Tiden ved at rinde ud for tusinder af flygtninge i Tanzania

KASULU, 31 August 2012 (IRIN): After years of resisting voluntary repatriation efforts, tens of thousands of Burundians in Tanzania now face a deadline 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 the Kigoma Region. It is the last remaining of a half-dozen such sites for Burundians who have fled civil conflicts since the early 1970s.

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

In recent 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 in to parts of the facility, adding to the already fraught environment.

“I do not know what will happen or where I will go because we do not want to go back to Burundi,” said Charles Ndacayisaba, 23, adding:

“Every weekend now some people are sneaking out and boarding buses to go other countries, usually Mozambique.”

Mtabila’s residents have seen several departure deadlines come and go.

But the new order that they leave by 31 December follows a 1 August announcement that, on the basis of screening interviews conducted with the participation of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), only 2.715 of them were still entitled to refugee status.

An appeals process is ongoing for some of the refugees.

This announcement formalized 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 (fjernet), 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.

Possible deportation