ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a critical assessment of Tanzania's response to the refugee crisis, highlighting the contradictions of its refugee policy. It argues that although the policy may appear to be humanitarian, it is influenced by political obligations at the regional and international levels, to the extent that breaches of human rights, such as forced repatriation, can be obscured by what seem to be acts of generosity. The chapter considers the impact of external influences on Tanzania's response to the refugee crisis. Tanzania's refugee policy is derived from a number of sources. The chapter assesses the impact of government policies, including liberalization, on refugee communities within Tanzania. It suggests that the existence of refugee aid programs as part of a highly unequal tripartite agreement helps to re-establish control by aid donors over large areas of western Tanzania, in accordance with prevailing development ideologies. The internationalization of the African refugee problem meant that refugees could no longer move undetected into neighboring states.
