Capital and largest city: Bujumbura Official languages: Kirundi and French Independence Day: July 1, 1962 Land area: 10,745 square miles Population: 8,988,091 (July 2009 estimate) Population density: 835.5/square mile
Geography
Burundi, one of the smallest countries in Africa, is landlocked though it has Lake Tanganyika as part of its western border. It is described as being a rolling plateau though it has some fairly high mountains. The average elevation of the center plateau is 5,600 feet. The highest
Mountains of Burundi
peak, Mount Heha at 8, 8120 feet lies to the southeast of the capital, Bujumbura. A pyramid marks the place in Burundi that has been determined to be the southernmost source of the Nile. Lake Tanganyika, located in Burundi's southwestern corner, is the second deepest lake in the world.
Fishermen - Lake Tanganyika - Bujumbura in Background
Burundi's lands are mostly agricultural and pasture. Overpopulation has led to soil erosion and deforestation. Only 230 square mile of forests remain and that is shrinking by about 9% per year. Two national parks were established in 1982 to conserve wildlife. Kibiri National Park in the northwest is a small region of rain forest adjacent to Nyungwe Forest National Park in Rwanda. Ruvubu National Park in the northeast is located along the Ruvubu river.
Economy
Burundi is one of the world's poorest countries. This is due to its landlocked geography, lack of development of mineral resources, a poor legal system, lack of access to education and more recently to the proliferation of HIVB/AIDS. Famines and food shortages occur often throughout Burundi. According to the World Food Programme, 56.8% of children under the age of five suffer from chronic malnutrition.
Subsistence farming accounts for 90% of Burundi's agriculture. The largest source of revenue is coffee which makes up 94% of Burundi's exports. Other products include tea, cotton, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca), beef, milk, and hides. Some of Burundi's natural resources are uranium, nickel, cobalt, copper and platinum. Other industries include the assembly of imported components, construction, food processing and light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes and soap.
Demographics
In 2008, Burundi's population was estimated to be almost 9 million. Over 500,000 people have been displaced due to the effects of AIDS. Many Burundians have sought refuge in neighboring countries as a result of the civil wars. In 2006, the United States accepted about 10,000 Burundian refugees.
Hutu Village
Most Burundians live in rural areas and only six percent live in urban areas. Its population density is the second highest per square mile in Sub-Saharan Africa. About 85% of the population are of Hutu ethnic origin, 15% are Tutsi and one percent are Twas (pygmies).
Burundi Home On A Hill
Roman Catholics make up 65% of the Christian population while Protestants and Anglicans comprise 5%. The Muslim population is about 10%.
Health
There were only 3 physicians per 100,000 persons in the early 2000's. Kibuye Medical School has 19 medical students who have completed their pre-meds and are now entering their top three years of training. Soon they will make a difference. Life expectancy is estimated at 48.5 years. The HIV/AIDS prevalence was about 4.2% in 2007. (In the 1970's the first AIDS patients began to show up. The disease was called locally "the slim disease" because the patients appeared emaciated.)
Culture
Since farming is the main industry in Burundi, a typical meal consists of beans or peas, sweet potatoes or corn. Squash, cabbage and manioc are also grown. In times of famine, pumpkin blooms and bean leaves are consumed. Children are susceptible to a disease called kwashiorkor. Symptoms of the disease are a bloated belly and copper colored hair. (The disease can be arrested if the child is given a protein rich diet.)
Crafts, Sports and Celebrations
Crafts are an important art form in
Burundi. Basket weaving is popular and many gifts are made with bead
work. Other crafts such as masks, shields, statues, and pottery are
made in Burundi.
Drumming is an important part of Burundi's cultural heritage. The Royal
Drummers of Burundi have performed for over forty years. Dances usually
accompany drumming performances. Two named dances are the abatimbo and
the abanyagasimo. These famous dances involve a lot of jumping and
turning to the dream beat.
Barundi Dancers
Basketball, track and field are noted sports in Burundi. Football, more like soccer, is also a popular pastime. Have
you seen a mancala gameboard? It is a board with four rows of eight cups hollowed out and it is played with marbles or stones called "cows". (My sons tried to play with the night watchmen but the native players were slick with slight of hand movements and the boys never did figure out how their opponent's "cows" got into the winning holes.
Christmas holidays are celebrated mostly in the churches. Burundian Independence Day is celebrated on July 1. (See my book, Slow Mail with Love, page 201 for an account of the first Independence Day. I happened to be one of only four white women in attendance. In 2005, the government declared Eid al Fitr, an Islamic holiday, to be a public holiday as well.
Kirundi is the language of the people, French is the language of government, and Swahili is a trade language. Swahili is spoken by Muslims in cities like Gitega. Burundi's literacy rate is low because of low school attendance. This is due to the distance from the school and the need for the children to help at home or to herd the cows and goats. Only about ten percent of the boys are allowed a secondary education. Burundi's oral tradition is strong and life lessons are taught by the elders using storytelling, poetry, and songs. One of the first books the school children read is Imigani or parables.
Education
Burundi has the University of Burundi. There are several museums in the cities such as Burundi Geological Museum in Bujumbura and two in Gitega, namely the Burundi National Museum and the Burundi Museum of Life. Adult literacy is about half among men and about a quarter among women.
Hope Africa University is assuming a prominent place in regional higher education. The University is a member of the Inter-University Council of East Africa and is a founding member of the new Inter-University Network of the Great Lakes of Africa. The student body numbers 3200, forty percent of whom are women.
Tourist Information
Brochures by travel agencies and travel advice from embassies give two different sides of the story. Current advice from Australia dated June 8, 2010 strongly advises travelers not to travel to Burundi at this time, with the exception of the capital city Bujumbura because of high levels of crime and possible civil unrest. There is a high risk of armed violence, banditry, kidnapping and cross-border attacks by rebels. Crimes such as muggings, burglaries, carjacking and armed banditry are common.
The Australian government recommends that travelers boil all drinking water or drink bottled water. It is advisable to avoid ice cubes and raw or undercooked food.
Swimming in lakes and rivers is unsafe because of the possibility of attacks by wildlife and the risk of water-borne diseases. Do not swim in fresh water to avoid exposure to certain water-borne diseases such as bilharzia. (We avoided Lake Tanganyika because our doctor warned that this disease was contracted in shallow water where snails live among the reeds.) Some hotels advertise that it is safe to swim in Lake Tanganyika. Perhaps it is safe in deeper water.
History and Personal Involvement
Burundi history is a sad story. Though the Tutsi make up only 15% of the population, they were traditionally the over-lords of the 84% of Hutus. After Germany was defeated in World War I, Germany turned control of a section of the former German East Africa to Belgium. This land officially became part of the Belgian colonial empire and was known as Ruanda-Urundi. The Belgians allowed Urundi to continue its kingship dynasty with Mwami Mwambutsa IV as the king. At the end of World War II, Ruanda-Urundi was a United Nations Trust Territory under Belgian authority. In 1948, Belgium allowed the formation of political parties that would be the main push for Burundi's independence from Belgium.
The first time I met Mwami Mwambutsa, he came to Murore to measure land for a hospital. When the work was done, we sat at the table and drank tea. The next time I met him was on a national day of celebration when we went to Gitega to watch the royal drummers perform. We sat on the platform with the King and other VIP's. This became an annual event. Then I remember attending the king's 40th anniversary celebration at the palace.
On January 20, 1959, Burundi's king requested from the Belgian Minister of Colonies a separation of Burundi and Rwanda and a dissolution of Ruanda-Urundi. In November 1959, Rwandese Hutu attacked the Tutsi and massacred them by the thousands. Many Tutsi escaped to Burundi to avoid death. While in Burundi, Tutsi fought against Hutu and many Tutsi soldiers killed Hutu peasants in retaliation for Hutu violence in Rwanda. The Hutu managed to take power in Rwanda in the elections of 1960.
The Unity for National Progress (UPRONA), led by Prince Louis Rwagasore, along with the Christian Democratric Party (PDC) became the most prominent political organizations in Urundi. Prince Rwagasore, who was the son of Mwami Mwambutsa, was assassinated in 1961. This led to great political instability.
Shortly before the events of the above paragraph, Prince Rwagasore visited our station at Mweya and I served him and his entourage tea.
Burundi claimed independence on July 1, 1962 and changed the name from Urundi to Burundi. Mwami Mwambutsa IV was named king. Just over a month later, Burundi joined the United Nations.
At the time of independence, a constitutional monarchy was established and both Hutus and Tutsi were represented in Parliament. However, during this move to become an independent nation, Hutu forces took control of the country, forcing the Tutsi out and many of them fled to Rwanda. During 1962 and 1963, approximately 12,000 Tutsi were killed while between 140,000 and 250,000 people fled to Rwanda. In 1965 King Mwambutsa appointed a Tutsi prime minister. The Hutus who were the majority in parliament felt cheated and attempted a coup which was ruthlessly suppressed by the army then led by a Tutsi officer, Captain Michel Michombero.
At this point in time, we left Burundi for four years and returned in
time for the events which follow. In 1972, an all Hutu organization
carried out attacks on ethnic Tutsi with the intent of annihilating the
whole group. This genocide against the Tutsi was responded to by large
scale reprisals by the military regime that targeted Hutus. One day a
helicopter flew low over our house. Jokingly, we wondered what was
happening and said, "Mayube we are under martial law." Sure enough we
were. Civil war had arrived. The total number of casualties was never
published but the Tutsi genocide and the reprisals n the Hutus are said
to exceed 100,000 at the very least and many refugees went to Tanzania
and Rwanda.
A couple of years later the disturbances settled down. There was a
vacant house at Nykarago that was rented out to an Indian for his
week-end retreat. Late one night the watchman woke me to deliver a note
that read, "This is my dearest friend. Please let him in and make him welcome." That meant I had to locate the spare key and get it to the visitors. The next morning, they asked to "borrow" an ironing board and some milk. It was up in the day before we realized that our guests were the
president, Michombero, and his retinue. We invited him over that
afternoon for tea and we had a pleasant visit. He "played" the piano
and enjoyed himself immensely. We had been to Kenya that summer and I
got some cups with big animals on them. He was impressed with the
elephants, lions and giraffes on the cups. He gave me a gift of canned
meat. It was dark and had small bones in the can. We never did figure
out what it was.
Again, we left the country in 1975 and escaped the events which follow. We stored all our household goods and left the country for a scheduled leave, fully intending to return. However, the government had different ideas. They began to expel missionaries. Some had only 24 hours to get out. I am glad that we were not present for the atrocities that took place in subsequent years.
In 1976, after we were gone, another Tutsi, Colonel Jan-Baptiste Bagaza led a bloodless coup and promoted various reforms. In 1984, Bagaza was elected head of state. However, he suppressed political opponents and religious freedoms.
Major Pierre Bogoya, a Tutsi overthrew Bagaza in 1987. Peace still did not reign. In 1988, the death toll was put at 5,000 by governments, but some consider it to be low.
Back and forth it went. I will not try to recall all the political maneuvers. Suffice it to say, an estimated 250,000 people died between 1962 and 1993.
In 1993, Melchior Ndadaye won the first democratic election and became the first Hutu head of state. In October 1993, Tutsi soldiers assassinated Ndadaye, which started more years of violence between Hutus and Tutsis. An estimated 300,000 people mostly civilians were killed. It appears that things have settled down again. We can only hope that the elections that are going on now will be peaceful.
Southern Most Source of the Nile River - in Southern Mountains of Burundi
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Slow Mail with Love Letters from Africa Tell the Story
By: Gene B. Little
