Special Focus Areas

Burundi: Infants Staying in Prison with Their Mothers
 

While not being in best interests of the child sometimes infants and babies are either born in prison or enter prison with their mothers.  In Burundi it is considered the lesser of two evils for an infant to remain, up unltil the age of 3, with their mother if she is detained.  After the children turn 3, they will be taken to their families or, depending on circumstances, to an orphanage.

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While confined these children share the austere daily life of Burundi’s prisons.  They face the same deprivations and precarious conditions as their mothers.  Often in a state of distress themselves, the mothers may find it difficult to offer their children the emotional security needed for healthy development.

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According to Rights advocates the environment in which a child spends his or her first five years has a serious impact on their entire future. Therefore a mother's incarceration jeopardizes their rights as a child and the child's indirect confinement is not without consequences for their personal and intellectual development.   Mr. Ndereyimana explains, the child has a right to fulfilment, but the conditions in which these children live across the country's various prisons are not conducive to social and intellectual development.  For example Mr Ndereyimana says ‘a child who doesn't play with other children often has language difficulties. This is almost inevitable for such children’.  ​Mr. Ndereyimana also cites the small spaces, poor hygiene and overcrowding in many of Burundi's prisons as making children confined more vulnerable to health issues and diseases.  The inadequate quality and quantity of food provided by the state means these children can also become victims of acute malnutrition.  

 

Jean Marie Nshimirimana, President of the Ntabariza Association, believes an infant growing up in an environment where people exhibit unstable behaviour are likely to have difficulty with behaviour regulation that may extend into aulthood.  ​According to Mr. Ndereyimana, despite their confinement it is vital that these children’s rights are protected.  He calls on the Direction Générale des Affaires Pénitentiaires (DGAP) to ensure that infants and their mothers are separated from other inmates to guarantee minimum conditions that promote their development.

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Despite the adverse conditions for mother’s and children in Burundi’s prisons efforts are made to promote children’s healthy development.  Early-learning methodology used in prison nurseries are based on three main pillars:

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1. Daily early-learning activities are organized in a space outside the prison, open to all children in the community.  These activities are carefully adapted to each child's stage of development, and customized to suit local realities.

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2.Psychosocial activities are organized for mothers in prison.  These activities support sessions aim to strengthen mothers' well-being, forge strong bonds of attachment between them and their children, and prepare children for later separation.  These activities also contribute to the cohabitation of the inmates, and healthy social environment.

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3. Finally, family visits and community activities play an essential role in maintaining the bonds between the child, its mother and their community.