Day of reckoning arrives for Namibian refugees

The matter has drawn regional and international scrutiny, not least between the two states involved. At a time when the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has heightened its efforts to market itself as a democratic, free and progressive bloc, the presence of refugees from the one country in the other, has become somewhat of an uncomfortable, even irritating reminder of the real difficulties that persist.

Already, the two countries have received unwanted attention from Amnesty International which says the planned forced repatriation amounts to refoulement, the globally accepted principle which forbids the rendering of a victim of persecution to his or her persecutor.