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After the Rwandan Civil War: Refugees in Tanzania

Eli Reed documents the fallout of the Rwandan Civil War and mass slaughter of Tutsi people as those caught in the conflict fled to Tanzania to find safety and aid in refugee camps

Eli Reed

Eli Reed A girl poses at the Benaco refugee camp. Tanzania. 1995. © Eli Reed | Magnum Photos
Eli Reed Refugees from the Rwandan civil war wait for food rations. Benaco, Tanzania. 1995. © Eli Reed | Magnum Photos
Eli Reed A nurse measures an infant in the Benaco refugee camp. Tanzania. 1995. © Eli Reed | Magnum Photos
Eli Reed Boys playing in the camp. Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya. August, 2001. © Eli Reed | Magnum Photos
Eli Reed A worker from Doctors Without Borders monitors a small boy's intravenous hookup. Benaco, Tanzania. 1995. © Eli Reed | Magnum Photos
Eli Reed The face of young refugees at the Benaco camp in Tanzania reflected in the side mirror of a vehicle belonging to Doctors Without Borders. Benaco, Tanzania. 1995. © Eli Reed | Magnum Photos
Eli Reed Worshippers at an open air religious service. Benaco, Tanzania. 1995. © Eli Reed | Magnum Photos

The Benaco refugee camp, one of the first settled by Rwandans fleeing the brutal civil war in their homeland, was set up in late April/early May of 1994. It quickly filled with around 600,000 largely Hutu refugees. Because of its location near a main road and good water sources, Benaco has been one of the more orderly and stable camps for Rwandan war victims. Around fifty staff members of the French relief group Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, or Doctors Without Borders) have been providing various health services in Benaco, including inpatient and outpatient care, epidemic control, sanitation and special attention to infants and pregnant women.

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