Going Home or Staying Home: Ending Displacement for Burundian Refugees in Tanzania

Published: 13/Nov/2008
Source: International Refugee Rights Initiative

This paper focuses on issues of belonging and exclusion for refugees who fled Burundi in the early 1970s and sought  refuge in Tanzania. More than three decades later, and with a peace agreement ending active hostilities in Burundi, “durable solutions” are finally being sought for this group of refugees. Following adecision by the government of Tanzania to offer citizenship, they are currently being offered a choice between repatriating to Burundi or applying for naturalisation and becoming Tanzanian citizens. Based on field research conducted in Ulyankulu refugee settlement and Kigoma region (sites that represent two distinct populations of Burundian refugees with different legal and national identifications: settled and self-settled refugees), this paper explores the factors that are influencing decision-making processes amongst refugees and the multi-faceted ways they perceive their identities.

Download file: IRRI Going Home or Staying Home

Themes: Naturalisation and Marriage, Nationality and Refugees
Regions: Tanzania
Year: 2008