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The Gatumba Camp Massacre, Refugee Protection, and A Foundational Moment for RefugePoint
On the night of August 13, 2004, 166 Congolese refugees, mostly women and children, were killed in a brutal attack on the Gatumba refugee camp in Burundi. Armed militants surrounded the camp, set shelters on fire, and opened fire on the sleeping residents. Additionally, 116 people were injured or permanently disabled.
The victims were Banyamulenge refugees, a Tutsi minority from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) who had fled violence. Despite warnings that they felt unsafe so close to the border, the refugees were not relocated in time.
The massacre shocked the international community and exposed urgent gaps in refugee protection.
Cover Photo and Left: Sidera in Burundi following the Gatumba Camp massacre. Right: Sidera in her home after resettlement to the U.S. Photos: Christophe Calais
The Forces Nationales de Libération (FNL), a Burundian rebel group, claimed responsibility. The attack was condemned by the United Nations, African Union, and international human rights organizations. However, despite reopened investigations and survivor testimonies, no one has been held fully accountable for the massacre to this day.
For survivors, justice has been slow. But their story helped lay the groundwork for a new kind of response.
A refugee family in Burundi after the massacre, and in the U.S. after resettlement. Photos: Christophe Calais
When the massacre happened, Sasha Chanoff was in the process of founding RefugePoint. He began receiving desperate calls from refugees in the U.S. whose family members had been at the camp when it was attacked.
“They said things like, ‘My sister was killed and her children are orphaned.’ ‘My relatives who survived are now in hiding. The killers are searching for them. Please help.” – Sasha Chanoff
Recognizing that the only solution for them was resettlement, Sasha called colleagues at UNHCR and the U.S. State Department, traveled to Burundi, met with survivors, and drafted an emergency resettlement proposal. That proposal led to more than 1,000 Gatumba survivors being permanently resettled to the U.S.—a life-saving and lasting solution for families who had lost nearly everything.
“That was the moment I realized: even someone outside the system, who knows how it works, can change it,” Sasha recalls. That lesson became a foundation for RefugePoint, which Sasha officially launched later that year. Fueled by a small grant and a clear mission, RefugePoint began identifying refugees in Africa and later, around the world, for resettlement to the U.S. and elsewhere and supporting those overlooked by existing systems.
A refugee family in Burundi after the massacre, and in the U.S. after resettlement. Photos: Christophe Calais
The Gatumba massacre exposed the hard truth that traditional systems can fail to respond with the urgency required.
RefugePoint was founded to help fill that gap, responding quickly and creatively to support the most vulnerable refugees.
Since 2005, RefugePoint has helped more than 180,000 refugees access resettlement and other pathways to safety, and has assisted thousands more to achieve self-reliance and inclusion in their host communities. We work with partners around the world to strengthen resettlement, self-reliance, family reunification, and labor mobility systems, ensuring that the lessons of Gatumba are never forgotten.
Related: Learn more about RefugePoint’s approach
Before and after resettlement: Alice and her daughter. Photos: Christophe Calais
Even today, too many refugees face danger, displacement, and systems that don’t move fast enough.
You can help:
“The arrival of 1,000 Gatumba survivors in the US was a clear lesson: anything is possible. You just have to figure out how to do it.” — Sasha Chanoff
At RefugePoint, that belief still drives us today. In remembering Gatumba, we recommit to building a world where all refugees can find safety, dignity, and opportunity.
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