Southern Africa : Photos

Discover every day Photographs of the various countries of Africa and the Caribbean

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A UNHCR-organized convoy departs from Okakwa transit centre in Namibia on Thursday morning, bringing Angolan refugees back home.
UNHCR/T. Ghelli

After decades, a journey home for Angolan refugees

ONGWEDIVA, Namibia, May 18 (UNHCR) – Over 100 Angolan refugees, some of whom had been refugees in Namibia for more than 20 years, returned home on Thursday with help from the UN refugee agency.

The group of 31 families began their journey earlier this week when they left the Osiree refugee settlement and travelled over 850 kilometres to a transit centre near the border with Angola. Over the course of the three-day journey the refugees were provided with shelter and food. Before returning to Angola the families received cash grants from UNHCR and food rations for three months from the World Food Programme. The Namibian government also donated trucks to transport the families' belongings back to Angola.

Once in Angola, the former refugees received identity documents and reintegration packages provided by the Angolan government.

Over three thousand Angolan refugees in Namibia have registered their intention to return to Angola by June 30. Earlier this year, UNHCR recommended that cessation be invoked for Angolan refugees as of June 30, 2012. That would effectively bring to an end a refugee situation stretching back to 1961 and Angola's war of independence from Portugal.

Cessation is being invoked because the situation in Angola has fundamentally changed. Peace and stability have returned with most Angolan refugees already having gone home. In 2011, only 28 Angolans returned from Namibia.

Castro Mawonso, aged 48, returned to his homeland with his family this week on an earlier UNHCR convoy. A refugee for most of his life, he recalled fleeing Angola for the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1964. The family subsequently returned to Angola. Years later, at the age of 34 and with children of his own, Castro was again forced to flee a civil war, finding refuge in Namibia. "The fighting was just too much," he said.

Castro and his wife went on to have five more children in Namibia. For them, Angola is an unknown country. His biggest concern now is education for his children. "My children have never learned in Portuguese, so I think it will be a challenge for them, "he said.

"I have heard for many years about the voluntary repatriation but this time, I have decided to go home myself," said Castro. "I was not sure, but I then I changed my mind when I heard about the cessation and that we would be assisted to bring our belongings back with us."

Government officials from Namibia and Angola took part in a ceremony on Monday at the Osiree camp to mark refugees' return. The refugees thanked Namibia for hosting them and Namibian officials wished them well on their long journey home. Angolan officials reiterated that the country is eager to receive all Angolans residents living outside and the country.

Since the resumption of assisted voluntary repatriation to Angola in 2011, over 10,500 refugees have returned home from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia with over 6,000 having returned in 2012.

UNHCR has registered nearly forty thousand Angolan refugees who intend to return home. As of the end of 2011, there were some 130,000 Angolan refugees still in exile, primarily living in neighboring countries. The Democratic Republic of the Congo hosts the largest number with 78,144 Angolan refugees. Other countries with sizeable populations of Angolan refugees include Zambia, Namibia, South Africa and the Republic of the Congo.

UNHCR is also working with host governments to examine local integration options for those Angolan refugees who are unable to return or home or have strong ties to their countries of asylum.

By Tina Ghelli in Ongwediva, Namibia

Since the animated film The Lion King every child knows the two cool friends Timon the meerkat and Pumbaa the warthog. When I spotted this warthog walking along at the river banks of Chobe River, I was inevitably thinking that this must be Pumbaa looking for his friend Timon.

When arriving at Chobe National Park in Botswana,(near the boarder to Zambia and Zimbabwe) the ranger told us that we will beg him to show us anything else but no more elephants after we spent some time in the park. First I did not understand what he was talking about, but when we came down to the banks of Chobe River, there where thousands of elephants everywhere, cooling down in the water and enjoying their bath in the river. Being there and moving around between all these majestic creatures has been one of the most breathtaking nature experiences I've ever had.

We had a little fun with long exposures while we were in the Kruger National Park back in March...after all, I lugged that damn tripod all the way to Africa! One of our favorite things to do on safari is enjoy an ice-cold glass of light white (wine) while standing by the braai (bbq). Of course, having your own resident herd of impala grazing behind you doesn't hurt either! Cheers to Your Weekend everyone! Enjoy the gorgeous weather if you're on the East Coast. Now I'm off to go pour me a nice cold drink!

Looking for some chance encounters of the animal kind in the Kruger National Park. I shot this early in the morning on the way out of Pretoriuskop camp heading up to Satara. Gotta love some early morning sunrise flare! Happy Flare Friday folks!

This shot was taken on a little country road leading up to the Catholic Church in Louwsberg, South Africa where my niece got married in March. We'd stopped off at the church on our way into town prior to the wedding, and were greeted with freshly mowed grass & a freshly painted church! The woman walking is one of the caretakers of the little church. She was thrilled to see that the bride had arrived. Hope you have a fantastic day! Happy Fence Friday!

Imagine Communications posted a photo:

Imagine Communications posted a photo:

Imagine Communications posted a photo:

Imagine Communications posted a photo:

Imagine Communications posted a photo:

Imagine Communications posted a photo:

I'm musing today about Landscapes over at www.mortalmuses.com

This beautiful Common Diadem Butterfly was sitting in the sun on a bush in Planet Baobab in Botswana.

Originally I identified this butterfly as an African Monarch, but Jon Baker (www.flickr.com/photos/41528106@N00) pointed out that this is actually a diadem, which is a master of mimic and pretending to be the toxic African Monarch. Thanks a lot for clarification.

By the time he was done throwing rocks into the river, soaking wet was an understatement! After that, he ran around in his shorts until he was dry. Of course, it helped that we swung he and his brother around in circle after dizzying circle...remember "airplane" as a kid? They couldn't get enough!

I put together more puzzles that I can remember doing in the past 20 years while we were visiting with friends in Botswana. We were all designated specific sections to complete...the adults usually being the trickiest sections. I'd forgotten how fun it could be!

One of my favorite landscapes from the Okavango Delta. I shot this one with Marci as well...but I couldn't resist a little VSCO processing in the iphone. I'm drooling over their package again and am so tempted to pull the trigger and purchase it...but I need to decide about an upgrade to LR 4 first. Is anyone using it? What do you think? Well worth the upgrade? Let me know!

Tomorrow I'll be musing on Landscapes over at www.mortalmuses.com, so I thought I'd share landscapes this week with you from my trip now that I'm finally finding the time to play with them!

An aerial photo of the camp Moremi Crossing in midst of the Okavango Delta. Even though, the camp only consists of a main building with a large veranda and a few very comfortable tents, it is the biggest camp in the delta, and one of the most enchanted places I've ever have been. If you look for an extraordinary destination for your next trip, Moremi Crossing should definitely be on your list.

A wonderfully colored Lilac Breasted Roller sitting on a lonely tree in midst of the Okavango Delta.

Hope you all enjoy yourselves this weekend!

Images automaticaly loaded from flickr with tags : (afriqueaustrale,southernafrica)