BURUNDI: Burundian refugees in Tanzania asked to return home by the end of the year

Burundian refugees who fled to Tanzania during the civil war in their country have been asked to go back home by December 25 this year. Successive cycles of ethnic bloodshed forced hundreds of thousands of Burundians to flee to neighbouring countries since their homeland won independence from Belgium in 1962. However, there has been relative stability in the tiny central African country since elections in 2005 - part of a U.N.-backed peace deal that ended the latest civil war, a 12-year conflict that killed an estimated 300,000 people. During a visit to Burundi last month, Tanzania's President Jakaya Kikwete urged Burundian refugees in his country to return home, saying their nation had finally found peace. Tanzania, a neighbour to Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, has one of the largest refugee populations in Africa. Some officials say that has strained the environment and infrastructure in the poor east African country. Tanzania is still host to some 276,000 refugees, mainly from Burundi and Congo. Mugano Camp, which is 245 kilometres from Burundi's capital Bujumbura, is where the former refugees from Tanzania are initially received by government and UN officials. Immaculee Nahayo, the minister responsible for the repatriation of refugees, says the returnees are setting a good example. "I got to know these people while they were still at the refugee camp. I was able to visit them from time to time and today is a good day because I can see that they are returning home. They are leaving the refugee camps where they lived like prisoners. They couldn't even go beyond five kilometres from the camp. So today is a joyful day for them and for us," said Nahayo. But despite the poor conditions in the Tanzanian camps, many refugees do not find the daunting task of rebuilding their lives from scratch very appealing. "I am asking politicians to agree because everyone is a citizen of Burundi, so they should serve their country. We, the small citizens are the ones who suffer and lose our lives. The surprising thing is that when they want to rule, they come close to us, then once they are voted in, they don't think about us anymore. They eat, drink and enrich themselves and their families while we continue to suffer as refugees. I have spent many years in the refugees camps since I left my home, can I now rebuild it now at my age? Who is going to repay me for all that I lost?" asks 62-year-old Jean Kayobera. Some 300,000 Burundian refugees have returned from Tanzania since 2002 but UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) has only registered 3,539 returnees so far this year. UNHCR had hoped to help 60,000 of the 150,000 refugees still in Tanzania come home by December. In a bid to boost the numbers of returnees, UNHCR started giving a 50 US dollars incentive in June this year. Marie Niyondoko, has just returned with her family and is eligible to receive the repatriation package. "We lived a terrible life there at the camp. You can't live as you like when you are living outside your own country. People instilled fear in us because we ran away from our country a long time ago. When I ran away, I had four children, and then I gave birth to four more," said Niyondoko. In May, donors pledged 665 million US dollars to Burundi's three-year economic recovery plan.

ITN Source | August 11, 2007

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