13 March 2008
Bujumbura — Charles Mbunge sang along with the other returnees, despite the exhausting two-day truck journey from Katumba refugee settlement in the western Tanzanian Rukwa region, as they crossed the Burundi-Tanzania border at Mugina.
There was a small problem, however; he could not remember his village of origin. Years ago, when he fled Burundi for Tanzania after his father was killed, his mother had told him only that they hailed from Rumonge area in the southern Bururi province.
Returning to Burundi 35 years later with a wife and five children aged between four and 12, Mbunge could not work out which village to go to in Rumonge.
"I only want the government to help me settle in the peace village," said Mbunge, 40, as the others started registering at Mabanda transit camp on 11 March for onward travel to their villages. The 'peace village' was built by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) for returnees and other vulnerable persons.
Asked why he came back, Mbunge said he was not 'a free man' in Tanzania, despite leading 'a decent life' as a shoe and umbrella repairer. "I was making a living but home is home, nothing to be compared with a refugee place. I had almost everything but I was not free and my children could not study as they wish and reach the level they want," he explained.
Like Mbunge, Samuel Niyukuri, was among the 257 in the first group of returnees. Originally from Makamba province, he wanted the government to help him build a house.
"I know my family has no land at Nyanzalac [in Makamba province]," he explained. "But I have learned to repair bicycles and could earn a living if they [the government] help and give me a push."
Land clashes
Burundi government officials say land availability is a major challenge for the returnees.
"You might find your land occupied by another or simply sold by your brother, but what is important is to find a solution together for your problem," Immaculée Nahayo, minister for national solidarity, repatriation, national reconstruction, human rights and gender, warned the returnees.
"All will not be positive at home," she added.
Land conflicts between returnees and host communities are common in Burundi - prompting the government to set up a land commission to analyse all cases on an individual basis. UNHCR also provides legal assistance to returnees.
While Mbunge and Niyukuri grappled with resettlement, other returnees were waiting for their "new" names to be readj usted to conform to Burundi nomenclature in order to be given identity cards.
"Some names have been changed to fit the Tanzanian system; other returnees have only two forenames without a surname acceptable in Burundi," UNHCR associate repatriation officer Jacques Gondo said. "We have to adjust the names and ensure that the names they bear are real Burundian names."
Aid issues
The UNHCR representative to Burundi, Bo Schack, said most of the returnees were presumed to have reached economic self-sufficiency in Tanzania and would not automatically benefit from aid.
"The only assistance retained is the cash grant of 50,000 FBU [US$45]," he explained. "The other aspects of assistance, especially food and non-food items, will be distributed to identified vulnerable persons."
Schack, however, explained that an assessment would be conducted and the policy could be changed if necessary. "We do not want to repatriate persons in a situation of self-sufficiency in Tanzania to make them vulnerable in Burundi," he added.
In the meantime, UNHCR would negotiate with the UN World Food Programme (WFP) to include some of the returnees among its food beneficiaries. This would provide the returnees with food packages for six months.
The returnees - of whom the first wave fled Burundi in 1972 - have been living in Ulyankulu in Tabora region, at Mishamo and Katumba in Rukwa, where they stopped receiving assistance in 1985.
Their return follows a decision by Tanzania to close the three settlements by the end of 2008. The 218,000 Burundian refugees were given the option to be repatriated or seek Tanzanian citizenship.
[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations ]
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