Nduta (Tanzania) : the camp flooded with human excrement

Nduta (Tanzania) : the camp flooded with human excrement

The Nduta camp administration opposed the reconstruction of filled latrines, just as it refused to have them emptied. The consequences were not long in coming, since the latrines overflowed, flooding the camp with excrement. Refugees fear diseases, even epidemics like cholera. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

In village 9 of zone 14, at least fifty latrines, which were already poorly constructed, according to the refugees, are completely full, and human waste is pouring into homes. For good reason, the administration refused the refugees to reconstruct these toilets.

“In any case, it’s really cynical and this observation is very sad. The camp leader told us to go and build beautiful latrines at home. It’s a way of making fun of us. Excrement is found everywhere. And some entrances are blocked. Bad smells come from everywhere”, the refugees complain.

In villages 12, 13 or even 15, the observation is the same. The refugees cry for help.

“We fear diseases from uncleanness because children can have fun playing in the water spilled from the toilets. And then, we no longer have anywhere to ease ourselves. Some of us beg our neighbors to share toilets. But here too, even if someone cannot refuse you, this indicates that they fear that their latrine will fill up very quickly”, say exasperated Burundian refugees.

Some, clever people, prefer to dig simple pits that are easy to camouflage during the night. “We cannot go deeper than a meter because we are afraid and we only cover them with a used bag or a cloth as walls”, they say.

The Norwegian Refugee Council, a Norwegian organization which takes care of the sanitation aspect, advocated for these refugees, but the camp administration displayed a categorical refusal.

“NRC came back to us and told us that its request was rejected, so we must find other alternative solutions”, they suggest, wondering “what alternative solutions could be to replace the toilets” .

These measures are described as draconian by refugees.

“There are even some who are imprisoned, accused of having dug a grave to ease themselves, others have found themselves on the lists of those who will be repatriated for refusing orders. So, a simple suspicion is worth forced repatriation”, they denounce.

“It is a strategy that is added to a long list of measures in violation of our rights to force us to return to Burundi. But we are not going to surrender, we are going to continue to denounce this and attract the attention of the international community which seems to be turning a deaf ear”, they say.

These Burundian refugees call on the UNHCR and the Tanzanian government to “stop mistreating people whose protection they should be providing”.

The Nduta camp hosts more than 76,000 Burundian refugees.

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