Thank you for the question.
The situation in the refugee camps is practically the same. In the camps run by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, people live in tents of questionable longevity that can be destroyed by the wind, a tornado or something else. Moreover, the crowding is unparalleled. In general, a family tent is five square metres, regardless of the family's size. Such cramped conditions cause other problems, such as sickness, hunger, unwanted pregnancies, and sexual violence.
I should repeat that these people were not expecting to wind up in these camps. People don't plan their flight; they flee to survive, and once they're in the camps, they might be without food, health care, or even a tarp above their heads. If statistics about the deaths in these refugee camps were compiled, they would be alarming.
I reiterate what I said at the beginning of my testimony. When we discuss Burundian refugees, we have figures, but we don't consider the human lives behind those figures. Honourable members, the situation is dramatic.
We Burundians who live in Canada, and have family in Burundi, are sometimes up all night, talking on the phone. There's a six-hour time difference. When we have to talk to someone who is in Burundi, we need to wait until two in the morning, which is roughly 8 a.m. in Burundi. When someone tells us a harrowing story, we get no sleep.
Although the situation in Burundi is happening several thousand kilometres away, I experience it personally. I must support my refugee relatives financially. I must also give them moral support, and it has an effect on me. The situation is not just painful for me; it's painful for other Burundians who live here.
I am fortunate to have been invited to come before you, and I appreciate it. If you invite another Burundian, he will say the same thing as me: the situation is truly alarming. The people in refugee camps can't return home. From the way the government is acting, it's clear they think they can do whatever they want, now that the people are in camps. And even if those people are sponsored, they don't know when they will be admitted. They are waiting for some country to step forward and give them relief. Otherwise, in a few years, I think it will be a humanitarian catastrophe.
We're not talking about seniors; we're talking about young people and children, They are the planet's future—the future for our countries. That's why I reiterate that Canada can do something to reverse some of the suffering those people are experiencing.