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Q&A: Burundi refugees face deadline to return home
Source: European Commission Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO)
Daniel Dickinson
Website: http://ec.europa.eu/echo/
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Q&A with Eric Pitois, Head of Burundi/Tanzania Office
Refugees from Burundi are facing a deadline of the end of June to leave the one remaining Burundian refugee camp in Tanzania. Over the last two years, the stabilisation of the political situation in Burundi has meant it is now safe for refugees to return home. Eric Pitois, the head of the Burundi and Tanzania office of the European Commission Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO) has just returned from a visit to the Mtabila camp, the last camp for Burundian refugees in Tanzania.
Question: What is the current situation regarding refugees returns?
Eric Pitois: There are now around 38,000 Burundian refugees who remain in Mtabila camp who are due to go home. The repatriation of the Burundian refugees who originally came here in 1993 following the outbreak of conflict in their country has been going on since 2002 when it was first considered safe for them to return. Since that time close to half a million refugees the majority of whom were assisted by the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR have made the short journey home across the border
Q: What sort of life have these refugees been leading?
EP: Many of these refugees have been living in Mtabila, or one of the other camps for Burundians, which have now been closed down, for over 15 years and for all of that time they have been dependent on humanitarian aid provided by organisations like the European Commission Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO). They have received food, shelter, water and sanitation services as well as health care. They have not been able to work or even officially leave the camp. A return to Burundi will give them the chance for a fresh start with land and the chance to lead a productive life after so many years of dependency.
Q: How are people feeling about the return?
EP: I met a number of refugees at the departure centre at Mtabila who were getting onto trucks and buses for the first leg of the journey home to Burundi. Most of them were extremely excited about getting home after such a long time. There are of course many people who are apprehensive for a variety of reasons. They have bad memories of the conflict; family members may have died. They are worried about access to land. So we have to work hard at making sure that they understand that Burundi is now at peace and that they will be given plenty of support by ECHO and other organisations to start their new life.
Q: With 38,000 refugees remaining, isn't closing the camp by the end of June a very tight deadline?
EP: The Tanzanian and Burundian governments in conjunction with the, UNHCR, agree that the camp should close. The maximum number of people that can be repatriated per week for logistical reasons is 4000. There are a number of administrative procedures; the refugees have to be registered to return and receive health checks to ensure they are fit to travel. Then there are the logistical constraints in terms of the number of vehicles available to carry the returnees and their possessions. So physically it will be difficult to empty the camp by the 30th June, but the will to close the camp is there.
Q: Why aren't the refugees, who do not want to return, allowed to stay in Tanzania?
EP: A small number of refugees who fled Burundi as a result of the 1993 conflict have been resettled as they have genuine concerns for their safety were they to go back to Burundi. The policy towards this so-called '1993 caseload' is, however, clear; they are refugees and they should go back to their own country. There is a second group of Burundian refugees who fled to Tanzania in 1972 and who live in what are now called the 'old settlements'. A census of these very long-term refugees was carried out in 2007 and it was found there were around 220,000 of them, many of whom were born and raised in Tanzania. The Tanzanian government wants to close down the three existing old settlements and generously gave those Burundians the option of becoming Tanzanian citizens. Around 80% of these long-term refugees have opted for Tanzanian citizenship, the rest have decided to return to Burundi.
Question: What is the current situation regarding refugees returns?
Eric Pitois: There are now around 38,000 Burundian refugees who remain in Mtabila camp who are due to go home. The repatriation of the Burundian refugees who originally came here in 1993 following the outbreak of conflict in their country has been going on since 2002 when it was first considered safe for them to return. Since that time close to half a million refugees the majority of whom were assisted by the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR have made the short journey home across the border
Q: What sort of life have these refugees been leading?
EP: Many of these refugees have been living in Mtabila, or one of the other camps for Burundians, which have now been closed down, for over 15 years and for all of that time they have been dependent on humanitarian aid provided by organisations like the European Commission Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO). They have received food, shelter, water and sanitation services as well as health care. They have not been able to work or even officially leave the camp. A return to Burundi will give them the chance for a fresh start with land and the chance to lead a productive life after so many years of dependency.
Q: How are people feeling about the return?
EP: I met a number of refugees at the departure centre at Mtabila who were getting onto trucks and buses for the first leg of the journey home to Burundi. Most of them were extremely excited about getting home after such a long time. There are of course many people who are apprehensive for a variety of reasons. They have bad memories of the conflict; family members may have died. They are worried about access to land. So we have to work hard at making sure that they understand that Burundi is now at peace and that they will be given plenty of support by ECHO and other organisations to start their new life.
Q: With 38,000 refugees remaining, isn't closing the camp by the end of June a very tight deadline?
EP: The Tanzanian and Burundian governments in conjunction with the, UNHCR, agree that the camp should close. The maximum number of people that can be repatriated per week for logistical reasons is 4000. There are a number of administrative procedures; the refugees have to be registered to return and receive health checks to ensure they are fit to travel. Then there are the logistical constraints in terms of the number of vehicles available to carry the returnees and their possessions. So physically it will be difficult to empty the camp by the 30th June, but the will to close the camp is there.
Q: Why aren't the refugees, who do not want to return, allowed to stay in Tanzania?
EP: A small number of refugees who fled Burundi as a result of the 1993 conflict have been resettled as they have genuine concerns for their safety were they to go back to Burundi. The policy towards this so-called '1993 caseload' is, however, clear; they are refugees and they should go back to their own country. There is a second group of Burundian refugees who fled to Tanzania in 1972 and who live in what are now called the 'old settlements'. A census of these very long-term refugees was carried out in 2007 and it was found there were around 220,000 of them, many of whom were born and raised in Tanzania. The Tanzanian government wants to close down the three existing old settlements and generously gave those Burundians the option of becoming Tanzanian citizens. Around 80% of these long-term refugees have opted for Tanzanian citizenship, the rest have decided to return to Burundi.
