“1972” Burundians
Compiled from a UNHCR Fact Sheet and a Backgrounder of the Cultural Orientation Resource Center

The United States has agreed to resettle a group of Burundian refugees who have lived in Tanzanian refugee camps since 1972. The refugees, who are not able to return safely to their homes in Burundi or settle permanently in Tanzania, were referred to the United States for resettlement consideration by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Known as the "1972 Burundians," the group resides in three different refugee camps in Tanzania: Ngara in the north, Kibondo in the country's central region, and Kasulu in the south. During FY 2007, the United States will resettle 2,000 to 3,000 of the refugees. An additional 4,000 to 5,000 will be resettled during FY 2008 and FY 2009.

About Burundi
Burundi is a small, densely populated country located in the Great Lakes region of Africa. Burundi is bordered by the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Tanzania. Having gained independence from Belgium in 1962, Burundi has been plagued by civil strife ever since. The population is estimated to be around six million, with 80% living in rural areas. Burundi is the second most densely populated country in Africa.

Who are the 1972 Burundians?
The "1972 Burundians" are refugees primarily of Hutu ethnicity, who fled the wide­spread ethnic violence and government-sponsored eth­nic cleansing which took place in Burundi between May and August 1972. The events of 1972 are often recalled as the first "genocide" in the African Great Lakes region. Reliable esti­mates place the death toll between 90,000 and 250,000 persons. Approxi­mately 150,000 persons fled to the neighboring coun­tries of Zaire (now the De­mocratic Republic of Congo), Tanzania, and Rwanda. In the aftermath, Hutu citizens were system­atically repressed and purged from the Army, Civil Service and University sys­tem, reducing the Hutus as a group to the status of an underclass.

In October 1993, 20 years after the 1972 flight, the assassination of Burundi's first Hutu president triggered widespread ethnic fighting and the exodus of another 500,000 refugees. A year later, the Rwandan genocide—in which Hutu extremists murdered nearly 1 million Tutsi—took place. Over the following weeks, the number of refugees fleeing into Tanzania swelled to 470,000. These refugees, some of whom were members of the militias and Rwandan army responsible for the geno­cide, posed a security risk in the region and stretched to near breaking point the resources of the Tanzanian govern­ment and the relief agencies.

Life in the Refugee Camps
The roughly 9,000 1972 Burundians currently being con­sidered for U.S. resettlement live in isolated refugee camps in remote regions of Tanzania. The natural surroundings vary from hilly and forested to flat and dusty. Life in refugee camps in some ways resembles the rural life that they left behind in Burundi: People build mud houses for shelter, collect firewood for cooking, keep small gardens, raise ducks and other small animals, and practice their traditional customs.

Camp conditions are difficult. Refugees subsist on UN rations and small trading among themselves and with the local community. Burundian political groups have actively recruit­ed in the camps, and refugees have been threatened and harassed for refusing to support the groups. Rape is also a concern for camp inhabitants.

The Tanzanian government's Ministry of Home Affairs is responsible for administering the camps. Camp leadership is made up of elected representatives, including a camp chairperson and vice-chairperson, and street and block leaders. In addition, a traditional Burundian form of leader­ship known as the bashingantahe, or council of elders, made up of religious leaders and prominent personalities, operates in the camps. These leaders mediate minor con­flicts within the community.

The Need for Resettlement
According to UNHCR, the 1972 Burundians cannot safely return to Burundi, and the Tanzanian government has made it clear that it does not want the refugees to settle permanently in Tanzania. Therefore, resettlement in a third country, such as the United States, is the only durable solu­tion for the group.

One challenge to the group's repatriation is the length of time the refugees have spent outside their homeland. Most have spent their entire lives in exile, and as a result have acquired traits and habits that set them apart from other Burundians. They also bear an additional stig­ma: 1972 Burundians residing in Tanzania outside the refu­gee camps formed a radical opposition party that opposes the peace agreement and it is widely assumed in Burundi that the refugees in the camps share that opposition.

A particularly thorny issue for potential return­ees is land. In Burundi, the population is almost entirely made up of small-scale peasant farmers, and in one of the most densely populated countries in Africa, access to farmland is highly competitive and contentious, especially for those who have been displaced. Many refugee returnees have faced difficulties reclaiming their land; for the 1972 Burundians, the difficulties could prove insurmountable. In most cases, their land was seized and redistributed by the Burundian government after they left the country. Most refugees were born outside Burundi or were small children when they left, and they often do not know the precise location of their family's land. For the 1972 Burundians, conflict over land would likely become a source of further displacement, which in turn could destabilize the peace process.

What about integrating the refugees into Tanzania? Although the Tanzanian government initially welcomed and supported the refugees, recent years have seen a fundamental change in attitude, and Tanzania has put into place laws and policies that severely restrict the refugees' freedom of movement, right to employment and property, and access to naturalization. These laws and policies make local integration virtually impossible.

Cultural Attributes
Languages
The official languages of Burundi are Kirundi and French. All 1972 Burundians, including those who have spent their entire lives outside of Burundi, speak and understand Kirundi, and many have picked up Kiswahili from living in Tanzania. A small number of well-educated refugees speak French. Very few individuals speak or understand English.

Religion
The great majority of the refugees are Christian. Most are Protestants, although a significant minority, perhaps 20%, belong to the Catholic church. Among Protestants, the Pentecostal church is popular. A very small number of refu­gees identify themselves as Muslim.

Religion is central to everyday life in the camps. Social life revolves around church activities, such as choirs, bible reading groups, and women's groups. Churches provide the framework around which the refugees are able to orga­nize themselves while in exile. They represent the most independent refugee-run organizations in the camps, even though some churches, such as the Roman Catholic, are headed by Tanzanians and are sometimes used by the government to disseminate information and directives to the refugees.

Family Life and the Role of Women
Households are made up of nuclear families that, at least in the ideal, are independent economically from the extend­ed family. Strong social ties, however, bind the extended family. People feel deep ties to cousins, nieces, and neph­ews. Uncles and aunts often assume care and responsibil­ity for their siblings' children.

Patriarchal Society
Men are seen as the natural heads of their households and communi­ties. Traditionally, men farm while women and girls carry the workload of the home. Women have more duties than rights and are expected to subordinate themselves to male family members. They are in charge of firewood collection, cooking, laundry, and childcare. Access to social services and employment in the camps, however, has provided some women with educational and professional opportuni­ties that traditionally have not been available to them.

Many women who have grown up in the camps have attended primary school, and some have attended second­ary school. A smaller number have been able to receive training in traditionally female occupations, such as nurs­ing and teaching. Women do not appear to be restricted socially from working outside the home.

Food and Dietary Restrictions
Maize, which is grown in the camps, is a common food among the refugees. Camp rations include beans and a maize-based cereal. Cattle raised by refugees provide meat, and home gardens add vegetables to the refugees' diets.

There are no specific dietary restrictions, except those associated with well-known religions, such as the Muslim prohibition against the consumption of pork. The Pentecostal and other evan­gelical churches discourage alco­hol use. However drinking beer is not uncommon.

Traditional Practices That Might Conflict With U.S. Customs
The practices of female genital mutilation and early arranged marriages do not appear to be common with this population. Although women may marry as young as 16, there is no pressure for them to do so. Marriages are sometimes arranged by families, but there is no evidence of young women being forced into such unions against their will. There is some evidence of polygamy, but it is not wide­spread and it is discouraged by the churches.

Traditional medicine is practiced to some extent. People normally go to traditional practitioners when they cannot afford to buy modern medicine or travel to the hospitals outside the camps. Deaths of family members are some­times attributed to witchcraft.

Resettlement Considerations
Vocational and Professional Backgrounds: Almost all members of the group are farmers, and for most refugees the experience of continuous employment outside the home will be a new one. A small number of refugees in the camps work in trades such as carpentry, tailoring, and shoe and bicycle repair, and engage in small business. Some of the women make baskets, and some of the men make and sell clay pots. According to UNHCR, only about one third of those who are interested in learning a trade have been able to do so. Income-generating activi­ties are minimal and on a small scale.

The camp population includes a small group of educated professionals. Among these are church leaders, teachers, nurses, clerks, and businessmen. A small number work for UNHCR or nongovernmental organizations as social work­ers, teachers, security guards, or medical personnel. Most professionals, however, are unable to work in their fields, and few opportunities exist in the camps for higher educa­tion and training.

Education and Literacy Levels
Most refugee children have benefited from free primary education, which follows the Burundi curriculum. In lower grades, there are roughly as many girls as boys. Girls start dropping out when they reach higher grades, however, and very few manage to complete secondary education, which is not funded by UNHCR.

Although primary education is available in the camps, schools are very poorly equipped, teaching is far from ideal, class size is very large, and attendance is spotty. Moreover, students have very few opportunities in the camps to prac­tice the skills they have learned. It has been estimated that about 20% of the adult population is literate.

Exposure to Modern Amenities
Only a small number of the 1972 Burundian refugees have had direct experience with modern amenities, and most will need a careful and thorough orientation to mod­ern urban life. In particular, they will need an introduction to the use of public transport and modern appliances and to the importance of work schedules, payment of bills, and daily school attendance. Refugees will also need to acquire basic English with an emphasis on numeracy and the use of money.