News about Sierra Leonean refugeesMennonite Central Committee Fighting in the West African country of Guinea, a host country for many refugees, may affect some Sierra Leonean refugees that MCC Manitoba (MCCM) is working to sponsor for resettlement to Canada. Until recently a relatively stable country, Guinea is host to Africa's second-largest refugee population, including 130,000 Liberians and 330,000 Sierra Leoneans. The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the southwestern town of Gueckedou was destroyed Dec. 6 during fighting between government troops and rebels. Thousands of citizens and refugees from camps in this border region are fleeing the area.  With assistance from local congregations, MCCM hopes to sponsor 15 families from Sierra Leone. MCCM is also working with the Sierra Leonean community in Winnipeg to co-sponsor 10 additional families. Background on specific refugee cases is available on MCCM's Web site, www.mccm.mb.ca. Several Sierra Leoneans with whom MCCM is working have relatives in the Gueckedou area. "Relatives in Winnipeg are hard-pressed to know how to respond as their family members face more chaotic moves," said Edwin Wiebe, MCCM refugee program coordinator.
For more information, or to contact Mennonite Central Committee, see their website at: www.mcc.org |
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