By Bampia James Bundu
About 3,000 Liberian refugees who have been living in Sierra Leone for over a decade have been integrated into their host communities by the ECOWAS Peace and Development Project (PADEP) in collaboration with the UN refugee agency, UNHCR. Speaking during a press conference at the Presidential Lounge of the National Stadium on Friday, the ECOWAS Communications Officer, Paul Ejime said that since the arrival of the ECOWAS delegation in Sierra Leone a couple of days ago, they had visited twelve sites in the east and south of the country to get first-hand information on the ground from the former refugees and those yet to be integrated. He added that during their tour in the country, they held meetings with various stakeholders and landowners to strengthen the already cordial relationship with the refugees. He said their aim was to provide assistance to the former refugees and to resolve conflict. Ejime stressed that very soon they would recruit and deploy ECOWAS volunteers within the country. The UNHCR Protection Associate, Moijiama Siaffa said that the refugees had been provided with shelter, and that the process of regularizing their status to gain Sierra Leonean citizenship was on course. She said that very soon the integrated former refugees would receive Sierra Leonean passports. She said that a total of 40 new houses had been built for them in Kenema district with funds provided by the African Development Bank, and expressed the hope that the facilities would be expanded with time. Madam Siaffa noted that “not all Liberians were integrated”, adding that there was an exceptional case of about 1,300 of them who had still not decided as to whether they should go back home to Liberia or be integrated into Sierra Leonean society.
