Statistics help contextualize resettlement activities, yet it is the individual stories and the personal experiences of protection experts deployed in the field that allow us to truly understand the referral process and what resettlement entails for refugees.

“We interviewed three cases a day,” recalls ICMC deployee, Bahia Hamcha, who spent ten months in Kibondo, northwest Tanzania in 2009, followed by three months in Kassala, eastern Sudan and two months at the UNHCR HUB in Nairobi in 2010. “Though three cases were the norm, I sometimes dealt with more if a case needed urgent attention or if I needed to conduct Best Interest Determination assessments.”

A typical day for Bahia would involve collecting her interview schedule from the UNHCR office, heading out to the camp with the interpreters at 8am and starting interviews with refugees. The resettlement team would generally interview until about 5pm and then be back at the UNHCR office by 6pm. Bahia would normally take a couple of hours break for dinner, phone calls or emails to friends and family before continuing to work on her resettlement referrals in the evenings.

“In Tanzania, I conducted resettlement interviews and submitted Resettlement Registration Forms (RRFs) as part of a group processing exercise for 1,500 Congolese refugees, as well as worked on resettling another group of Congolese refugees who were facing protection concerns in the camps,” explains Bahia. Of the 61,000 Congolese (DRC) refugees in Tanzania, the majority fled from the South Kivu province following the 1994 Congolese war. The Congolese refugee population is a particularly vulnerable and traumatized caseload, as approximately 70% of the refugees are survivors of violence and torture and a very high proportion of the women are victims of rape.

In Kassala, where the protracted caseload is made up mainly of Eritreans and Ethiopians who fled to Sudan as early as the 1970s as a result of the conflict between the two countries, Bahia’s focus has been different. Many of the refugees are second generation, born in exile in Sudan, and lack the necessary ties to, or knowledge of, their country of origin to render repatriation a viable option. As a deployee, she mainly conducted resettlement interviews in the camps, and supported the UNHCR resettlement unit’s efforts in identifying refugees for resettlement.

“Resettlement is one of the most effective durable solutions for refugees and I really enjoyed working to help achieve UNHCR’s resettlement goals,” comments Bahia.

“I was fortunate to take part in the resettlement process from start to finish in Tanzania, from identifying families, interviewing them and referring their cases for resettlement consideration, to being there when decisions were communicated to them on their resettlement. I was also able to see them attend their cultural orientation briefings, accompany them to the plane and wave them good-bye on the airstrip as they departed for their new lives in the resettlement country.”

ICMC deployees play a crucial role in protecting vulnerable refugees, giving them hope for a new beginning—and Bahia is no exception. One woman, who was pregnant when Bahia interviewed her family, was so touched that she ultimately decided to name her daughter after Bahia. The mother’s case was submitted and accepted by the USA and the family—including baby Bahia—has since been resettled to Portland, Oregon.

Bahia was not alone in her work; in 2009, ICMC deployees in Tanzania completed Resettlement Registration Forms for 2,210 persons, contributing significantly to the total of 2,306 persons submitted to resettlement countries by UNHCR over the course of the year. Working to provide durable solutions doesn’t stop here; as we move into 2011, UNHCR and ICMC will continue to improve the lives of vulnerable refugees by referring them for resettlement.