ARAR - SOMALIA

"(…) The repression of the SNM (Somali National Movement) by Siad Barre’s army provoked, in 1977, a mass exodus of Isaaq Somalis to the border near Ethiopia (the Ogaden War). In 1991, the SNM’s assumption of power led to another wave of exile to the same destination, this time of the Gadaboursis, said to be the allies of Siad Barre. And at the start of 2002, there were still one thousand refugees listed by the HCR, scattered among seven camps along the Ethiopian border. I accompany Vincent who is in the field to oversee the sound repatriation of the first 600 or so refugees from the Camaboker camp to their natal Somalia.

We rush along at breakneck speed in the UN vehicle. Several times, a truck suddenly emerges from an opaque whirlwind of dust, racing in the opposite direction. Several drivers have apparently been bribed to go in a different direction… Vincent will deal with the border authorities. It’s not his problem. The refugees are free to return or not return."

Extract from Zoé Zoé, Femmes du mondes, 2007, Éditions Gallimard