Protests and hunger in East Africa's refugee camps
Philipp Sandner
February 27, 2018
Refugees in East Africa are protesting against cuts in food rations brought about by a funding gap. The food shortage has forced some to attempt to leave the camps and find an additional source of income.
Image: Reuters/J. Bizimana
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More than 2,000 Congolose refugees in the Russian-run camp of Kiziba in western Rwanda have held demonstrations against cuts to food rations over the past week. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) decreased rations by 25 percent after several European donor countries withdrew their support.
Frustrations came to a head last Thursday when Rwandan police shot dead 11 refugees during a protest inside Kiziba, according to a revised figure issued by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) while another 20 were wounded — including seven police officers.
"We have detained five of the instigators of these illegal protests," police spokesperson, Theos Badege told DW. Seven police officers also suffered injuries during the protests.
The refugee camp in Kiziba hosts around 17,000 peopleImage: Reuters/J. Bizimana
UNHCR calls for an investigation
The police defended their harsh crackdown, saying that the protesters were not cooperating. The refugees had allegedly been advised not to leave the camp and remain calm as long as the government was still negotiating with the UNHCR. The protesters had, however, not complied with this order and marched towards the capital, Kigali. Some of the protesters had armed themselves with sticks and stones, according to police.
The government must guarantee the security of the refugees, a UNHCR spokesperson said on Friday, demanding an investigation into the deaths. The organization said that only two percent of its funding appeal for 2018 for Rwanda had been secured.
A year ago, Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza returned to power for a controversial third five-year term. Since then violence has escalated and no end to the crisis is in sight.
Image: Reuters/E. Benjamin
Election amid high tensions
July 21, 2015: After three months of protests against Pierre Nkurunziza's third term and fierce battles between Nkurunziza’s supporters and the opposition, the presidential election was finally held. But the opposition chose to boycott it.
Image: Reuters/E. Benjamin
Agathon Rwasa, an unlucky loser?
July 24, 2015: President Nkurunziza wins the presidential election in the first round. With 69% of the vote, he was far ahead of his main challenger, Agathon Rwasa. By the end of July, Rwasa was surprisingly elected as first vice president of the national assembly, sparking criticism from his former allies.
Image: Reuters/M. Hutchings
European Union raises concerns
August 1, 2015: Adolphe Nshimirimana, head of internal security and considered the right-hand man of the president, is assassinated. In a statement, the European Union raised concern over this "dangerous escalation of violence." Brussels calls for "restraint" and a resumption of "dialogue."
August 3, 2015: Pierre-Claver Mbonimpa, head of the human rights organization (APRODH), survives an assassination attempt and is evacuated to Brussels for medical treatment. But his family continues to be targeted and in October 2015 one of his sons-in-laws is killed and a month later his son is also murdered in Bujumbura.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/C. De Souza
Tensions with neighboring Rwanda
Since the crisis began, a large number of Burundian refugees fled to neighboring Rwanda. On November 6, 2015, President Kagame spoke about what was happening in Burundi: "People are dying every day, corpses littering the streets," he said. "They should learn from what happened here." Nkurunziza’s team fired back, accusing Rwanda of training rebels seeking to destabilize the country.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/E. Kagire
Violence escalates
December 12, 2015: A crackdown begins on neighborhoods like Nyakabiga that were believed to be strongholds of protesters. This came after an attack by rebels against three military camps. More than a hundred victims were identified. The UN said that 400 people had been killed since April 26 and 3,500 were arrested in connection with the crisis.
Image: Reuters/J.P. Aime Harerimana
The United Nations sounds the alarm
December 17, 2015: The United Nations warns that the situation in Burundi is "highly explosive" and that the country is on the path to a civil war. Adama Dieng, the UN special rapporteur on the prevention of genocide, warns of a possible genocide. "If a conflict breaks out on a large scale, we cannot pretend that we did not know about it," he said.
December 23, 2015: A former army officer in the Burundian army forms the "Republican Forces of Burundi" (FOREBU). Lieutenant Colonel Edouard Nshimirimana accuses Pierre Nkurunziza of instigating the security forces to commit acts of violence and pitting police and military against each other along ethnic lines.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Pfister
Attempted dialogue
December 28, 2015: Inter-Burundian peace talks start in Entebbe under the auscipices of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. The African Union (AU) also announces that it will deploy a 5,000-strong peacekeeping force to help secure the country, an idea that is immediately rejected by the Burundian government.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/S. Wandera
Mediation fails
January 2016: Mediation fails to kickoff in Arusha. A month later, February 25 -26, the African Union sends a "high- level" delegation to Bujumbura led by South African President Jacob Zuma. It’s another failed attempt. Bujumbura refuses to talk with the opposition CNARED. UNHCR announces a group of independent experts to investigate violations of human rights in Burundi.
Image: Reuters/E. Ngendakumana
Allegations of torture by security forces
April 18, 2016: The UN Human Rights Commissioner Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein criticizes Burundi’s security forces for routinely torturing prisoners. Since the beginning of the year, his team had registered at least 345 new cases of torture. He urged the Burundian authorities to immediately put an end to torture in all its forms.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Campardo
Opposition not invited for dialogue
May 21, 2016: After another delay, the Inter-Burundian dialogue resumes in Arusha, Tanzania at the initiative of the Tanzanian mediator, former President Benjamin Mkapa. The Burundian authorities demand that the opposition coalition CNARED should not be part of the dialogue. In June, the facilitator [Mkapa] travels to Brussels to meet members of the Opposition for the first time.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/T. Karumba
Costly doodles
June 3: Eleven students from a high school in Muramvya, in central Burundi, were charged and jailed for insulting the head of state. Their crime: doodled pictures of President Nkurunziza. A week earlier, more than 300 college students from Ruziba, south of Bujumbura, were expelled from school for the same reason.
Image: DW
A former minister assassinated
July 13, 2016. Hafsa Mossi, a former minister believed to be close to President Nkurunziza, is murdered near his home. A member of the ruling CNDD-FDD party, the former journalist was also the communications advisor for Nkurunziza. It is the first time a prominent political figure has been assassinated in Burundi.
Image: Reuters/E. Ngendakumana
An empty seat in Kigali
The crisis in Burundi was on the agenda of the 27th AU Summit in Kigali in July, but it took place without a representative from Bujumbura. The Burundi delegation left the Rwandan capital without explanation just days before the start of the summit. No action was taken against the government of President Pierre Nkurunziza, who still refuses to negotiate with the opposition.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/C. Ndegeya
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Too hungry to study
Around 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of Kiziba, in neighboring Tanzania, lies the Nyarugusu refugee camp. About 200,000 people from Burundi and DRC live here. They too are feeling the shortage in food aid.
"The refugees go to our fields and steal our cassava and potatoes," says Amandusi Ndondeye, a representative from the local government.
Young women from the camps have turned to prostitution to make ends meet. "We have very little money," says Marco Lujulika, a resident from the camp. "We need to be able to provide for ourselves and we at least need enough food to eat. The children are crying all the time and the ones who go to school can't concentrate on an empty stomach," he says.
Faustin Lumona is the camp's education coordinator. "The children often come to school late, or they skip school altogether. Some fall asleep in class and all this because of the hunger," he told DW. "They also don't manage to study at home. Instead they go to the fields to try and find some food."
Unable to work
Refugees in Nyarugusu camp need a special permit to leave the campImage: DW/P. Kwigize
Without any additional sources of income, the hardships in the camps are barely manageable. In order to actually leave the camp and earn money, the refugees need a special permit. "The people try to earn a bit of money on the farms in the area," explains Angelique Abiola, a spokesperson for the refugees in the camp. "But if you are caught without a permit, then you're in trouble,” she says.
Over the years, Tanzania has often hosted refugees from the neighboring countries. The plight of the refugees at the Burundian border has, however, pushed Tanzania to its limits. The Tanzanian government is said to have encouraged the ‘voluntary' return of the refugees and some have indeed gone home despite the dangers.
Correspondents Sylivanus Karemera and Prosper Kwigize contributed to this report.
