Responses to Information Requests - Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
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Responses to Information Requests - Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Canada.ca Services Departments Français Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Refugee Claims Refugee Appeals Admissibility Hearings Detention Reviews HomeImmigrationResearch Appeals Program Responses to Information Requests National Responses to Information Requests Documentation Packages Recent Research Responses to Information Requests (RIR) respond to focused Requests for Information that are submitted to the Research Directorate in the course of the Responses to refugee protection determination process. The database contains a seven-year Information Requests archive of English and French RIRs. Earlier RIRs may be found on the UNHCR's Refworld website. Please note that some RIRs have attachments which are not electronically accessible. To obtain a PDF copy of an RIR attachment, please email the Knowledge and Information Management Unit. 15 September 2016 BDI105629.E Burundi: List of all the neighbourhoods of Bujumbura, including the ethnicity and socio-economic status of the inhabitants of those neighbourhoods (2014- September 2016) Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa 1. Lists of Neighbourhoods in Bujumbura Sources indicate that a 2014 law on the reorganization of the communes within Bujumbura city reduced the number of communes to 3 (IGIHE 28 Aug. 2014; Burundi AGnews 18 Dec. 2014; Radio Isanganiro 28 Aug. 2014) from 13 (ibid.; Burundi AGnews 18 Dec. 2014). The three communes are Muha, Mukaza, and Ntahangwa (ibid.; Radio Isanganiro 28 Aug. 2014; IGIHE 28 Aug. 2014). Sources indicate that each of the communes are further divided as follows: 1. Muha Kanyosha Kinindo Musaga 2. Mukaza Buyenzi Bwiza Nyakabiga Rohero 3. Ntahangwa http://www.irb-cisr.gc.ca/Eng/ResRec/RirRdi/Pages/index.aspx?doc=456689&pls=1[11/3/2016 10:53:40 AM] Responses to Information Requests - Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Cibitoke Kamenge Gihosha Ngagara Kinama Buterere (ibid.; Burundi AGnews 18 Dec. 2014; Radio Isanganiro 20 July 2015). According to Publications de presse burundaise (PPB), a news website based in Burundi, the "chief-lieu" [or municipal administrations] of Muha, Mukaza, and Ntahangwa are Kanyosha, Rohero, and Kamenge, respectively (n.d.). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. 2. Ethnicity and Socio-economic Situation Information on the ethnicity and socio-economic status of inhabitants of the city of Bujumbura was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a postdoctoral researcher at the Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR) who has conducted research on urban youth in war and violence-affected contexts, particularly in Burundi, and on war affected refugees in Europe, stated that, based on her knowledge, which is "largely based on in-depth, longitudinal, qualitative research," and stating that the information she provided about neighbourhoods "should not be taken as fixed or indisputable," "socio-economic, ethnic and political characteristics are not easily ascribed to at the level of the communes … [but] [i]t is more common to specify characteristics at the level of 'zones' or 'quartiers'" (Postdoctoral researcher 13 Sept. 2016). The same source gave the following views with regard to the "'reputation' of zones": Rohero and Kinindo are reputed to be home to the wealthier segments of the population, but perhaps best characterised as mostly middle class. Some parts of Rohero zone are known to be catering to the rich as well as high end expats. Ngagara, in the northern part of the city, was built to house social servants and military from the Burundi hinterlands (it was built in the 1950s). This urban planning legacy still affects who lives there today. Allegedly, many inhabitants have ties with (former) military and other people who had been able to profit from the housing scheme. Gihosha gained the reputation as home of 'fonctionaires' more recently, after the civil war of 1993-2005. Some people bought land or houses during the war, and have been able to gain from the upward mobility of the neighbourhood. Buyenzi and Bwiza are reputed to be home to many Congolese and West-Africans, though Burundians live there as well. These neighbourhoods are generally less affluent than those I mentioned earlier: plots of land are often shared with a number of families. Buyenzi is especially known as a place where mechanics have their businesses. In Bwiza there are many bars, among others. Houses are allegedly slightly more expensive than in areas further to the north and south of city center: Musaga, Cibitoke, Kamenge, Kinama and Buterere. Musaga, Cibitoke, Kamenge, Kinama and Buterere are known to be relatively poor. During the civil war, these zones have been hit hard. Kamenge is allegedly home to many Congolese and other Africans (though some people known as 'Congolese' have lived in Bujumbura for generations). During the http://www.irb-cisr.gc.ca/Eng/ResRec/RirRdi/Pages/index.aspx?doc=456689&pls=1[11/3/2016 10:53:40 AM] Responses to Information Requests - Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada war Kamenge was became known as the Hutu rebel stronghold and got nearly completely destroyed. It should be noted that the geographical area nominated Kamenge has changed over the course of recent history: as Bujumbura is growing fast. Buterere has faced problems with flooding in recent years. Kanyosha and Nyakabiga are difficult to characterise in simple statements, perhaps because they end socio-economically somewhere in between and also know extremes. (ibid.) According to the same source, [i]n terms of ethnicity, to my knowledge, there has never been a population census that gives precise or less precise information on the composition or number of Hutus, Tutsis and Twas (and other ethnic groups) in Burundi. Therefore, there is no way to tell whether ‘zone x, y or z, is mainly inhabited by Hutus while zones l, m, and n by Tutsis.’ Nonetheless, in everyday life, neighbourhoods are associated with specific ethnic groups. In part the associations and generalisations build on the (colonial) urban planning projects in which certain groups were privileged at the expense of others. Also influential is the ethnic cleansing that occurred during the civil war in various neighbourhoods. In this period of time, Nyakabiga, Ngagara, Musaga and Cibitoke became designated as Tutsi. Kamenge and Kinama were rather designated as Hutu. After the war ethnic segregation no longer held, yet the wartime lines of division were sometimes still used to attribute ethnic labels to neighbourhoods of the city. Of late, voting figures, however much contested, have also played a role in affirming ethnic labels: political parties tend to be associated with specific ethnic groups. (ibid.) Further and corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. Without providing further details, the postdoctoral researcher stated that [a] number of the neighbourhoods are sometimes given the term 'quartier contestataire'. This term became in use especially after the 'manifestations' that took place in April and May 2015. In some official and unofficial speeches, these 'quartiers contestataires' are those designated as Tutsi during the war. Yet, manifestations took place also in other neighbourhoods, which suggests that inclusion or exclusion of neighbourhoods in the category is part of a political strategy to re-emphasise or de-emphasise the importance of ethnicity. (ibid.) In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a PhD candidate at the African Studies Centre at Leiden University, Netherlands, who has conducted research on topics including rural regions in Burundi affected by war, refugee-related land conflicts, and land governance, stated that, based on her knowledge and research, [t]he so-called 'quartiers contestataires' (protesters neighborhoods) have been deserted by many youth and families due to frequent operations of the police forces and the 'documentation' service (national intelligence service), and the Imbonerakure militia (youth wing of the ruling Hutu-dominated political party, the CNDD-FDD [Conseil National pour la Défense de la Démocratie-Forces pour la Défense de la Démocratie]). (PhD Candidate 5 Sept. 2016) Similarly, Human Rights Watch states that [the] [p]olice and military, often accompanied by members of the ruling party youth league known as Imbonerakure, have carried out large-scale arbitrary arrests during search operations. These operations have also resulted in numerous extrajudicial killings. Many residents have moved out of their neighborhoods, in anticipation of further police or military operations. (25 Feb 2016) According to the PhD Ccndidate, the socio-economic situation in neighborhoods of Bujumbura is a very challenging one, not to mention the numerous displacement of local populations: (i) some http://www.irb-cisr.gc.ca/Eng/ResRec/RirRdi/Pages/index.aspx?doc=456689&pls=1[11/3/2016 10:53:40 AM] Responses to Information Requests - Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada families have deserted the so-called "quartiers contestataires" to relocate in less violent and politically sensitive neighborhoods in Bujumbura; (ii) others rather abandoned their houses and activities in Bujumbura to resettle