UK's refugee arrangement has left destitute survivors of Rwandan genocide


(MENAFN) The former occupants of a hostel in Rwanda who were kicked out as part of a contentious agreement to house migrants flown in from the UK have complained about being left homeless while the building is vacant.

The inhabitants, all survivors of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda that claimed the lives of nearly 800,000 members of the minority Tutsi community, had lived in the Hope Hostel in the nation's capital, Kigali, for up to eight years when they were told to leave two days after British Home Secretary Priti Patel signed an agreement with the Rwandan government for the transfer of asylum seekers from the UK to the impoverished nation worth £120 million.

The now-homeless residents came up about their situation but preferred to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation in light of allegations that the Rwandan government has received criticism from international rights organizations for stifling freedom of expression.

When Patel visited the hostel in April, the genocide survivors who resided there were dispatched on a day trip to keep them from interfering with her visit.

According to the research, Rwandan donors funded the construction of the Hope Hostel in Kigali's Kagugu area amid a three-month murderous campaign by the Hutu government, with little help from the international world, to house up to 190 survivors of the 1994 genocide.

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