Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  The refugees need permanent status. They need financial support. They also need moral support so they can feel like everyone else. We have to acknowledge that refugees go through different phases. They start with denial, which leads to depression, and eventually acceptance of their status.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you very much.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you very much. It is my pleasure to answer that question. Before I do so, I'd like to let you know about the different categories of refugees we have here in Canada. This will help you understand their specificities. Let's start by what we call the “refugee claimant”.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you very much for that question. When I specified what I was expecting from Canada, those were not my personal ideas. I needed to consult Canada's Burundian community, because this is a very serious matter. It's the first time that Canadians of Burundian origin have had the opportunity to speak with parliamentarians about an important issue in Burundi.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  For sure.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Many thanks for the question. Yes, I'm nervous, but I also have the courage to say what I see, what I think, and what I share with most people. What I am saying here could be broadcast on the internet within an hour. The Burundian government will get wind of it, and I know that, tomorrow, the newspapers, government and spokespersons in Burundi will attack what I've said here.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you very much. I don't personally know the two parliamentarians who voted against the withdrawal, but since they're politicians, I've familiarized myself with their positions. As I mentioned, I've been in Canada for some time. The only election that took place in Burundi while I was there was held in 2005.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I am not sure of what will happen tomorrow. What I know is that one of them who came out warning them about the move they were making...the president of the assembly was mocking him. He taunted him widely and openly that what he had declared was suicidal. He told him it was suicidal.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you very much for the question. Last year, the African Union decided to send 5,000 soldiers to Burundi. However, that decision was never brought into effect, firstly, because Burundi opposed it, but also, in my view, because the country got support from a presidents' club.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  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.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Yes.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you for that question, Mr. Chair. First of all, when Burundian refugees—especially in the case discussed here—leave Burundi and arrive in another country, there is no logistical support for them. It's a struggle just to know where to go. It took the person in question more than two months to know who was in charge of what.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you very much for the question. I was saying that the situation in Burundi is evolving in such a way that a person who tells the truth will immediately be marked for execution. I must acknowledge that, according to our information, there are discordant opinions within the regime.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Based on the way it's operating, the party in power in Burundi seems to be evolving toward a one-party state. The party wants complete control, and it's becoming authoritarianism, which is what a system is called when the leader decides and the rest follow. Any voice that diverges from the leader's is to be silenced permanently.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  We are very close to that. It's clear that the government of Burundi has defied all calls for restraint—all calls from international organizations to produce reports or counter-reports that could clarify the situation on a number of points. The government has just taken a step that seems irreversible.