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Burundi: Dreaming in a New Country
November 07, 2008 | Mpako Foaleng | Tagged as: Burundi
My colleague Andrea Lari and I just visited Burundi to take stock of the condition of Burundians repatriated from Tanzania. Some of those repatriated were children when their parents fled Burundi in 1972. Some of those repatriated were children when their parents fled Burundi in 1972. However, many of them were born in Tanzania and had known Burundi only through their parents and grandparents’ stories. Out of the different challenges these people have to face before they can resume their lives, two require particular attention.
Those repatriated are told that they must be able to give the specific address of not only their village of origin but also the location of their house or land. Yet, if it is their first time in the country, these people barely know the name of their parents’ village. The government of Burundi has decided that only those who can provide a specific address for their residence of origin will have the right to return there. Otherwise they will have to wait until they are provided land -- wherever and whenever it is made available. If people do not know their specific area of return when they leave Tanzania and enter Burundi, they are transferred from transit centre to “temporary shelters” where they can end up staying for months or years before a permanent solution is found for them.
Secondly, language is another barrier for the socio-economic integration of adults and children. Most of the children of Burundian refugees who fled in 1972 have learned English but little or no French. They were going to school in Tanzania where the primary language is English, but Burundi is a French and Kirundi-speaking country. Once back “home”, children are supposed to take intensive courses that will allow them to attend regular school in French and Kirundi with other Burundian children. However, there are not enough teachers and schools available to guarantee access to these courses. Therefore, it is likely that many of the repatriated children will miss the next academic year.
During our mission we also visited a temporary accommodation centre in Mabanda where vulnerable people receive food assistance. We started talking to people who generally spoke Kirundi, Swahili or English, but were positively surprised to meet two young men, aged 24 and 25, who could speak French. Having lost both parents, they were born and grew up in a refugee camp in Tanzania. They learned French in a school run by a church in another refugee camp. During their last year of camp life in Tanzania, they taught French to fellow Burundian children.
Their dream is to become teachers in Burundi, but also to resume studies and improve their skills. However in the meantime, they are stuck in this temporary accommodation centre for an unknown period of time surrounded by children who could benefit from their lessons. Instead, these young men’s teaching skills remain unused.
-Mpako Foaleng
Those repatriated are told that they must be able to give the specific address of not only their village of origin but also the location of their house or land. Yet, if it is their first time in the country, these people barely know the name of their parents’ village. The government of Burundi has decided that only those who can provide a specific address for their residence of origin will have the right to return there. Otherwise they will have to wait until they are provided land -- wherever and whenever it is made available. If people do not know their specific area of return when they leave Tanzania and enter Burundi, they are transferred from transit centre to “temporary shelters” where they can end up staying for months or years before a permanent solution is found for them.
Secondly, language is another barrier for the socio-economic integration of adults and children. Most of the children of Burundian refugees who fled in 1972 have learned English but little or no French. They were going to school in Tanzania where the primary language is English, but Burundi is a French and Kirundi-speaking country. Once back “home”, children are supposed to take intensive courses that will allow them to attend regular school in French and Kirundi with other Burundian children. However, there are not enough teachers and schools available to guarantee access to these courses. Therefore, it is likely that many of the repatriated children will miss the next academic year.
During our mission we also visited a temporary accommodation centre in Mabanda where vulnerable people receive food assistance. We started talking to people who generally spoke Kirundi, Swahili or English, but were positively surprised to meet two young men, aged 24 and 25, who could speak French. Having lost both parents, they were born and grew up in a refugee camp in Tanzania. They learned French in a school run by a church in another refugee camp. During their last year of camp life in Tanzania, they taught French to fellow Burundian children.
Their dream is to become teachers in Burundi, but also to resume studies and improve their skills. However in the meantime, they are stuck in this temporary accommodation centre for an unknown period of time surrounded by children who could benefit from their lessons. Instead, these young men’s teaching skills remain unused.
-Mpako Foaleng
Labels: Burundi
