02/11/2005

Nearly a decade after Sierra Leoneans began fleeing the civil war for neighboring Guinea, many of the 300,000 refugees in Guinea have decided to return home. Increased harassment of refugees in Guinea, as well as refugee perceptions that security in Sierra Leone has improved, have prompted more than 50,000 refugees to return to their war-torn country.

However, the government of Sierra Leone and the international community are unprepared to deal with a massive influx of returnees, especially with 1 million internally displaced persons already living throughout the country. To ensure that Sierra Leoneans are not forced to flee their country again, the international community must redouble it efforts to guarantee security and adequate economic opportunities for all Sierra Leoneans. Without this, Sierra Leone will not have the capacity to absorb further returns.