View source for Osire

'''Osire''' is a [[refugee camp]] in central [[Namibia]], situated 200 km north of the capital [[Windhoek]] next to the main road [[C30 road (Namibia)|C30]] from [[Gobabis]] to [[Otjiwarongo]]. It was established in 1992 to accommodate refugees from [[Angola]], [[Burundi]], the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], [[Rwanda]] and [[Somalia]]. The camp grew quickly in its early years, reaching a peak of 20,000 inhabitants in 1998. Since then the refugee population of Osire decreased steadily, approaching 6,500 in 2010, and 3,000 in 2014. Due to the cessation of conflicts in the countries where inhabitants originate from, the camp is scheduled to close. In 2008 the majority (75%) of refugees still resident here came from Angola, and a sizeable portion from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.<ref>[http://allafrica.com/stories/200806190409.html "Spotlight Falls on Osire Refugees"] by Petronella Sibenene, ''[[New Era (Namibia)|New Era]]'', 19 June 2008</ref> [[UNHCR]] regards the camp as one of the best managed in the world, due to its provisioning of formal school education, both primary and secondary. The settlement further has a police station and a clinic.<ref name="crowd">{{Cite news |last=Andima |first=Jordaania |last2=Kenyon |first2=Jack |date=26 June 2014 |title=Alone in a crowd ... the story of Osire Refugee Camp inhabitants |work=[[The Namibian]] |url=https://www.namibian.com.na/alone-in-a-crowd-the-story-of-osire-refugee-camp-inhabitants/}}</ref>
The camp used to be a detention centre during the [[South Africa]]n rule over Namibian territory.<ref name="USCRI">[http://www.refugees.org/newsroomsub.aspx?id=2213 USCRI]{{Dead link|date=July 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}} Trapped in Osire Refugee Camp</ref> Throughout its existence as refugee camp maltreatment of inhabitants, retaliation, harassment<ref name="USCRI"/> and riots<ref>[http://medilinkz.org/news/news2.asp?NewsID=4346 Medilinkz] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303183158/http://medilinkz.org/news/news2.asp?NewsID=4346 |date=2016-03-03 }} 20 Oct 2003: NAMIBIA: Unrest at Osire refugee camp</ref> have been reported. In 2009 a group of 41 people fled the camp with the help of a local Human Rights organisation after allegedly having received death threats. This group left Namibia via the [[Mamuno]] Border Post but was refused entry to [[Botswana]] and as a result stayed in [[No Man's Land]] between Namibia and Botswana<ref>[http://www.nshr.org.na/index.php?module=News&func=display&sid=1133 Namibia National Society for Human Rights] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101116165521/http://www.nshr.org.na/index.php?module=News&func=display&sid=1133 |date=2010-11-16 }} Government washes hands off 41 refugees</ref> for three months until being arrested by Botswana authorities and deported to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.<ref>[http://www.namibian.com.na/index.php?id=28&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=60474&no_cache=1 "Botswana to deport runaway refugees"], ''[[The Namibian]]'' 9 Oct 2009, by Nangula Shejavali</ref>
==References==
<references/>
{{Namibia-geo-stub}}
{{coord missing|Namibia}}
[[Category:Populated places in the Otjozondjupa Region]]
[[Category:Refugee camps in Africa]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1992]]
[[Category:1992 establishments in Namibia]]