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Refugee 'special envoy' checks out situation back home in Burundi
27 Oct 2005 Thirty-three years after fleeing war in Burundi, Joyce Uwimana is making a brief trip home - one of ten refugees chosen as "special envoys" by thousands of her compatriots in Tanzania who are now eagerly awaiting her appraisal of what life is like in their homeland. -
UNHCR resettles some 200 African refugees from Mozambique to the USA
22 Sep 2005 By the end of September, some 200 individuals from a variety of African countries, who have little chance of either going home or being integrated locally, will have been flown out of Mozambique on six separate flights to start a new life in the United States. -
Transit site closes in Rwanda as last Burundians leave
9 Sep 2005 A year after it received the first of hundreds of refugees from Burundi, Gikonko transit site in southern Rwanda has closed as the refugees either opt to return home with UNHCR assistance or to move to a nearby camp. -
Casting the net wide to help Burundi's returnee communities
22 Aug 2005 In an innovative project to help Burundian returnees reintegrate, UNHCR is providing seed capital to fishing communities on Lake Tanganyika, allowing them to improve their livelihood and diet. Once repaid, the money will be reinvested into other projects to help the returnees and their neighbours. -
New agreement paves way home for Burundians from Rwanda
19 Aug 2005 Thousands of Burundian refugees could be on their way home under a tripartite agreement on voluntary repatriation from Rwanda signed between the two governments and the UN refugee agency yesterday. -
Survivors mark anniversary of massacre at Burundi transit camp
16 Aug 2005 A year after unknown attackers killed more than 150 Congolese refugees at Gatumba transit camp just inside Burundi, survivors gathered at a ceremony in Gihinga camp to mourn the dead and share the trauma. -
Sharp rise in returns to Burundi, says UNHCR
12 Aug 2005 The UN refugee agency expects to see a six-fold increase in the number of Burundian refugees going home to the south this month compared to previous months. Returnees say they are confident following June's communal elections - virtually the last step in a long transition to full peace and democracy. -
Royal Nansen Refugee Award for "Angel of Burundi"
23 Jun 2005 In a grand ceremony in Brussels, Burundian humanitarian worker Marguerite Barankitse received the award for her tireless work on behalf of children affected by war, poverty and disease. -
UNHCR urges Burundi to stop involuntary returns
14 Jun 2005 Some 5,000 Rwandan asylum seekers have been taken home from Burundi in what UNHCR considers involuntary returns that violate the principle of non-refoulement. The refugee agency is concerned that 2,000 Rwandans still in Burundi and 7,000 Burundians in Rwanda could be sent home shortly.