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Escaping Burundi: Life in refuge

Burundians displaced by continued violence persevere in cramped and under-supplied Tanzanian refugee camps.

John Posco, 27, was a second-year university student when he was forced to flee from Burundi. He now teaches English and art to high school students in Nyarugusu camp in Tanzania. He hopes an international effort will help resolve the crisis in Burundi. [Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera]
John Posco, 27, was a second-year university student when he was forced to flee from Burundi. He now teaches English and art to high school students in Nyarugusu camp in Tanzania. He hopes an international effort will help resolve the crisis in Burundi. [Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera]
By 
Tendai Marima
6 Dec 2015

Nyarugusu camp, Tanzania – When Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza announced he would run for re-election despite a constitutional two-term limit, unrest erupted in a nation whose history is haunted by genocide and civil war.

Assassination attempts, house raids and a failed coup have characterised the past months of crisis forcing more than 240,000 people to flee to neighbouring countries and seek refuge in Tanzania’s refugee camps. Up to 60 percent of at least 110,000 Burundian refugees who have fled to Tanzania’s refugee camps since April are children under the age of 18.

ALSO READ: Burundi refugees: A life of displacement and despair

Aaron Hakidzimana, 23, awaits transfer from Nyarugusu to Nduta camp. He was an English and French teacher in a private primary school. A feud between his father and his pro-government uncle forced his father to flee to Uganda while Hakidzimana escaped to Tanzania by bicycle. [Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera]
Aaron Hakidzimana, 23, awaits transfer from Nyarugusu to Nduta camp. He was an English and French teacher in a private primary school. A feud between his father and his pro-government uncle forced his father to flee to Uganda while Hakidzimana escaped to Tanzania by bicycle. [Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera]
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Sirina Nishimiwe, 17, was a student from the southern town of Nyanza-Lac. She is tortured by the thought that her parents may be dead. In June, she fled to Tanzania alone. Despite having managed to reunite with some of her family in Nyarugusu camp, she is too traumatised to continue with her studies at the school. [Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera]
Sirina Nishimiwe, 17, was a student from the southern town of Nyanza-Lac. She is tortured by the thought that her parents may be dead. In June, she fled to Tanzania alone. Despite having managed to reunite with some of her family in Nyarugusu camp, she is too traumatised to continue with her studies at the school. [Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera]
Sirina Shimirimana, 20, fled Nyanza-Lac with her husband and two children. She felt it was no longer safe to stay in Burundi after her paternal uncle and father were allegedly killed for refusing to join the Imbonerakure, the youth wing of the ruling party. [Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera]
Sirina Shimirimana, 20, fled Nyanza-Lac with her husband and two children. She felt it was no longer safe to stay in Burundi after her paternal uncle and father were allegedly killed for refusing to join the Imbonerakure, the youth wing of the ruling party. [Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera]
Vernas Mitewabvuma, 29, was a bicycle mechanic back home. He has fled to Tanzania as a refugee twice. He first came here in 2000 with his parents. Now he is here with his wife and four children. [Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera]
Vernas Mitewabvuma, 29, was a bicycle mechanic back home. He has fled to Tanzania as a refugee twice. He first came here in 2000 with his parents. Now he is here with his wife and four children. [Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera]
Serious disputes over land are another dimension of the crisis. A family conflict over land drove Jacroid Muhigigwa, 27, a farmer from northeastern Muyinga province, to leave. [Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera]
Serious disputes over land are another dimension of the crisis. A family conflict over land drove Jacroid Muhigigwa, 27, a farmer from northeastern Muyinga province, to leave. [Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera]
Additional classrooms are being built at Nduta. The UNHCR hopes four more classrooms with a maximum capacity of 50 students will be completed by January. Currently 6,000 children are enrolled, but UNICEF anticipates the student figures to rise to 20,000. [Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera]
Additional classrooms are being built at Nduta. The UNHCR hopes four more classrooms with a maximum capacity of 50 students will be completed by January. Currently 6,000 children are enrolled, but UNICEF anticipates the student figures to rise to 20,000. [Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera]
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Access to water is one of the biggest challenges for Nduta camp. Without adequate supply, the camp will be unable to accommodate over its capacity of 60,000, if there's a refugee influx. [Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera]
Access to water is one of the biggest challenges for Nduta camp. Without adequate supply, the camp will be unable to accommodate over its capacity of 60,000, if there's a refugee influx. [Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera]
A young girl pounds cassava leaves at Nduta camp using traditional preparation methods. [Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera]
A young girl pounds cassava leaves at Nduta camp using traditional preparation methods. [Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera]
A young boy sits by a speaker and radio he brought along from Burundi. [Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera]
A young boy sits by a speaker and radio he brought along from Burundi. [Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera]
Celest Nimpaye, 18, is a high school student. He lived in the pro-government neighbourhood of Kamenge in Bujumbura, the capital, before coming to Tanzania. His older sibling who stayed behind, gave him a shell necklace as a charm 'for protection' on his journey. [Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera]
Celest Nimpaye, 18, is a high school student. He lived in the pro-government neighbourhood of Kamenge in Bujumbura, the capital, before coming to Tanzania. His older sibling who stayed behind, gave him a shell necklace as a charm 'for protection' on his journey. [Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera]
Refugees at Nyarugusu camp receive a sleeping mat and one blanket on arrival. They say this is insufficient. [Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera]
Refugees at Nyarugusu camp receive a sleeping mat and one blanket on arrival. They say this is insufficient. [Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera]
Alexandre Nishimiwe, 15, was assaulted by an alleged former pro-government soldier at Nyarugusu camp as he played with his friends. The attack severely injured his head. His mother believes she was the intended target of the attack which took place in August. [Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera]
Alexandre Nishimiwe, 15, was assaulted by an alleged former pro-government soldier at Nyarugusu camp as he played with his friends. The attack severely injured his head. His mother believes she was the intended target of the attack which took place in August. [Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera]
A young boy cooks ugali - a stiff porridge made from maize meal - with ground cassava leaves mixed in, over a communal fire in Nduta camp. [Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera]
A young boy cooks ugali - a stiff porridge made from maize meal - with ground cassava leaves mixed in, over a communal fire in Nduta camp. [Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera]
Having fled with very little of their own, refugees at Nyarugusu camp look through second-hand clothes provided by NGOs. [Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera]
Having fled with very little of their own, refugees at Nyarugusu camp look through second-hand clothes provided by NGOs. [Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera]
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