Citizens and Refugees: The Politics of Refugee Aid

Chapter 5 reveals the conflicts between and among local and national officials, refugees, and international aid agencies over who would control refugee aid and how it would be distributed. As various authorities fought over control of Ngara's refugee camps during the 1960s, they collided with the political dynamics of the refugee community. At the local level, this led to resentment against the international aid agencies that contested local officials' authority and intelligence. The result would be an embarrassing failure at Muyenzi. As Rwandans resisted and subverted the programs enacted to make them stable and profitable members of the state, they became perceived as threats to the Tanzanian nation. Many Ngarans then began to perceive Rwandan refugees as both violent and lazy. They also reified a particular version of Tanzanian citizenship that existed more in ideology than in reality.