Musasa: lack of water in the Congolese refugee camp

The Musasa refugee camp is passing through hard time. Its water pump is not working for lack of fuel, triggering dispair and a feeling of threat among the site’s occupants they say.

INFO SOS Médias Burundi

Mothers in the Musasa camp, Kiremba commune of Ngozi province (northern Burundi) say it is a headache when it comes to cooking.

“I have not had water for three days. A container of water costs 1000 Burundian francs or is exchanged with 1/2 kg of rice. My children cannot find drinking water, they are thirsty, they cry all the time”, testifies a woman of 10.

Another forty-year-old complains.

“I spend at least 3,000 francs a day to buy water. Nothing left to buy food to supplement the insufficient ration that we are given,” laments a forty-year-old mother.

“It’s a very difficult situation. We are asking for emergency help,” she adds.

This situation also affects the elderly.

“I am old, my legs are tired, but I have to go get water for my family,” explains Batamuriza, 60.

“It’s a real ordeal. I fear for the health of my grandchildren,” she laments.

It is the organization COPED (Council for Development and Education) which is in charge of water distribution in the Musasa camp. Water shortage is due to the lack of fuel scarcity shaking the entire country.

“The pump supplying the camp with drinking water has halted operating due to lack of fuel.” But the body manager reassured that “we are working hard to find a solution and get the pump back on as quickly as possible.”

“I understand that the situation is difficult, but I want to reassure refugees. We are finding solutions to obtain fuel and ensure access to drinking water as quickly as possible,” he adds.

Despite the promise from the COPED organization, refugees remain worried. Lack of water poses a real threat to their health and well-being.

“Access to drinking water is a fundamental right,” said a young refugee living in Musasa.

The Musasa camp is based in Ngozi province in northern Burundi. It shelters more than 9,000 Congolese refugees mostly of the Banyamulenge community, targeted by genocide according to several alerts from human rights organizations and legal experts.
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Women and girls from the Musasa camp at a water point, August 2024 (SOS Médias Burundi)