Burundi: Scores of Burundians repatriated from Tanzania

Scores of repartiated Burundians arrived back in their home country from neighbouring Tanzania as part of a push by the Tanzanian government aimed at repatriating thousands of Burundians.

Some say they're happy to be back. Among them is Paul Kabura, who said, "I’m happy to have come back to my country. I didn’t flee the war; I was there for economic reasons. I’m pleased because I’m going to look for ways to survive here with my family, and the children will be able to go back to school."

Others meanwhile said they had negative experiences while living in Tanzania. Vestine Uwizeyimana, said, ''they [Tanzania] closed the market, they closed the schools and our children were no longer studying, they destroyed our houses – you can see that we can’t say the situation was good. We weren’t allowed to move around, we were just like prisoners."

In recent weeks, the Tanzanian government started dismantling two large refugee camps in a push that began several years ago.

Bernard Ntwari, UNHCR spokesperson in Burundi, said, ''we have just welcomed 4,200 returnees from Nduta refugee camp in Tanzania. As you have seen it's a, a lot of work and people are very, very happy to be, to be, back."

The director general for repatriation at the Burundian ministry of the interior says the government has sped up repatriations in recent weeks.

Odette Kamariza, Director-General for Repatriation at the Burundian Ministry of the Interior, said, "from the end of December, late December, we started implementing this accelerated repatriation because, according to the plans in place, we were supposed to finish with the Nduta and Nyarugusu camps in June."

According to the United Nations, up to 17,000 Burundians in Tanzania say they are unable to return over fears for their safety or danger of political persecution.