At Busuma, Burundi’s largest refugee camp, rows of buses lined up before sunrise as hundreds of Congolese families prepared for a journey many had been awaiting for years: the road back home.

Located in Buhumuza province near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, Busuma has sheltered tens of thousands of people fleeing recurrent violence in eastern DRC. Most arrived from the town of Uvira and surrounding areas after clashes involving M23 rebels and government forces forced civilians to flee across Lake Tanganyika and overland routes into Burundi.

On departure day, the camp’s dusty lanes filled with people balancing bundles of clothes, mattresses and jerrycans. Children clutched plastic bags and school notebooks, while aid workers checked passenger lists and travel documents. For many, the emotion was a mix of relief, anxiety and cautious hope.

Among those boarding was Antoine Gashindi, who said the decision to leave Busuma was driven by both longing and hardship. He described years of overcrowding, disease and chronic shortages of water and food, conditions that have long strained humanitarian agencies and host communities alike.

Yet Gashindi also expressed gratitude to Burundi for offering refuge when his family had nowhere else to go, thanking the country’s leadership for opening its borders at a time of crisis. His words reflected a sentiment shared by many refugees who, despite difficult camp conditions, acknowledge the protection they received while displaced.

The operation is being coordinated by the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, in cooperation with Burundian and Congolese authorities. Officials stress that the process is strictly voluntary and limited to those whose areas of origin are assessed as relatively secure. Refugees are interviewed, informed about conditions in their home regions and given the option to remain in Burundi if they feel return would put them at risk.

UNHCR representatives note that security in eastern DRC remains fragile, with more than eight million people displaced within the country and over one million hosted as refugees across Africa. Burundi alone shelters around 100,000 Congolese, meaning the current convoys represent only a fraction of those still in need of long-term solutions.

As the buses pulled away from Busuma, dust rising behind them, those left behind watched in silence. For the departing families, the journey marked an end to exile and the beginning of an uncertain homecoming in a region still struggling to find peace.