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CENTRAL AFRICA

Video: CAR refugees face challenge of rebuilding lives

Bloody civil strife has forced over 300,000 people from the Central African Republic to flee their homes in the past 21 months. As violence subsides, some men are returning, only to find everything they had is gone. FRANCE 24 reports from Bangui.

Marco Longari, AFP | Men sit at an abandoned river port in Bangui, June 2014
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The Muslim enclave known as Kilometre 5 is one of the desolate neighbourhoods in the capital of Bangui that is welcoming back former residents. They say living conditions in refugee camps in countries like Chad was unbearable and they decided it was time to come back.

What they discover upon their return often leaves them dumbfounded. Their houses have been entirely gutted, with looters not even sparing the roofs and electrical wiring.

The men say they have no choice but to start over, hoping they can rebuild a semblance of their former lives before calling on their families –– often still in exile –– to join them.

Watch FRANCE 24’s full video report from Bangui by clicking on the player above.

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