Photo diary: Burundi

Text and Photos

by Marites N. Sison

After the war

In 1994, while most of the world was riveted by the genocide in Rwanda,

Burundi became the scene of one of Africa’s most violent and

intractable conflicts between the dominant Tutsi minority and the

Hutu majority. More than 300,000 Burundians were killed and

hundreds of thousands others were internally displaced or became

refugees in neighbouring countries. Recovery and rebuilding after more

than a decade of war remains a challenge. The government has

been overwhelmed by the return of refugees who fled during the war in

the 1990s, as well as the demobilization of former rebels and

combatants..

Coastal paradise

• View from the road to Bitare, about 50 kms from the capital, Burundi.

Heavy load

Many Burundians lack access to potable water. This young boy fetches water from a

local well.

Yearning for peace

• Burundi continues to face huge challenges as it recovers from the lingering

effects of a 12-year, ethnic-based civil war and numerous crises before that.

Top mission

• The UN is mandated to help the Burundian government and people to “devise

strategies to deal with challenges to peace and stability.”

The next generation

• Young Burundians remain hopeful about the future despite grinding poverty.

Religious life

• Christians constitute 67 per cent of Burundi’s 8.9 million population (Roman

Catholics account for 62 per cent, and Protestants, including Anglicans, 5 per

cent). The rest include ancestral believers (23 per cent) and Muslims (10 per

cent).

Creative spirit

• Burundi drummers are a class of their own. They combine the pulsating energy

of their drums with graceful dances.

Celebrations

• Welcome dance

Sea of colour

HIV-AIDS remains one of the biggest challenges in Burundi.

It remains one of the major causes of mortality.