he wants reassurance that his family's property will be returned.

"If I can get my land and all the things that belong to me I will go back," he said. "If not, I am not going back." He said he was 12 in 1989 when soldiers came to his ancestral village of Keur Madick. "They had guns with them and they forced us to leave the area," he said. "It's only thanks to UNHCR and some people here that we survived." Mr Sy said his family's land was taken by "white" Mauritanians, or Moors, of Arab and Berber descent.

"They have money and they are very powerful and they refuse to give back the land," he said. Mauritania is deeply divided between its black and Moorish populations. Moors have historically controlled the economic and political life of the country. While accurate numbers are hard to come by, the Mauritanian organisation SOS Slaves said about 500,000 black Mauritanians remain in slavery despite recent legislation put in place to end the practice.

In 1989, a relatively minor territorial dispute between Mauritania and Senegal exploded into ethnic violence. Hundreds of black Mauritanians were killed, and tens of thousands were driven out of the country. The Moors who drove the refugees out then took over their farms. Returning the property to the original owners has proved challenging and contributed to prolonging the refugee crisis, Mr Nascimento said.

"They would like to get back their own land and that's been the problem we deal with," he said, adding that the previous government was sometimes able to provide returning refugees with alternative land packages. Mr Abdallahi was elected in 2007 on a reconciliation platform, but his government was soon rocked by political instability and demonstrations against rising food prices. He dissolved two governments within three months and also faced accusations of corruption.

On Aug 6, Mr Abdallahi sacked four generals, including Gen Ould Abdelaziz, who led the coup later that day. The international community and Mauritanian human rights groups condemned the coup, but the military junta has gained support from the majority of the country's politicians. Mr Sy said he is watching events in his homeland, as he has been doing for 19 years, but he is not optimistic that he and his family will be returning anytime soon.

As for his two small children, they were born in Senegal and are as much Senegalese as Mauritanian. "When they grow up they can cross the river. It's up to them to choose," he said. jferrie@thenational.ae