After years of resisting voluntary repatriation, tens of thousands of Burundians in Tanzania now have to leave by the end of 2012, following a decision to put a formal end to their refugee status.

Some 38,000 Burundians live in the Mtabila refugee camp in Kigoma. It is the last of a half-dozen such camps for Burundians who fled civil conflicts in their country from the early 1970s onwards.

At the height of the latest such conflict, in 2002, there were over half a million Burundian refugees in Tanzania. 

In interviews, Mtabila residents described the atmosphere in the camp as tense and uncertain. Members of the Tanzanian National Service, which plans to take over the camp, have already moved into parts of the camp, adding to the already fraught environment.

“I don’t know what will happen or where I will go because we do not want to go back to Burundi,” said Charles Ndacayisaba, 23.
“Many people are sneaking out and boarding buses to go to other countries, usually Mozambique.”

Mtabila’s residents have seen several departure deadlines come and go. But the new order follows an August 1 announcement that, on the basis of screening interviews, only 2,715 of the refugees were still entitled to refugee status.

Voluntary repatriation

This announcement formalised a ruling earlier this year that most of the refugees were no longer in need of international protection. 

A few weeks before the refugee status was officially revoked, commerce in Mtabila was prohibited, and markets and shops there destroyed.

Recent months have also seen an increased presence of police and military personnel, further restricting movement in and out of the camp.

Around 160,000 of the refugees who came from Burundi in 1973 have been naturalised. Many thousands were voluntarily repatriated in the wake of a 2006 peace agreement in Burundi. 

More recently, however, despite a re-integration assistance package offered by UNHCR — a cash grant, six months of food rations, as well as health, education and shelter support — only a few hundred were repatriated in 2011, and the number of returnees dwindled even further in 2012.

Those remaining in Mtabila after the grace period expires will be subject to Tanzania’s immigration laws and procedures, which could entail deportation.

IRIN