Burundi: Thousands flee violence as economy collapses

As we have been warning, the crisis in Burundi continues to escalate, with a political crisis, violent government repression, a volatile security situation and rapid economic contraction. Tens of thousands of Burundians have been displaced, and as many as 1,500 killed since 2015. The IMF reports that the resource-poor economy fell by 7.4% in 2015, taking it from the world's third-poorest country to its poorest. Global children’s rights charity, Plan International, reports that the 250k refugees, who have fled political violence and instability in Burundi since April 2015, are now at risk of disease and maltreatment in Tanzania, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with greater numbers of traumatised children arriving in these places daily. 

* Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.

THOUSANDS of refugees fleeing political violence and instability in Burundi are at risk of disease, violence and abuse in neighbouring Rwanda and Tanzania, reports global children’s rights charity Plan.

At least 250,000 people have fled Burundi, including more than 135,000 to Tanzania, over 75,000 to Rwanda and over 22,000 to the Democratic Republic of Congo since April 2015.

Burundi has been unstable since President Pierre Nkurunziza announced plans to run for a third term in April last year. Subsequent protests, political upheaval and widespread killings and violence by security forces and opposition groups across Burundi have forced thousands of people to flee for safety.

The political crisis in Burundi is far from being resolved and it is anticipated that more refugees will continue to arrive in Rwanda and Tanzania, causing conditions to deteriorate further.

Odette, a young mother from Burundi who has escaped to the Nyarugusu Refugee Camp, Tanzania, has a one year old daughter. She says: "She is still afraid since the night we escaped.

“[People] entered our house at night and tried to take my little one away and rape her," the 24-year-old mother explains, remembering her horrendous ordeal when violence broke out in her country.

More than 135,000 of those fleeing Burundi have settled in neighbouring Tanzania, where around 133 refugees are registered each day.

Many of those who have arrived in Tanzania are children, many of them making the journey unaccompanied and separated from their families. Often they will be traumatised, and many have witnessed or have been victims of violent crimes.

Plan International has registered over 1,700 unaccompanied and separated children in two camps in Tanzania. Around 24 refugees are registered every day in Rwanda. Over 50% of refugees registered in Rwanda are children.

Marie Gladys Guerrier Archange, Country Director for Plan Rwanda says: “Unaccompanied and separated children are still arriving in Rwanda. Exposure to violence and emotional and psychological trauma increases their vulnerability.

“Children have witnessed the distress associated with family split-up and forced migration. They remain vulnerable to violence and abuse, with boys and girls at risk of trafficking and exploitation.”

“More refugees arrive everyday. More children require alternative learning environments that are safe and child friendly” adds Jorgen Haldorsen, Country Director for Plan International Tanzania.

In Tanzania 40% of school aged refugees are not attending school. There is a desperate need for additional classrooms as the average number of children per classroom is 429.

Plan International is responding to the crises in both Rwanda and Tanzania, providing access to child-friendly spaces, psychosocial support for traumatised children, education and recreational activities, healthcare assistance and hygiene equipment.

Plan is one of the world’s leading global children’s charities working on safe education, disaster relief and girls’ rights across Asia, Africa and Latin America.