Blogs from Burundi, Africa
April 11th 2012
“Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” Ok, so this famous query, which was supposedly pronounced by Henry Morton Stanley when he stumbled on the long errant Dr. Livingstone, was uttered in Ujiji, in what is now Tanzania, not in Burundi - yet I couldn’t resist using it in this context! In my defense, these two almost storybook characters did continue on to a point on the Burundian shore of Lake Tanganyika, just south of Bujumbura – a point marked by a rock “memorial” and a disused bar. As a history buff, I couldn’t not go to the site; my wonderful hosts, the Watson family, indulged my desire to see the spot, taking me despite the fact that we had to pass through an FLN zone*. But if Livingstone and Stanley could travel in this region without the aid ... read more
January 19th 2012
N'Amahoro, After almost five months in the US, I've finally found my way back to Burundi for more research. Hooray! My favorite bit of news so far is that there's an "Acid Bug" (also known as "Nairobi Fly") infestation in Bujumbura. While they don't bite, they do secrete acid onto your skin if you touch them. Fantastic. If I develop blisters all over my body, at least I'll know where they came from. August As it turns out, I never blogged about my last month in Burundi. So, I will quickly catch everyone up. Most of August, was spent working in the prison, which I can only describe as both fascinating and emotionally draining. Mpimba prison is a rough place. One year, food shortages prompted the prisoners to riot and set the front building on fire ... read more
October 10th 2011
So in a matter of hours we will negotiate the bizarre rituals of the Bujumbura traffic to head to the airport and leave Burundi for the last time. It has been a testing, exciting, unexpected and bizarre experience but it is also time to move on. Ahead of us are four months of adventure and for those who want to follow what we get up to then this is the place! ... read more
July 18th 2011
I'm lazy. The result is that I haven't blogged in a month... but I'm back! It's been an interesting few weeks, here in Bujumbura. One of the most fascinating things about my interviews is how people construct Burundi's past. I could probably group people into current political affiliations based on their renditions of history - who was responsible for most of the killing during the war, which rebel groups were better, who were the best and worst presidents, when the division between Hutus and Tutsis began... And, believe me, there are some very different ways to tell the history of Burundi. That's not so different from any of us, actually - the details we highlight from the past shape how we see and understand the world today. "A man's called a traitor or a liberator. A ... read more
July 1st 2011
Peter Piper picked a peck of pili peppers. Yes, I said pili peppers. The Challenge I'm not sure where to begin this latest blog, so I think I'll start with the most recent event: the pili pili eating competition. Those of you who know me know that I love spicy food. There's very little that's too spicy for me to stomach, and I'm always up to the challenge of trying something new. So when my friend Seth claimed he was the only American he knew that could eat a whole pili... one question came to mind: are you sure about that? In many parts of Africa, it's common to be served pili pili (or piment) with a meal... a kind of hot sauce derived from the African chili - delicious on almost everything, in my opinion. ... read more
June 16th 2011
Hello, hello. I’ve officially been living in Burundi for two weeks, now. Hard to believe! Life in Buja has been pretty great. My research is going well, so far. For better or worse, my questions about violence in the country are becoming increasingly pertinent, which means there’s a lot of information. I’m also learning how to navigate daily life here. I’m not sure what I expected when I came to this country, but I’m pretty sure what I’ve found is not what I anticipated when I got on the plane. Every day, I wonder if my view of Burundi is becoming clearer or more muddled. I wish I knew… Research Burundi has a relatively tight-knit community of NGOs, consultants, researchers, and academics - everyone seems to know everyone. One person can give you more contacts than ... read more
The Lessons of a Weekend (and a Run-In with the Law)
Published: June 16th 2011Africa » Burundi » West » Bujumbura
June 15th 2011
Me: It was a fiasco. Do you know this word? Audifax: How do you say it? Me: fee-AS-co. Audifax: Hm. What does it mean? fee-AS-co. Me: It means ‘a total mess.’ When everything goes wrong, you say it was a fiasco. Audifax: Ah, fiasco… The harshest lessons I’ve learned to date: never take a picture without permission, and try hard not to give your number to people – even if you need to talk to them for research. No Photographs, Please Saturday was a strange day from the very beginning. I had been roped into walking around the neighborhood with a man named Desire, who I originally interviewed to learn about the peace organization he worked for. Unfortunately, he seemed to have very little information for me. Worse, he now had my phone number; every night ... read more
May 31st 2011
The Blog Hello, hello! I've been in Burundi for two days, and I believe it's time to begin blogging. I am typically an unreliable blogger - I skip details and post pretty rarely; but, this time is different (I can feel it). I hope this site will serve as a way for me to share my impressions, and experiences, among other things, while I'm in the great country of Burundi. Josiah and I are living just outside of Buja while we begin research for our PhD dissertations - it's the first trip for each of us, but won't be the last. We live here with Jean-Pierre, our guard, and a dog named Burton (Bwegu, in Kirundi). Another PhD student and her husband (Cara and James) used to live in this house, and set us both up ... read more
September 16th 2010
Bujumbura is the capital of Burundi and according to the British Foreign Office, the only safe place to visit in Burundi and then only if you have to! It's actually very westernised and one of the nicest capitals I've visited in Africa so far. Our hotel is on the shore of Lake Tanganyika in the Saga Beach area 5km outside of the city centre. A great setting with a real beach and western facilities. To extend our visa with visit the PAFE office and have to fill in 2 forms, provide a photo and photocopy of the important pages of our passport. We are told we can pick up our passports later that day but of course this turns out to be nonsense and after 3 return visits it's finally ready the day after. It's the ... read more
September 13th 2010
Mercredi 1 septembre : Ca commence à être une habitude, en soirée moi et André on prend quelques bières d’ennui au Binub. Bonne discussion avec le colonel Banasse sur le rôle de la France dans les problèmes africains. Mon argument est que le rôle de la France fut incontestablement négatif, mais les africains, jusqu'à ce jour, n’ont pas été en mesure de prendre leurs responsabilités. Ca choque certaine sensibilité !!! Et en tant qu’homme blanc francophone catholique et hétérosexuel, je ne peux être tenu responsable de tout les maux de la Terre. Lorsque l’on est dans la marde, la première chose à faire c’est de travailler pour s’en sortir, pas de trouver des coupables. Bref, comme d’habitude, je joue l’avocat du diable, comme à l’époque du déclanchement des hostilités en Iraq, j’étais probablement le seul Québécois ... read more
