11/04/2004

Refugees International recently visited the Nyabitare area in the eastern province of Ruyigi and met with Maggie. The old woman told us smiling, “I left Burundi for Tanzania in 1993 and due to the harsh living conditions in the camp I returned to Burundi in 1995. Last May my nephew, Mkeshimana, returned from the Karago camp in the Kibondo District (Tanzania) and is now starting a new life. I am so happy for him. He received a new house and is going to get married soon.” A large building program aiming to provide 2,000 houses for returnees has been completed, while another project for an additional 5,000 houses should start soon.

Since the beginning of 2004 around 80,000 Burundians who have been living in camps in eastern Tanzania have returned back to their country assisted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Those returnees are mainly part of the group that left Burundi because of fighting between the National Army and the largest rebel group, the National Council for the Defense of Democracy/Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD). In 2004 the security situation in the country has significantly improved with greater circulation and increasing economic activities between the provinces. The return process, however, started to slow down in the second half of the year, mainly due to the uncertainty associated with the possible results of national elections, originally scheduled for November and now slated for early next year.

Returnees participating in the UNHCR-facilitated repatriation program receive free transportation, a three-month food ration and a reintegration kit with several non-food items. Then, once arriving in the village, the challenge is to rebuild a new house and start to cultivate the land.