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Gallery|Human Rights

The refugee children of the Burundi crisis

The crisis in Burundi as seen through the eyes of its young refugees.

The refugee children of the Burundi crisis [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
According to the UNHCR, some 1,200 children crossed the border into Tanzania without their parents or elders. [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
By Azad Essa
Published On 7 Jul 2015

Kigoma, Tanzania – The political crisis in Burundi continues unabated and with each passing day, as President Pierre Nkurunziza expresses an unwillingness to step down, Burundi descends deeper into chaos, and inches closer to another civil war.

The people of this small East African country, have been forced to revisit the wounds of the long civil war that barely ended a decade earlier.

Due to ongoing intimidation, mob violence, and civil unrest, almost 150,000 people, mostly women and children, have been forced to grab their modest belongings and leave the country. Some on foot, others on bicycles, refugees carried bedding, clothes and pots tucked into white straw bags across the border into Rwanda, the DR Congo, and Tanzania.

For many, this is the third or fourth time they have fled Burundi. When the political unrest started in Bujumbura, and moved to the areas outside the city, new militia groups emerged, asking the farmers to take sides. And the farmers knew it was once more time to leave.

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By early July, Tanzania had the highest number of Burundian refugees. The UNHCR says some 69,000 have made their way through the various border crossings – steep mountain passes, the shore of the Kagunga peninsula and others – before being transferred to the Nyarugusu camp near the town of Kasulu.

The psychological and physical strain on refugees, especially children, is almost impossible to quantify.

In Tanzania, 60 percent of the Burundian refugees are younger than 17.

Without proper care, children are at risk of acute malnutrition and developmental problems. Without the necessary assistance, they face a life without an education and a stunted future.

The refugee children of the Burundi crisis [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
Authorities deployed social officers to the camp to facilitate identification, documentation, and alternative care options for unaccompanied and separated children. [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
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The refugee children of the Burundi crisis [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
A total of 12,000 children under five were assessed for nutritional status and more than 7,000 children were vaccinated against measles. [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
The refugee children of the Burundi crisis [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
Some 20 percent of Burundian refugees in Tanzania are young girls under the age of 11. [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
The refugee children of the Burundi crisis [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
Many of these children will not return to their homes and are unaware of the severity of their predicament. [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
The refugee children of the Burundi crisis [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
Thousands of children walked for days, and slept in the open before they finally reached Tanzania. [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
The refugee children of the Burundi crisis [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
Without the proper care and support, children are susceptible to a range of illnesses especially water-borne diseases. [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
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The refugee children of the Burundi crisis [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
The children face a bleak future as their education is interrupted. [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
The refugee children of the Burundi crisis [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
Many refugees arrived in Kagunga, where they lived on the beach for days in precarious conditions until the UNHCR took them to safety. [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
The refugee children of the Burundi crisis [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
Mothers carried their children while many fathers returned to Burundi to salvage some of their belongings or save their land. [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
The refugee children of the Burundi crisis [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
The children of the Burundi crisis are its youngest victims though many are blissfully unaware of the consequence of being uprooted from their country. [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
The refugee children of the Burundi crisis [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
Children in transit camps have literally nothing to do and the boredom is the more difficult hurdle for most. [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
The refugee children of the Burundi crisis [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]
Many of these children will likely never return to their homes. [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]