Kenyan Bishop: Ease Refugees’ suffering by maintaining peace

African countries with the highest number of refugees and migrants have been urged to cultivate peace and develop their countries as a means of reducing the exodus from their nations.

 In his opening speech during a workshop organised by the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) – Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Seafarers held at Emmaus centre in Nairobi, last week, the Commission’s Vice-Chairman, Bishop Virgilio Pante said that, peace in troubled African countries would contribute greatly to the retention of young citizens and the voluntary repatriation of refugees to their countries of origin. 

On the matter of internally displaced persons due to ethnic violence, Bishop Pante called on governments to empower  its citizens through education and to build more infrastructure in remote areas.  He said that it is only through peace, literacy and equitable development that the problem of refugees, migrants and the internally displaced would be solved.

The workshop brought together about 30 participants from several Kenyan dioceses, the Jesuit Refugee Services (JRS), Don Bosco Fathers and other organisations working with refugees in Kenya.

(By Rose Achiego in Nairobi)

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