reflecting on my time in bujumbura

it's a been a couple of days since my return, but if I don't write this now, it may never get written.

bujumbura, the capital of burundi, is very different from kigali, especially the part of kigali that I live in. the country has only recently (as in 2005) settled into some sort of democratic governance, with a government composed of parties that were formerly fighting each other. whatever sense of stability that may be credited to the government (very little, at that) is in a bit of turmoil, as the FLN (a rebel group) has stalled in final discussions of a ceasefire agreement with the government. (once I locate some good news articles to elucidate this situation a bit more, I'll post them here.)

as the country has dealt with a cycle of violence since gaining independence from belgium in 1962, there is very little to build from. what I mean in that is that there is very little infrastructure and resources with which to build the country. roads in the capital city are pitted, the electricity is cut in certain quartiers (neighborhoods) frequently, the justice system is undergoing reform as there are few trained lawyers in the country. the impact of the wars is evident in the faces of the street children. I know that I've talked about the street children here in kigali before. the number of children in the streets of buj seems to be even greater than here in kigali, though I don't know any precise numbers. this situation goes towards explaining why tourists are warned against les petits bandites at night. children steal because, frankly, they have not much of a choice, if they are to survive. the state certainly isn't able to support them and, as far as I know, there are few NGOs working in the country to help alleviate this situation.

a story: when I was walking down the street one day (during the day), a small boy called after me. not surprising, as this often happens. but he was persistent, so finally I turned around. he then handed me my business card, one that had been stuck in a side pocket of my bag. I knew that it couldn't have fallen out of the bag, but didn't really think about the fact that he had likely reached into the pocket and taken it. it was my business card after all. it had little value to me. after thanking him and continuing on, a man around my age stopped me and told me that the child had stolen it from my bag. I explained to him that it was fine, that it was only my card. thinking back on this episode, perhaps the small boy was looking for a reward for returning something to me (even if he had stolen it). perhaps it was merely to see if the mzungu would notice a small hand in the outside pocket of her bag. I don't know. but seeing the faces of these children who may be orphans of the conflict, who may have been forced to participate in the fighting themselves is clear evidence of lack of state development. where do the priorities of a state that is coming out of conflict lie? I am not trying to suggest that the burundian government has got its priorities wrong. but it does leave one to wonder where does a state begin to rebuild itself after so much destruction. these questions don't even begin to get into the issues of transitional justice and future reconciliation amongst formerly warring factions of the population, which I was trying to look at a bit more closely while I was in buj. but it does put a human face to the reality of post-conflict societies, a face that we in the western world rarely see or choose to recognize.