This opinion paper calls for change in UNHCR practices and is based on experience from the ground where UNHCR conducts refugee and repatriation programs. There are two primary concerns to address:

1. Refugees in UNHCR camps cling to the hope of resettling to the United States or other industrialized countries, which prevents them from repatriating to their homes.
2. Repatriation programs provide security assistance to returning refugees, but deny assistance to equally impoverished people who have never left. This policy is unjust and creates a dangerous resentment to the returning refugees.

1. Update refugees regarding the status in their home areas and inform them of the low probabilities of being resettled.
2. When assisting refugees in repatriation, the non-refugee members of the repatriation community should receive some benefit--perhaps in the form agricultural or vocational community-based programs.