A history of Mayukwayukwa Refugee Settlement 1966-2013

Abstract

This study attempts to reconstruct the history of Mayukwayukwa Refugee Settlement. It examines the role and function that was played by the settlement between 1966 and 2013. By 2013, the refugee settlement was the oldest in Zambia. It is illustrated in the study how most of the changes that occurred concerning policies followed in the handling of refugees in Zambia were pioneered at Mayukwayukwa up to 2013 when Zambia began integrating former Angolan refugees locally. The study highlights the background to the refugee problem in Zambia and how Mayukwayukwa was established as a temporal settlement to host Angolan refugees in Zambia. Various frameworks are examined to demonstrate why it was necessary to establish agricultural based refugee settlements in Zambia like Mayukwayukwa in the 1960s. The study illustrates how the settlement continued to exist through changing social, economic, political and ideological policies and atmosphere from 1966 to 2013. These were changing times in and around the host nation Zambia. The experiences at Mayukwayukwa in the period under discussion provided lessons on how Zambia hosted refugees. The study demonstrated how the experiences at Mayukwayukwa influenced the development of Zambia’s refugee policies. Also discussed were the attempts to repatriate the Angolan refugees back to their country when the atmosphere seemed conducive. Last to be discussed were the procedures that were undertaken to finally change the policy and to integrate the former Angolan refugees locally in Zambia. The study concluded that there was a strong relationship between the development of Mayukwayukwa Refugee Settlement and that of Zambia’s refugee policy from 1966 to 2013. Also concluded is that various factors contributed to the establishment of refugee settlements in Zambia. Last to be concluded is that many attempts were made towards the repatriation and local integration of refugees from Mayukwayukwa Refugee Settlement.