Jean-Jacques Cornish

Burundi posing a major refugees crisis, warns Doctors Without Borders

Medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières warns of a refugee crisis caused by Burundians fleeing unrest in their country into Tanzania.

The charity says the rate of refugee arrivals has increased almost five-fold in the last four months.

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Up to 10 000 refugees from Burundi continue pouring into Tanzania each month.

About 250 000 Burundian and Congolese refugees are squeezed into Tanzania’s three camps – which are now full.

MSF’s David Nash says this is rapidly becoming one of Africa’s biggest refugee crises.

There have been fears that food distribution may be cut due to lack of funds.

In October, the World Food Programme (WFP) announced a cut in food rations to 60% of the daily recommended nutritional intake. This measure was only narrowly avoided by a last-minute donation.

But as the number of refugee arrivals continues to grow, the risk of further cuts in the near future is a cause of concern.

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Jean-Jacques Cornish is a journalist and broadcaster who has been involved in the media all his adult life.

Starting as a reporter on his hometown newspaper, he moved briefly to then Rhodesia before returning to South Africa to become a parliamentary correspondent with the South African Press Association. He was sent to London as Sapa’s London editor and also served as special correspondent to the United Nations. He joined the then Argus group in London as political correspondent.

Returning to South Africa after 12 years abroad, he was assistant editor on the Pretoria News for a decade before becoming editor of the Star and SA Times for five years.

Since 1999 he’s been an independent journalist writing and broadcasting – mainly about Africa – for Talk Radio 702 and 567 Cape
Talk, Radio France International, PressTV, Radio Live New Zealand, Business Day, Mail & Guardian, the BBC, Agence France Press,
Business in Africa, Leadership, India Today, the South African Institute for International Affairs and the Institute for Security Studies.

He has hosted current affairs talk shows on Talk Radio 702 and 567 Cape Talk. He appears as an African affairs pundit on SABC Africa and CNBC Africa.
He lectured in contemporary studies to journalism students at the Tshwane University of Technology and the University of Pretoria.

He speaks on African affairs to corporate and other audiences.
He has been officially invited as a journalist to more than 30 countries. He was the winner of the 2007 SADC award for radio journalism.

He’s been a member of the EISA team observing elections in Somaliland, Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Egypt and Tunsiai.

In October 2009 he headed a group of 39 African journalists to the 60th anniversary celebrations of the Peoples’ Republic of China.

In January 2010 he joined a rescue and paramedical team to earthquake struck Haiti.

He is immediate past president of the Alliance Francaise of Pretoria.

Jean-Jacques is a director of Giant Media. The company was given access to Nelson Mandela in his retirement years until 2009.
He is co-producer of the hour-long documentary Mandela at 90 that was broadcast on BBC in January 2009.