Democracy is slowly being reestablished after the civil war form 1991 to 2002 that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the population).  The military, which took over full responsibility for security following the departure of UN peacekeepers at the end of 2005, is increasingly developing the countries stability.  As domestic fighting among disparate ethnic groups, rebels, warlords, and youth gangs gradually abate refugees in border areas are beginning to reduce.

Sierra Leonean arrivals to Pennsylvania in the last two years are 20 individuals.

Languages spoken in Sierra Leone include English, Mende, and Creole (Krio).

Liberia is a West African nation with a population of three and a half million people.  Primarily, the language spoken is English (official) but there are many indigenous groups and even more dialects that include Kru, Kpelle, and Mende.

Liberia’s history is most fascinating.  Having been founded in the 1820s by free African-Americans, freed slaves, and abolitionists, The Republic of Liberia signed a declaration of independence on July 26, 1847.  Its capital, Monrovia, is the primary center for economic, industrial, and cultural development; the latter being recognized worldwide for its richness in textile arts and quilts.

Recovery from civil war that ravaged the nation in the last decades of the 20th century and again in 2003 has proven difficult.  The newly-elected President has attempted to alleviate some of the country’s international debt by cultivating the remaining natural resources, and inviting foreign investment in doing the same.

Hundreds of thousands of refugees fled the tyranny of past presidents and war.  Scattered around the world, many have chosen to repatriate but there remains a large population of Liberian refugees and asylees living and working in Pennsylvania.  These numbers total 1,210 to date.

The Republic of Burundi is a land-locked country in Central Africa with an area roughly the size of Maryland.  Its population is primarily comprised of two groups, the Hutu and Tutsi who after years of unrest have found a peaceful way to coexist.  An even greater feat, the parliamentary government is now almost equally split between members from both factions.  This was no easy undertaking as the Tutsi-dominated government imposed taxes and other sanctions upon the Hutus for many of Burundi’s developing years.  Brutal uprisings by the Hutus and subsequent retaliation by the Tutsis in the latter half of the 20th century caused the deaths of more than 400,000 Burundians and displaced hundreds of thousands more into neighboring countries.

Hutu refugees displaced to Tanzania have been living in camps there since 1972, hence the label: “The 1972 Burundians”.  This exiled group was not afforded the opportunity to permanently remain in Tanzania and cannot return to their homeland.  In July 2007, the United States began resettling these refugees and Pennsylvania has welcomed 209 thus far.

Though the nation has come a very long way politically, economic strength remains a struggle as much of the land is poor in natural resources.  Coffee and tea are the main exports and accounts for about 80 percent of the country’s supporting industries.  There is a heavy reliance on international aid though the existing government seeks to put an end to this through foreign investment.

This large country is located in Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea.

The culture is comprised as follows: ethnic groups are black African 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, other 1%.  The religions are Sunni Muslim 70% (in north), Christian 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum), and indigenous beliefs 25%.  The government type is Government of National Unity (GNU) - the National Congress Party (NCP) and Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) formed a power-sharing government under the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA); the NCP, which came to power by military coup in 1989, is the majority partner; the agreement stipulates national elections in 2009.  Sudan's economy is booming on the back of increases in oil production, high oil prices, and large inflows of foreign direct investment. GDP growth registered more than 10% per year in 2006 and 2007. From 1997 to date, Sudan has been working with the IMF to implement macroeconomic reforms, including a managed float of the exchange rate. Sudan began exporting crude oil in the last quarter of 1999. Agricultural production remains important, because it employs 80% of the work force and contributes a third of GDP.

The languages are Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English.

There are several reasons that contribute to Sudan’s refugee situation.  The effects of the country’s almost constant ethnic and rebel militia fighting since the mid-20th century have penetrated all of the neighboring states; as of 2006, Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda provided shelter for over half a million Sudanese refugees, which includes 240,000 Darfur residents driven from their homes by Janjawid armed militia and the Sudanese military forces; Sudan, in turn, hosted about 116,000 Eritreans, 20,000 Chadians, and smaller numbers of Ethiopians, Ugandans, Central Africans, and Congolese as refugees. There have been 48 arrivals to PA since October 2008.

After Eritrea’s 30-year struggle for independence, the country peacefully became a state in 1993 through a referendum in which Eritreans in Ethiopia also voted. Since the 1998-2000 border conflict during which both countries deported thousands of people – Ethiopians from Eritrea and Eritreans from Ethiopia – relations have remained bitter, with both sides stationing troops along the border.

During the 1998-2000 conflict, Ethiopia denationalized individuals of Eritrean origin, claiming that they were a security risk or that they had renounced their citizenship by voting in the 1993 referendum on Eritrean independence. An estimated 75,000 individuals were deported to Eritrea, ripping families apart and forcing those left behind to hide their identities. Without citizenship, Eritreans in Ethiopia faced restrictions on work, travel, education, and access to social services. Compensation has not been offered for confiscated property.

Eritrean languages include Afar, Arabic, Tigre, Kunama, Tigrinya, and other Cushitic languages.

Pennsylvania has resettled 50 Eritrean refugees so far this year.

Somalia is located on the Eastern coast of Africa, being the famous “horn” of the continent.  A primarily Sunni Islamic culture, residents speak English, Italian, Arabic, and their native Somali.  Prior to the 1960s, the country consisted of two protectorates, bearing the names of British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland, and controlled by the United Kingdom and Italy respectively.  The two protectorates joined to form Somalia in 1960.  A 1969 coup ushered in by Mohamed Siad Barre brought an authoritarian socialist government to Somalia.  In 1991, this government collapsed, and the nation fell into anarchy.  Political chaos and strife has brought 72 Somali refugees to Pennsylvania this year alone.

Somalia has had no formal government since 1991.  Northern ethnicities declared the Independent Republic of Somaliland, but they have not been recognized by any foreign government.  Somalia’s economy is mostly agricultural, since its industrial sector has been looted and sold for scrap metal.  Many Somalis are nomadic, semi-pastoralists.

Somali culture is renowned for exceptional poetry.  Some Somali musicians carry this tradition in the present day to various forms of rap music.  Many Somali women wear colorful hijab, or head scarves.  Men enjoy Western dress with a koofiyad (embroidered hat).

Ninety percent of the population’s religion is Muslim.  Their government is a republic with the head of state being a president.  About 75 percent of the population depends upon crops and livestock for its livelihood.  Small-scale manufacturing activities include the processing of peanuts, fish, and hides.  The Gambia’s natural beauty and proximity to Europe has made it one of the larger tourism destinations in West Africa.

The official language of The Gambia is English.  Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, and other indigenous vernaculars are commonly spoken there.

The country is plagued by cross-border raids, arms smuggling, and other illegal activities by separatists from southern Senegal’s Casamance region, as well as from conflicts in other west African states.  The Gambia is a source, transit, and destination country for children and women trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation.

Pennsylvania resettled only one Gambian so far this year.

In 1959, three years before independence from Belgium, the majority ethnic group, the Hutus, overthrew the ruling Tutsi king. Over the next several years, thousands of Tutsis were killed, and some 150,000 driven into exile in neighboring countries. The children of these exiles later formed a rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), and began a civil war in 1990. The war, along with several political and economic upheavals, exacerbated ethnic tensions, culminating in April 1994 in the genocide of roughly 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The Tutsi rebels defeated the Hutu regime and ended the killing in July 1994, but approximately 2 million Hutu refugees - many fearing Tutsi retribution - fled to neighboring Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zaire. Since then, most of the refugees have returned to Rwanda, but several thousand remained in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC; the former Zaire) and formed an extremist insurgency bent on retaking Rwanda, much as the RPF tried in 1990. Despite substantial international assistance and political reforms - including Rwanda's first local elections in March 1999 and its first post-genocide presidential and legislative elections in August and September 2003 - the country continues to struggle to boost investment and agricultural output, and ethnic reconciliation is complicated by the real and perceived Tutsi political dominance. Kigali's increasing centralization and intolerance of dissent, the nagging Hutu extremist insurgency across the border, and Rwandan involvement in two wars in recent years in the neighboring DRC continue to hinder Rwanda's efforts to escape its bloody legacy.

Languages spoken in Rwanda include Kinyarwanda (official), French (official), English (official), and Kiswahili (Swahili) is used in commercial centers.

Rwanda is a poor rural country with about 90% of the population engaged in (mainly subsistence) agriculture. It is the most densely populated country in Africa and is landlocked with few natural resources and minimal industry. Primary foreign exchange earners are coffee and tea. The 1994 genocide decimated Rwanda's fragile economic base, severely impoverished the population, particularly women, and eroded the country's ability to attract private and external investment. However, Rwanda has made substantial progress in stabilizing and rehabilitating its economy to pre-1994 levels, although poverty levels are higher now. GDP has rebounded and inflation has been curbed. Despite Rwanda's fertile ecosystem, food production often does not keep pace with population growth, requiring food imports. Rwanda continues to receive substantial aid money and obtained IMF-World Bank Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative debt relief in 2005-06. Rwanda also received Millennium Challenge Account Threshold status in 2006. The government has embraced an expansionary fiscal policy to reduce poverty by improving education, infrastructure, and foreign and domestic investment and pursuing market-oriented reforms, although energy shortages, instability in neighboring states, and lack of adequate transportation linkages to other countries continue to handicap growth.

Established as a Belgian colony in 1908, the Republic of the Congo gained its independence in 1960, but its early years were marred by political and social instability. Col. Joseph MOBUTU seized power and declared himself president in a November 1965 coup. He subsequently changed his name - to MOBUTU Sese Seko - as well as that of the country - to Zaire. MOBUTU retained his position for 32 years through several sham elections, as well as with brutal force. Ethnic strife and civil war, touched off by a massive inflow of refugees in 1994 from fighting in Rwanda and Burundi, led in May 1997 to the toppling of the MOBUTU regime by a rebellion backed by Rwanda and Uganda and fronted by Laurent KABILA. He renamed the country the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), but in August 1998 his regime was itself challenged by a second insurrection again backed by Rwanda and Uganda. Troops from Angola, Chad, Namibia, Sudan, and Zimbabwe intervened to support KABILA's regime. A cease-fire was signed in July 1999 by the DRC, Congolese armed rebel groups, Angola, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zimbabwe but sporadic fighting continued. Laurent KABILA was assassinated in January 2001 and his son, Joseph KABILA, was named head of state. In October 2002, the new president was successful in negotiating the withdrawal of Rwandan forces occupying eastern Congo; two months later, the Pretoria Accord was signed by all remaining warring parties to end the fighting and establish a government of national unity. A transitional government was set up in July 2003. Joseph KABILA as president and four vice presidents represented the former government, former rebel groups, the political opposition, and civil society. The transitional government held a successful constitutional referendum in December 2005 and elections for the presidency, National Assembly, and provincial legislatures in 2006. KABILA was inaugurated president in December 2006. The National Assembly was installed in September 2006. Its president, Vital KAMERHE, was chosen in December. Provincial assemblies were constituted in early 2007, and elected governors and national senators in January 2007.

The economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - a nation endowed with vast potential wealth - is slowly recovering from two decades of decline. Conflict that began in August 1998 has dramatically reduced national output and government revenue, increased external debt, and resulted in the deaths of more than 5 million people from violence, famine, and disease. Foreign businesses curtailed operations due to uncertainty about the outcome of the conflict, lack of infrastructure, and the difficult operating environment. Conditions began to improve in late 2002 with the withdrawal of a large portion of the invading foreign troops. The transitional government reopened relations with international financial institutions and international donors, and President KABILA began implementing reforms, although progress has been slow and the International Monetary Fund curtailed their program for the DRC at the end of March 2006 because of fiscal overruns. Much economic activity still occurs in the informal sector, and is not reflected in GDP data. Renewed activity in the mining sector, the source of most export income, boosted Kinshasa's fiscal position and GDP growth from 2006-2008, however, renewed strife in the second half of 2008, combined with a fall in world market prices for the DRC's key mineral exports inflicted major damage on the economy and halted growth. Government reforms may lead to increased government revenues, outside budget assistance, and foreign direct investment, although an uncertain legal framework, corruption, and a lack of transparency in government policy are long-term problems. The DRC government has applied to the IMF for an Exogenous Shock Facility for $200 million to help it deal with its deteriorating financial situation, and the World Bank will consider a separate $100 million in emergency funding. The global recession probably will cut economic growth in 2009 to half its 2008 level.

Located in the Horn of Africa, The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is a landlocked country roughly twice the size of Texas and the second most populated in Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea, Sudan, Kenya, Somalia, and Djibouti. Besides being an ancient country, Ethiopia is one of the oldest sites of human existence known to scientists today—having yielded some of humanity's oldest traces, it might be the place where Homo sapiens first set out for the Middle East and points beyond. Ethiopia has close historical ties to all three of the world's major Abrahamic religions. It was one of the first Christian countries in the world, having officially adopted Christianity as the state religion in the 4th century. It still has a Christian majority, but a third of the population is Muslim.

The early twentieth century was marked by the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie I, who came to power after Iyasu V was deposed. It was he who undertook the modernization of Ethiopia, from 1916, when he was made a Ras and Regent (Inderase) for Zewditu I and became the de facto ruler of the Ethiopian Empire. Following Zewditu's death he was made Emperor on 2 November 1930. Being born from parents of the three main Ethiopian ethnicities of Oromo, Amhara and Gurage, and after having played a leading role in the formation of the Organisation of African Unity, Haile Selassie was known as a uniting figure both inside Ethiopia and around Africa. Haile Selassie's reign came to an end in 1974, when a Soviet-backed Marxist-Leninist military junta, the "Derg" led by Mengistu Haile Mariam, deposed him, and established a one-party communist state.

The ensuing regime suffered several coups, uprisings, wide-scale drought, and a huge refugee problem. In 1977, there was the Ogaden War, when Somalia backed with Soviet military hardware captured the part of the Ogaden region, but Ethiopia was able to recapture the Ogaden after serious problems, with little help from Cuban military presence. Hundreds of thousands were killed as a result of the red terror, forced deportations, or from the use of hunger as a weapon under Mengistu's rule. The Red Terror was carried out in response to what the government termed "White Terror", supposedly a chain of violent events, assassinations and killings carried by the opposition.In 2006, after a long trial, Mengistu was found guilty of genocide.

In the beginning of 1980s, a series of famines hit Ethiopia that affected around 8 million people, leaving 1 million dead. Insurrections against Communist rule sprang up particularly in the northern regions of Tigray and Eritrea. In 1989, the Tigrayan Peoples' Liberation Front (TPLF) merged with other ethnically-based opposition movements to form the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). Concurrently the Soviet Union began to retreat from building World Communism under Mikhail Gorbachev's glasnost and perestroika policies, marking a dramatic reduction in aid to Ethiopia from Socialist bloc countries. This resulted in even more economic hardship and the collapse of the military in the face of determined onslaughts by guerrilla forces in the north. The Collapse of Communism in general, and in Eastern Europe during the Revolutions of 1989, coincided with the Soviet Union stopping aid to Ethiopia altogether in 1990. The strategic outlook for Mengistu quickly deteriorated and in 1995, a new government system was adopted and implemented.

The economic outlook for Ethiopia has improved somewhat in recent years. The country has shown a fast-growing annual GDP and it was the fastest-growing non-oil-dependent African nation in 2007 and 2008. Despite these improvements, urban and rural poverty remains to be an issue.

The national languages are Amarigna 33%, Oromigna 31%, Tigrigna 6%, Somaligna 6%, Guaragigna 4%, Sidamigna 4%, and Hadiyigna 2%. English is also taught as a foreign language in schools.

Since 2003, Pennsylvania has resettled more than 70 refugees from Ethiopia.