Former Burundian refugees struggle to assert their new Tanzanian citizenship

Former Burundian refugees struggle to assert their new Tanzanian citizenship

 

"I can't be a citizen if I am still a refugee": Former Burundian refugees struggle to assert their new Tanzanian citizenship International Refugee Rights Initiative, Citizenship and Displacement in the Great Lakes Region, Working Paper 8, March 2013

 

Approximately 162,000 former Burundian refugees in Tanzania are living in legal limbo in Tanzania. Having been accepted for naturalisation and having denounced their Burundian nationality, they are now unable to get certificates confirming their new status. The situation facing this group is the subject of a paper launched by the International Refugee Rights Initiative today, "I can't be a citizen if I am still a refugee" Former Burundian refugees struggle to assert their new Tanzanian citizenship. The launch follows a discussion of the paper on 19 March at the University of Dar es Salaam attended by representatives from government, the UN, donors, NGOs and the academic community.

 

Building on research conducted in 2008, the new research conducted in late 2012 asked whether or not naturalisation has translated into genuine citizenship for this group of (former) refugees both legally and practically. Based on 101 interviews with former refugees, local government officials and members of the host community, as well as engagement with national government officials, the findings show that the former refugees are-as a matter of practice-caught somewhere between refugee status and the genuine assertion of their new citizenship. An unprecedented offer has become increasingly caught up in the realities of implementation and realpolitik. While it is important not to detract from the level of generosity of the government of Tanzania's original offer, the process has revealed a disjuncture between presentation and reality and the whole undertaking appears to be in jeopardy.

 

With their applications for naturalisation accepted, but without documentation to that effect, the former refugees remain in a legal limbo. The government of Tanzania asserts that the process is incomplete: "The mere fact that certificates were not issued to the applicants connotes the incomplete part of the process." Some officials insist that receiving documentation of their status is contingent upon relocation to other areas of Tanzania - at the same time as it appears that the relocation process is stalled. In fact, there are increasing fears that there may be an attempt to withdraw the offer entirely.Compelling arguments were made both for and against relocation. Arguments for relocation were made by government officials, some members of the host population, and even a few of the naturalised former refugees. Referring to how citizenship has been constructed in Tanzania for decades, they emphasise the need to break with localised expressions of "tradition" in order to ensure citizenship built on "new" (i.e. non-ethnic) forms of social affiliation. Arguments against relocation were strongly articulated by the former refugees: if they are citizens now, should they not be allowed to move and settle freely in the country like any other Tanzanian? In addition, some believe that being forced to relocate would leave them vulnerable as it would undermine forms of local belonging that allow vital access to livelihoods.

 

The situation has become gridlocked with everyone feeling demoralised. In order to break this impasse, the government must demonstrate their commitment to the process by issuing citizenship certificates to those accepted for naturalisation. On the issue of relocation, some form of compromise is likely to be necessary-a compromise that encourages relocation but that does not make citizenship contingent upon it. As one of those interviewed put it "integration happens when 'new' and 'old' citizens come together as one and count each other as relatives under equality even though our cultures and values are different."

 

Ultimately, it would be a tragedy if the process were to unravel at this point. As one of only a few examples of a refugee-hosting government promoting full local integration through the grant of citizenship for a particular group of refugees, what is taking place in Tanzania can be a model for response to situations of protracted exile around the world.

 

Download full paper: http://www.refugee-rights.org/htdocs/Assets/PDFs/2013/ICantBeACitizen-FINAL.pdf