Political Stalemate for Refugees in Tanzania
Refugees. Upon hearing the word, most of us would immediately think of dangerous sea crossings of the Mediterranean and people fleeing Middle Eastern conflicts. News articles of recent European crises might come to mind. Africa certainly wouldn't be the first thing that would come up. But in fact, more than 80% of the world's refugees are currently in Africa (UN Africa Renewal). One of the countries facing the brunt of the impact is Tanzania, a country in the southern region of Africa.
Tanzania has a population of 55 million. Its economy is agrarian-based and it has a GDP of $43 billion. Tanzania has had an open door policy toward refugees since 1961 and currently has more than 743,000 of them in the country (UN Refugee Agency). Historically, Tanzania has been lauded for its inclusive policies and integration efforts for those escaping conflicts; it recently granted citizenship to around 170,000 refugees (NewsDeeply). However, a recent lack of funding has caused the situation in refugee camps to rapidly deteriorate and has plunged refugees’ futures in Tanzania into legal uncertainty.
First, a lack of international funding has caused sanitary situations to deteriorate for refugees. To provide for all these refugees' needs, the government has estimated that it needs around $270 million dollars per annum (The Citizen). UN provides only $125 million dollars in aid; Tanzania does not have sufficient funds to make up the difference (UN Refugee Agency). As a result, refugees reside in impoverished camps around the country, relying on scarce resources to live. Shelters are wet and unsanitary, propagating air and waterborne diseases. Camps suffer from food shortages (Oxfam International). On top of that, these refugee campgrounds are overcrowded far beyond acceptable standards. Nyaragusu Camp, one of the largest such sites, is three times over holding capacity (The Citizen).
Aside from the immediate and tangible effects of underfunding of refugee relief efforts on the camps themselves, lack of financial support from the UN has also had severe political ramifications. The UN previously agreed to comprehensively support and guide Tanzania in refugee efforts, but their assistance has proved to be lacking. A Tanzanian official explains, “We kept our part of the deal and distributed citizenship. But none of the promises materialized.” (NewsDeeply). As a result, in a reversal from its previous position, the government now refuses to cooperate with the UN and has withdrawn from collaborative efforts (Betts). It has halted the process of naturalization(providing citizenship) for refugees, placing the refugees’ future in jeopardy. Disillusioned with the UN’s agreements of support, Tanzania now lets its refugees stagnate in the current undesirable situation; without citizen status, they are unable to relocate to other parts of the country. They are now left in an awkward position, unable to vote or join political parties and living in perpetual fear of deportation (NewsDeeply).
While the political stalemate in Tanzania continues, refugees will remain in limbo in overcrowded and unsanitary camps. Unfortunately, a quick solution seems far from possible in the status quo and the UN and Tanzania seem unlikely to change their positions. As of now, efforts from independent humanitarian organizations have kept the situation steady and provided relief for refugee camps stretched thin (Oxfam International). However, these can only go so far without government-sanctioned efforts and they only provide a stalling mechanism for more long-term and permanent action. Until comprehensive reforms are made, refugees will almost certainly continue to be the casualties in this conflict.
Works Cited
news@tz.nationmedia.com, Citizen Reporter @TheCitizenTZ. “Sh600bn Needed for Refugees in Tanzania.” The Citizen, The Citizen, 20 Feb. 2018,
www.thecitizen.co.tz/News/Sh600bn-needed-for-refugees-in-Tanzania/1840340-4312112-10hn0nf/index.html.
Kuch, Amelia. “Lessons from Tanzania's Historic Bid to Turn Refugees to Citizens.” Refugees, News Deeply, 22 Feb. 2018, www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/community/2018/02/22/lessons-from-tanzanias-historic-bid-to-turn-refugees-to-citizens.
“United Republic of Tanzania.” United Republic of Tanzania | Global Focus, reporting.unhcr.org/node/2517#_ga=2.226587294.2011464679.1520829251-519619195.1520576516.
“Burundian Refugees Find Safety in Tanzania but Also New Challenges.” Burundian Refugees Find Safety in Tanzania but Also New Challenges | Oxfam International, www.oxfam.org/en/burundi/burundian-refugees-find-safety-tanzania-also-new-challenges.
Betts, Alexander. “Don't Make African Nations Borrow Money to Support Refugees.” Foreign Policy, Foreign Policy, 21 Feb. 2018, foreignpolicy.com/2018/02/21/dont-make-african-nations-borrow-money-to-support-refugees/.
“Africa Most Affected by Refugee Crisis | Africa Renewal Online.” United Nations, United Nations, www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/december-2016-march-2017/africa-most-affected-refugee-crisis.
My favorite part of the article was the hook because it really got me interested in reading about the refugees. I was surprised by the fact that the UN did not hold up their side of the agreement, and that I have not heard about this in the news. One follow up question I have is what long term solutions are being put into place?
ReplyDeleteI like that you talked about the relationship between the Tanzanian government and the UN. I was surprised by the fact that there are so many refugees in Africa. One follow up question would be: How can other countries help refugees in Tanzania?
ReplyDeleteI really liked how concise and organized your writing is. I think that you did a really good job explaining what was going on and the different aspects to the issue. It was very surprising to hear that the difficult situation the Tanzanian people are in because of the UN. In what ways have humanitarian groups helped stabilize the situation?
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