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Accepted Paper:
“Go Back to your Home”: What Drives the Shifting Politics of Refugee Policy in Tanzania?
Leiyo Singo
(University of Bayreuth)
Tanzania's refugees policy has shifted from ‘exceptional hospitality’ of the pre-1990s to recent refugee fatigue. Based in part on interviews this paper examines factors and drivers of this shift that have had a negative impact on the ability and willingness of the Tanzanian state to host refugees.
Paper long abstract:
In the three post-independence decades Tanzania was praised for ‘exceptional hospitality’ to populations displaced from neighboring countries. In fact, beyond just hosting refugees, Tanzania’s founding president, Julius Nyerere had sought to avoid the stigma and alienation often associated with the label refugees (wakimbizi) by using the term “wageni wakaazi” (resident guests). However, the post-Nyerere era has been characterized by receding receptivity towards refugees. Successive governments’ policy has exhibited so-called refugee fatigue. Based in part on interviews with former Burundian refugees, and Tanzanian government officials, this paper examines Tanzania’s shift to a more restrictive policy by highlighting factors and drivers that have had a negative impact on the ability and willingness of the Tanzanian state to host refugees. This paper is based on findings from 55 semi-structured interviews and nine focus groups conducted with former Burundian refugees and government officials in the city of Dar es Salaam, the towns of Mpanda and Kaliua, and in the refugee settlements of Katumba and Ulyankulu over three months in 2016.