There are fears that the Great Lakes region could again descend into war. Rwandan President Paul Kagame has insisted that he will enter the Democratic Republic of Congo and attack Hutu fighters based there if Kinshasa and the United Nations fail to disarm the rebels. But whether rebels or refugees, many Rwandan Hutus are too afraid to return home.

Algeria has a growing number of women forced to live on the streets, often with small children to support. In the capital, Algiers, runaways, divorcees and women kicked out of their homes by their families rummage through garbage for food and cardboard for shelter. ”The dark point in Algerian legislation is the ‘family code’,” explains a senior journalist with the independent Algerian newspaper, El Watan.