Horrendous circumstances of Oromo refugees in East African countries
OromoIndex - February 6, 2008
To escape the persecution of the colonial Ethiopian regime, thousands of Oromo refugees fled to neighbouring East African countries over the last four decades. Today, with the rapid discendance of East African countries into internal and external conflicts, it seems that no place is safer for East African refugees in general and Oromo refugees in particular.
The instabilities within the East African countries have created a situation where tyrant presidents/prime ministers are entering into partnership to help each other hunt down the refugees that they themselves created. These kinds partnerships have involved allowing government security agents and assassins to operate in each other’s territories, forced exchange of refugees, denial of refugee certifications and registrations. The instability in Somalia and more recently in Kenya have seen horrendous treatment of Oromo refugees. The main interest of Ethiopia’s war in Somalia was not so much to oust the Union of Islamic Forces as much as it was to squash Oromo refugee dissidents in Somalia. As result tens of refugees were murdered and hundreds have been extradited and are incarcerated in Ethiopian Oromo concentration camps.
The instability in Kenya has also resulted in undocumented disappearances and deaths of Oromo refugees ...