Burundi refugee crisis: Stranded in a village
Kigoma, Tanzania – They continue to come. Carrying little more than the clothes on their backs, a kitchen accessory or two, more than 100,000 Burundian refugees continue to make their way into Tanzania, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The political unrest at home shows no signs of abating, and the cries of a new conflict have rung loud. The UNHCR declared on Friday that there could be an exodus of possibly another 100,000 over the next six months as fear grips parts of the East African nation.
And it hasn’t been easy. Some 70,000 refugees have entered Tanzania through a variety of entry points across the long border these two countries share. But the vast majority, more than 50,000 people, have ended up in the village of Kagunga, an island village shaped as a peninsula on Lake Tanganyika. Reaching the refugees from Tanzania is only possible by boat. It is on these shores that the threat of disease, especially cholera, is at its most extreme. Thousands remain huddled on the shoreline, many forced to sleep, eat and defecate in the open, as they wait for the UNHCR to transport them to Kigoma and then to the Nyarugusu refugee camp. Aid agencies are working hard to make the transfer smoother but with just two boats available, it will be days, if not weeks before they make it to safety.
The shore in Kagunga has turned into a spontaneous refugee camp for tens of thousands. The boat is, at this point, their best chance for a better life. [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
Tens of thousands continue to sit in patience on the shore of Tanganyika, awaiting their turn to get on a boat. Their patience illustrates how desperate they are to get out of Burundi, humanitarian officials say. [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
The vast majority of refugees are women and children, with many of the men dropping off their families and returning to protect their property in their villages and towns back in Burundi. [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
Ninety-year-old Kapitorina Niyibizi, arrived in Nyarugusu refugee camp on Friday after travelling through Kagunga. She said some of her fellow travellers died along the way. [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
Ndalusanze Seleste, 44, travelled to Kigoma, only to be told a day later that his wife had died in Kagunga after a brief illness. He travelled back to Kagunga with Tanzanian authorities to find his children the next day. [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
The journey is very complex. Some families have come to Kagunga not knowing where they are headed, and if they are going to ever see the rest of their families again. [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
Misigaro Isiloni, 30, says he walked for four days to get to Kagunga. He wants to try and get to Europe because ‘my country doesn’t care about poor people like me’. [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
Pendo Buchumi, 24, is seven months pregnant and still in Kagunga. She says she left Burundi when she heard about some killings in her village. Her husband is blind and is already in Kigoma. She is afraid she won’t be able to take care of her children. [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
As many as 1,300 children have arrived in Kagunga unaccompanied, according to UNICEF. It is yet unclear as to when or even if they will ever go back home. [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
Authorities are concerned that there aren’t enough activities for the thousands of youth who have arrived as refugees. With the massive influx, even the schools have been closed and are being currently used to host the new arrivals, creating more restlessness among the young. [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
Around 35,000 Burundian refugees are now at the Nyarugusu camp, living either in collective shelters or in dedicated tents in a new area dedicated to new arrivals. [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
