Under the umbrella of refugee policies

This poster urges the observer to think twice: does the “umbrella” of refugee policies really protect refugees; does it further or hinder their integration? This poster presents first findings after my field research in Ulyankulu settlement, in Tabora region, Tanzania. After 40 years of living in the settlement, even the second generation of Burundian refugees still has not obtained their citizenship certificates. Deprived of important rights, they wait for the governments’ and the UNHCR’s decisions. My research aims at getting a sense of the refugees’ integration in Tabora and Tanzania as a whole, and to assess the impact of the refugee policies in place on their sense of belonging. Through participant observation and interviews, I got a deep insight in refugees’ daily lives and saw the creative as well as destructive effects that waiting can have. Belonging is expressed only to Tabora, a diasporic consciousness towards Burundi is not pronounced.