Photo Story: Tanganyika Rising - the Juxtaposition of Destruction and Resilience in Burundi

Photo Story: Tanganyika Rising - the Juxtaposition of Destruction and Resilience in Burundi 

Waves break rhythmically onto a golden sand beach, while children, screeching with joy, kick a football down the shoreline. In the distance lies the city of Bujumbura, Burundi, its apartment block windows reflecting a kaleidoscope of colors as the sun dips behind the neighbouring Congo mountains.

Though peaceful, these scenes of everyday life along Lake Tanganyika’s shores are threatened by the looming rainy season. In what has become a devastating trend in Burundi over the last few years, the months of April and May have grown synonymous with the fear of displacement. 

“In the past, the lake would always rise with the rains, but it never used to be this bad. This is the first time in my life that I have been displaced,” 67-year-old Rose told the International Organization for Migration (IOM) from the doorway of the tent she now inhabits.

In 2021 alone, over 52,000 people were affected by the floods in Burundi, as rising waters consumed entire neighborhoods. Gatumba, where Rose lives, was the worst affected and lies just outside of Bujumbura, the country’s economic capital.  

Historically, Lake Tanganyika has been a source of wealth to those who live along its palm-lined shores. Communities throughout the region rely on its riches for fishing, agriculture and transport, but torrential rains, exacerbated by climate change, are causing the water levels to rise at an alarming rate. 

As is often the case with natural disasters, vulnerable communities have been the first to bear the brunt of nature’s upheaval.  

“During the last floods [in May 2021] my shop and my home were destroyed by the water,” recalls Divine, a single mother of six children. When her roadside kiosk – and soul source of income – was swept away by the water, she recalls: “we had nowhere else to go, so we moved into the displacement site.” Nevertheless, Divine has managed to open a new kiosk. 

Operated by the Government of Burundi (GoB), in coordination with IOM and other humanitarian actors, displacement sites provide internally displaced persons (IDPs) with much-needed shelter and protection.  

Over the course of the past year alone, IOM has built emergency shelters for thousands of IDPs who have been affected by flooding.

IDPs like Wilson have been helping in the efforts to build shelters for fellow site residents, as part of a Cash for Work initiative organized by IOM.

With an eye to the future, however, the Organization is also working with government partners to identify relocation sites where it is possible to construct semi-permanent shelters that offer increased stability and dignity to IDPs.

Latrines and showers have also been built or rehabilitated en masse, to limit the spread of diseases and ensure that people are able to attend to their basic hygiene needs. Additionally, IOM distributes hygiene kits within the sites and hosts hygiene awareness-raising sessions. 

Yet, the ripple effects of this climate-induced disaster extend far beyond shelter and hygiene. Displacement and the vulnerability that follows it can lead to a marked increase in gender-based violence (GBV), human-trafficking and psychological distress, among other issues.  

IOM’s Protection team works alongside displaced communities to combat these side effects of disaster. 

Despite the loss of livelihoods and the distress of losing homes and businesses, a common theme that has emerged throughout IOM’s flood response has been the resilience of communities that have stood together to support one another.

Conscious of the need to offer durable solutions and hope to vulnerable communities, IOM, the GoB and partners are working together to mitigate future disaster risks.  

Currently, IOM is leading Burundi’s most comprehensive Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) programme ever – a project that aims to strengthen the resilience of the Burundian population against disasters. It is believed that the outcome of the programme will be a widespread reduction in displacement. 

For more information, contact Amaury Falt-Brown, Media and Communications Consultant at IOM Burundi, Email: afalt@iom.int, Tel: +257 68 33 70 33