Mahama Refugee Camp blog

Against all odds: Ndayizeye’s plight…..and enduring optimism

Blog by Steve Nzaramba

Ndayizeye* smiles shyly and looks away when asked what he hopes to be when he grows up. He seems unsure of how to tackle an otherwise straight-forward and often-asked question. Could it be that he is yet undecided on what he would like to do with his life? Or maybe it is due to the fact that Ndayizeye is now a refugee, and despite his tender age, is well aware of the limitations that status imposes on him and his prospects for the future.

Ndayizeye is one of thousands of children who currently call the scorching-hot Mahama Refugee Camp in Kirehe District home. He, and many like him, fled from Burundi’s volatile Kirundo Province as reports of violence against civilians intensified.  

Kirundo residents in particular have borne the brunt of attacks from a government-controlled youth militia known as “Imbonerakure” (which literary and ominously means those who see from afar). This is mainly due to the fact that Kirundo residents have been among the most vocal against the current President’s plans to run for re-election, often taking to the streets in protest and having running battles with the police day after day.    

After waffling this way and that with wayward responses, Ndayizeye says he wants to be a medical doctor, despite the fact that he loves languages and human sciences most. His uncertainty mirrors the situation he now finds himself in, as it remains unclear how he can pursue his studies and become a doctor when his schooling has been interrupted, with no clear timeframe for when he will resume studies.

We move from where we were standing to seek reprieve from the blistering sun, and mercifully find a shade near a Save the Children tent. He continues his story…

Ndayizeye left his home abruptly one morning when he was actually due to be in class. As rumors spread like wildfire about impending raids, Ndayizeye and his younger brother took the bold decision to leave, a decision thrust in their hands prematurely by the untimely death of their parents years before. He and his brother were both staying with relatives, who didn’t care much for their whereabouts. Joining a group of young men who said they were Rwanda-bound, Ndayizeye, without a single penny in his pocket, then took part in a trek across country that can only be described as adventurous, for lack of a better word.     

Travelling mostly via back-roads and cutting through the bush to avoid the marauding Imbonerakure, the group made good progress on foot until encountering a river which they had to cross; the alternative of going around it would have been costly and time-wasting.

If not for the pity of a native of the area, who warned them that Imbonerakure now controlled the ferry that transported travelers across the river, they would not have made it. He advised them to wait until dark and construct a make-shift raft on which to cross. Even then, they had to be extremely careful to avoid the ferry the Imbonerakure were using to smuggle people across after-hours, extorting exorbitant fees from the fleeing population.

Their perilous journey continued until they reached the Rwanda-Burundi border, where they again had to hide from view all day and cross through to Rwanda via back-paths usually used by traders to smuggle goods into the country, but after crossing into Rwandan territory their journey became easier as they found buses chartered by the Rwandan government to transport all Burundian asylum-seekers (as they were known at the time) to a transit camp in Bugesera at no cost.

Once there, conditions improved further as they were received warmly and given a tent to rest in, and basic food supplies. After a brief stay at Gashora Transit Center, Ndayizeye and his little brother were again on the move, this time headed to Mahama Refugee Camp.

There, his plight resumed as he told us of how he was removed from the list of unaccompanied minors due to receive special assistance, since the authorities found out that he was living with his brother and therefore declared him “accompanied”. Even more astounding is that he was told he is now the head of the household - at the tender age of 16!

Save the Children Community Protection officer Daphrose Mugorewindekwe springs into action. She vows to have Ndayizeye’s case re-assessed by the camp authorities to properly accommodate him. Save the Children is intervening in the camp in an area not normally associated with the organization; Community Protection, which essentially means ensuring that the more vulnerable residents of the camp and those with special needs like the elderly, expectant mothers, people living with disabilities, child headed households etc. have timely and appropriate access to services.

In a short period of time, requests have poured in and Save the Children volunteers are working overtime to ensure these requests are responded to. A lot remains to be done at the camp as I write this, in order to try and alleviate the suffering of minors like Ndayizeye, with no parents and now no home to call their own. 

*Not actual name