Dear Honorable Minister,
I am writing to express my concerns and frustration regarding the current situation facing refugees in Zambia, particularly the requirement for refugees to obtain a work permit to engage in any form of economic activity outside of their designated residential camps.
As a refugee, I am acutely aware of the unique challenges that refugees face. Refugees are individuals who, due to circumstances beyond their control, find themselves stateless and without the protection of any citizenship. As a result, we are unable to fully enjoy the rights that are otherwise accorded to all human beings. The restrictions placed upon us, including the requirement to obtain a work permit, only serve to compound these challenges.
One of the primary issues is the financial burden that this work permit requirement places on refugees. Unlike other groups, refugees do not receive financial support from either the Zambian government or the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
This raises the question: how are refugees expected to afford the cost of a work permit,which currently stands at K24,120? This amount is prohibitively expensive for most refugees, who are already struggling to meet their basic needs.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the Zambian government for its support of refugees through various UN programs. I am particularly thankful for the official travel document issued to us under the Convention of 28 July 1951. However, I must bring to your attention the challenges that refugees face when traveling to other countries.
Even though we are no longer citizens of our native countries, we are still required to pay for visas as though we are Congolese, Burundian, or citizens of other countries from which we have fled. This situation raises a critical question: how can we be considered citizens of countries that have failed to protect us and to which we no longer belong?
A recent personal experience highlights these difficulties. On August 15, 2023, I was scheduled to travel to Namibia for a gospel music concert. Before my departure, I visited the Namibian Embassy in Lusaka to inquire about visa requirements. I was informed by an embassy official that, with my travel document issued by the Zambian government, I would not need a visa to enter Namibia. However, upon reaching the border, I was denied entry and told that I did indeed require a visa.
As a Congolese (DRC) refugee, obtaining a visa would have required me to visit the DRC Embassy to obtain a Procès Verbal—a document I cannot acquire because I no longer belong to the Congo. This situation left me in a difficult and frustrating position, unable to proceed with my travel plans.
In light of these concerns, I would like to make the following suggestions:
1. Reconsider the Work Permit Requirement: Given the financial constraints faced by refugees, I urge the Zambian government to reconsider the requirement for refugees to obtain a work permit in order to work outside of their residential camps.Alternatively, I propose that the work permit fee for refugees be significantly reduced or waived altogether, in recognition of the unique challenges we face.
2. Travel Document Consideration: I suggest that our current travel document be recognized and considered for the issuing country (Zambia), rather than our country of origin. This adjustment would acknowledge our stateless status and alleviate the difficulties we encounter when traveling abroad.
I believe that these changes would not only improve the lives of refugees in Zambia but also align with Zambia’s commitment to upholding the rights and dignity of all individuals,including refugees.
I respectfully request that these issues be given serious consideration, and I look forward to
your positive response.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Yours sincerely,
Amani Donkh Hubrason
I’m a Zambian who dropped the Zambian citizenship after acquiring the US citizenship. I applied to be restored as a Zambian Citizen in August 2023, until now I’m still waiting. My Son, by virtue of my US citizenship applied to the US government for US citizenship he received it in 3 weeks. He applied for US passport he got it in 2 weeks. What is wrong with the Zambian government system? You can’t give refugees a simple Permit?
Already 80% unemployment and going higher due zesco
this is not the time for you
Sorry you think like that, the same standard you apply on others will be applied on you. That is what the bible says. Show mercy on refugees and those less fortunate and it will be shown on you in your time of trouble and yet here you are belittling those with challenges. May God open your eyes and other ignorant people like you one day.
When it comes to cross border travel within Africa, it’s not only refugees that face senseless difficulties. Even the so called one stop border posts have just increased the cost of travel because, I’m told, they need to raise money to pay the Chinese who constructed the structures. Some visas cost as much as US$50 and the same amount for yellow fever vaccination plus katamulomo. There are all unpredictable experiences each time you cross. Sometimes it’s shameful to be African
We Africans are our WORST ENEMIES. In Europe they did away with so called borders. SHAME!!!!!!!!
The Earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein… Psalm 24:1-10. Please remove these man-made borders that hinder our free movements and thereby crippling our trade / businesses. God bless Africa!!!
The best approach to this issue is to go through UNHCR rather than address the ‘Honorable Minister’ directly.
UNHCR is a signatory to the 1951 Geneva convention which has been partly quoted and it has a mandate to look after the affairs of refugees in host countries.
The Zambian government has to facilitate that
Let refugees be given work permits for the agriculture sector. The UN can finance their inputs and then we will have a win win situation in that Zambia will benefit from their contribution and the refugees will be given economic empowerment.
Refugees from where? If war has ended where they came from then they should be taken back to their country