Harare, Zimbabwe – After almost two decades at the Tongogara refugee colony in Zimbabwe, philosoph qualified for resettlement in the United States.
He, his wife and 10 other people were to leave on January 21. But one day before, he received heartbreaking news. Due to a decree by US President Donald Trump, their resettlement has been canceled.
Philosophy, father of six children, heard the news while completing the starting formalities for the international organization of migration facilities in Harare.
Philosophy, who asked that his nickname be used because he fears remuneration, would travel as part of the Admission to American Refugees Admission program. The program started in Zimbabwe last year. Philosophy came for the first time to Zimbabwe in 2005 of Rwanda, where the repression of the state often makes life difficult for people who oppose the government.
The decree, which came on the day of the inauguration of Trump, issued a work prescription for all the activities of the American agency for international development, including the resettlement of refugees. This week, the USAID was apparently closed, its offices locked and the employees said to stay at home.
The order of work at arrest is characterized as a “90 -day break”, but it is not clear when – or if – the USAID programs will resume.
In response to a request for comments on the World Press Journal, the US State Department confirmed that it “suspended refugee arrivals and case processing activities”. He has provided no other details.
More than 1,300 refugees from the colony were resettled in the United States in 2024 and 887 new submissions were made that year, explains Johanne MHLANGA, administrator of the regulation at Tongogara Refugee Settlement. The regulations are home to around 16,000 refugees and asylum seekers, including philosoph and his family.
In 2024, more than 100,000 refugees were resettled in the United States through the Admission to American refugees. This is the greatest number admitted in one year since 1994, according to a report from 2024 COUCIL USA refugee.
African countries constituted the majority of admitted refugees.
Since 1980, more than 3.1 million refugees from various countries have been admitted to the United States.
Kudzai Mwapaurara, lecturer at the University of Women in Africa who published a study on the colony of Tongogara refugees in 2024, said that the decision can already exacerbate living conditions in difficulties in camps like Tongogara. Although the camp is structured to meet the basic needs, the resources are often tense and the change could lead to difficulty maintaining adequate services for its residents, she adds.
“Refugees may feel increased uncertainty, psychological stress and lack of access to basic resources as hope for reinstalling decreases.”
Change has a emotional blow to philosophy and other refugees.
“All I wanted was a better future for my children,” he said.
Refugees are demoralized, says MHLANGA, while their country of origin continues to prey to prolonged conflicts.
Chris, who asked to use only his second first name for fear of reprisals, fled war and persecution in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He hoped for a safe and secure life in the United States after being refugee in Zimbabwe for 14 years.
“I imagined a life with dignity, where I could support my family and contribute to my community,” he said.
Mhlanga says that refugees must now wait a little more and hope for a positive result during the 90 -day break noted in the decree. The wait is particularly painful for those whose flights have been suddenly canceled.
“They had to return to the regulations, but they had eliminated their assets and had said goodbye to their relatives and friends,” said Mhlanga. “Imagine the pain!”
Philosophy gave everything he had to other camp refugees, including a small project involving pigs. Now he has to start again.
Local integration is difficult, if not impossible, for refugees in Zimbabwe, who cannot obtain citizenship here. The country does not offer complete resettlement, providing only one place designated for refugees to live.
“The political position is that refugees will voluntarily return to their country of origin once the situations that have forced them to seek international protection have changed for the best,” said Mhlanga.
But the end result, says Mhlanga, is that the refugees simply remain in Zimbabwe.
Philosophy says that his life depends on the bimensual distributions of the World Food Program, which sends food aid worldwide to refugees and other people in need.
Chris says that political decision -makers must take into account the human cost of their decisions.
“Refugees like me are not statistics; We are people who deserve dignity, security and a chance to rebuild our lives, ”he says.
