A photo is trending on social media platforms such as facebook and WhatsApp of a refugee giving authorities in Malawi a ‘middle finger’.
In the photo, the unidentified man who is among the refugees who were being relocated from Blantyre to Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Dowa was seen in a police vehicle raising his ‘middle finger’.
According to dictionary.com, raising one’s middle finger—considered an obscene gesture in many cultures—and is used for offensive or humorous effect.
Meanwhile, a group calling itself concerned citizens of Blantyre has written Minister of Homeland Security Ken Zikhale Ng’oma to suspend the on-going refugees’ relocation exercise.
Speaking after delivering the petition to the Minister through Blantyre City Council (BCC), leader for the grouping, Chipulumutso Phiri, said sending the refugees back to Dzaleka is a ‘violation of Human Rights’.
According to Phiri, some of the refugees married Malawians and sending them to Dzaleka will directly affect their families.
The fearless activist Phiri further wondered why only Black foreigners are targeted in the exercise.
“Why only fellow black foreigners when we have many Asians and Europeans living in the country freely without documentations,” said Phiri
However, Minister of Homeland Zikhale Ng’oma told the media recently that the government will continue with the exercise.
Dzaleka Camp accommodates nearly 50,000 people from the recommended 12,000 refugees according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
