UPDATE: You can now see two videos of the ceremony here.

Last week I was fortunate enough to be able to attend a disarmament ceremony in Muramvya Commune, Rutegama Province, in the middle of the country. Getting there was pretty stressful – found out I needed to be at the Gare du Nord while still in bed and about half an hour before I had to be there, so got a taxi there, and found Amable, CEDAC’s youth coordinator, waiting for me. We got a share-taxi up to Muramvya, where we arrived half an hour before the ceremony was due to start, and an hour before it actually started; Burundian time. Amable was very apologetic but I didn’t mind at all – it gave me time to take pictures of the weapons being handed in, watch the performance of traditional dancers (as well as the ubiquitous drumming group, they also had a women’s dance group, who were very good, even if the dance did involve a slightly-incongruous blowing of whistles).

I was impressed by the number of people at the ceremony – the whole town had turned out, dressed in Sunday best and patiently waiting for the ceremony to begin. When it finally began, we had speeches from Amable, a local dignatory, and a man from the Disarmament Commission. All the speeches talked of peace – I could pick out the word amahoro – and were greeted with cheers and dancing by the drummers at dramatic moments in the speeches. The speech by the representative of the Disarmament Commission went on for some time – he name-checked the President a few times and, although the crowd started enthusiastic (the CNDD-FDD are strong in this area), they were waning a bit by the end. But on the whole it was an occasion filled with celebration and hope.

After the ceremony, I had the opportunity to talk to the representative from the Disarmament Commission. Speaking in excellent English, he told me that they had up to 4 of these ceremonies a week, but that they are concentrated at the end of the month, so that there are 6 or 7 a month. He also told me that this will be one of the last ceremonies, as at the end of next month a new law will come into force making possession of a firearm illegal, meaning that the country will effectively move to a system of forcible disarmament.

This is something that in many ways makes sense – there has been a transition period, and it seems like a good idea to minimise the number and legitimacy of weapons before the election – but I also have serious misgivings. If people are holding on to their guns, they often do so for a reason; this is particularly the case in Burundi, where the army has often been a participant in intercommunal violence and, despite the peace agreement and integration of the army, many people still feel that they’d be wise to be cautious. Even more worryingly, there are risks of selective disarmament; the government can only check up on areas that politically oppose them, thus giving their supporters a monopoly of violence by the election. Finally, and less concretely, I have a knee-jerk reaction against anything that seems authoritarian; what I like about this country is precisely that it has not gone down the authoritarian route in the way that some of its neighbours have, and it would worry me if this changed. I have yet to discuss this with any Burundians (I know that Adrien and Claver are reading, so I’d be interested to know what you think!) but hope to do so later in the week, and will update with any insights they are able to give me.

Cadette Nshimirimana is shy and softly-spoken, but speaks passionately about her work with CEDAC and Burundi’s future. She is a student who has just finished studying humanities, and is now training as a car mechanic. Unlike many of the other people I have spoken to, who, once asked a question, lingered over their experiences, she talks only briefly about the war. She tells me that members of her family were killed, which shocked her, and she thought about participating – but felt she had nothing to contribute. She still feels terrible grief for her family, and even now if she sees a person with a gun her immediate reaction is to think of them as a killer. But there are millions of killers, and the problems touch everyone.

CEDAC has been vital in helping her adjust to this reaction, and she is now determined to spread their message to everyone in her community. She tells me about how she goes to talk to others in the area, giving them information and training – on AIDS, conflict resolution, human rights, their own legal rights, the election, and everything. The information is generally well received – it is relevant and useful, and she sees CEDAC as a huge influence in promoting the rule of law and working against violence against women in the quartiers. She sees CEDAC’s work as vital to bring young people together, helping them get over the terrible things they have experienced and avoid violence in future.

Talking about the future, she admits that there are dangers; she is worried that the elections will bring problems. But, she says, that shouldn’t prevent CEDAC’s work – they can work to solve these problems, and she believes that, in the end, the elections will go well. She tells me that her ambition is to work with others, explaining CEDAC’s vision and promoting development in the country – something that she is already doing, but hopes to build on.

Willy is reticent about his time associated with the rebel Frolina movement. He tells me that his decision to join them came from the loss of many members of his family in the early years of the crisis, who he determined to avenge. In 1994 he approached Frolina; although the rebels told him he was too young, like many traumatised young people, he continued to live a ‘crazy life’. Eventually they allowed him to act as a ‘traitor’ feeding them information wherever possible, a role that he continued for two years before being sent home, despite his wish to continue in the movement.  He wanted to continue with the rebels, but was sent home. Here, his life continued to be ‘crazy’; he longed for revenge, and continued to hate.

Finding CEDAC made the difference; he found a reason to life, and started to reconstruct his life, going back to school – he is now finishing his secondary school. Through CEDAC group meetings, he met others of similar ages who had had similar experiences, and was able to share what had happened to him. Through their support, he was able to pardon those who had killed his mother and brother. Although he still sees them every day, he says he has forgiven them.

Although Willy still has flashbacks of the war, he is glad to be alive and says that his old enemies are now his friends. Rather than hating and plotting revenge, he now sees his role as helping others to find the same forgiveness and peace that he has found – again, working through CEDAC, he promotes CEDAC’s work to others and participates in groups meetings to help those – such as Hassam – who are still struggling to deal with what has happened to them. As we talk about the future, he hopes that others will be able to forgive, as he has. Describing Burundi as a land of milk and honey (this is a bit out of the blue so he has to repeat it a few times before I’m sure it’s really what he’s saying!), where anything can grow and anything is possible, he hopes for economic growth to lift his generation out of poverty, and hopes to be a part of providing that growth.

Conseil: ce poste n’a pas

Jeanvierre Nibafasha certainly doesn’t fit the stereotype of a former rebel. She is highly educated, a middle-aged lawyer working in Bujumbura. But she is able to offer me a different perspective on the war; rather than fighting in the bush, between 1994 and 2004 she helped the rebels by passing them information that she was able to acquire through her privileged position as a student and then lawyer in Bujumbura. She is reticent on how she acquired this information, attributing it to ’smart conversation’ – but tells me that the work was dangerous; had she been caught she would have been treated as a member of the rebels and liable to imprisonment, torture or execution. But she did it because she saw justice in the campaign.

Since the war, reactions to what she did have been mixed; some people called her a killer, while others congratulated her. But she has not faced significant problems, especially as she protected people – she is insistent that the information she passed related in the main to proposed attacks on civilians. But she felt like a former combatant, and felt that her skills could help CEDAC’s mission to build a better Burundi, so she joined the organisation and is now the Executive Secretary of its women’s programme. She uses this position to help other women ex-combatants, many of whom suffered in the field, and are in vulnerable positions; they may have been rejected by their husbands, or their husbands may have been killed, and their children may be in an awkward position, particularly those born in the bush, whose fathers may not be identifiable. Their problems are exacerbated by widespread illiteracy among women, making it difficult for them to access and understand their rights.

CEDAC can help these women through advice, legal and otherwise, and assistance in claiming their rights. They are helping women understand how to take themselves through life without their husbands, by forming support groups of women. Through this, they help them develop means of supporting themselves without turning to prostitution, something that is common among ex-combatant women, and is linked with rising AIDS infection rates, particularly in the cities*. She says that this work appeals to both sides of her character; her lawyer’s wish to promote justice, and her wish to support other women. Asked about her hope for the future, she says that she hopes that women ex-combatants can live like others, with the ex-combatant spirit extinguished, and expresses her belief that CEDAC can make a huge contribution to peace, showing that it is possible to make a difference with neither money nor power; nothing except a vision of peace.

* The wife of a friend works on the World Bank’s AIDS programme in Burundi, and tells me that current infection rates are around 2.5% in the country, and 9% in Bujumbura, but particularly the latter figure is rising fast.

I have heard a lot about Arcade Habiyambere before I meet him. A former member of the FNL, he is the leader of CEDAC’s latest member organisation, AJIEC, representing most of the former FNL fighters Eric Uwimana told me about – those who were neither incorporated into the regular army, or demobilised receiving demobilisation packages.

Arcade joined the rebellion in 1997, when he was just 13. His father had been killed by Tutsis, and he feared the same fate. But he ended up committing atrocities of his own – killing people and burning homes. He saw friends killed, including in a disastrous attack on the airport when they attacked with 4,000 men and left with only 2,700. He was also wounded several times – he shows me the scar on his leg. Gradually he realised that it was the population who were suffering, and that the movement’s objectives no longer existed. As a result, the movement began to see the need for peace, and moved to join the peace.

For Arcade, however, this participation is seen as a failure. As the government pleaded limited means, only 3,500 soldiers were integrated into the army, and 5,000 demobilised; the unlucky, such as Arcade, received only a pair of sandals, their clothes, and 100,000 Francs – which wasn’t always paid. As he says himself: how could they return to their families like that – if they even had a family to return to. The money should have been divided fairly, he says, or not at all. This situation is exacerbated for those, like him, who began fighting as children; they have had no opportunity to gain education or skills (see that piece of Blattman research again!).

Arcade was motivated to act when he realised the treat this situation posed to peace, when he and other former comrades were approached by politicians and asked to destabilise their communities for political purposes. He refused, and formed AJIEC to advocate for better options for his members – including training, help in returning to school, and help in starting small businesses. Without this, he says – probably accurately – that the ranks of disillusioned, optionless former FNL, is a time bomb.

His organisation has existed for only two months, but has already acquired more than 11,000 members and some media exposure – the day before he talks to me Arcade was on Burundian Television talking about his organisation. Talking to him, there are some issues for concern – the complete lack of funding makes it difficult for him to do anything; even organising a football match is a financial strain, and even more worryingly, he talks about being an ‘adherent of the FNL’ in the present tense, before correcting himself! But the grounds for optimism are stronger; even someone with not even a bus fare to their name refused to destabilise his country’s future for money – and has found an awful lot of people who feel the same way and are prepared to do something about it – and taking action to improve their position while they do so. His association with CEDAC is still in its infancy – they signed an agreement at the same meeting where he talked to me – but Eric is clearly thrilled at the new partnership, and their model and organisation should be highly valuable in helping the members of AJIEC to access the training and opportunities that they need. And Arcade is ambitious; as we finish talking, he says that he hopes that his movement can be an inspiration to young people in other countries. Given Eric’s general modesty, AJIEC could be a good complement to his work.

Today I set up blogs for Pierre Claver and Eric from CEDAC, which you can visit here and here. The internet cut out before either of them could write a post (currently in internet cafe), but they both seemed pretty pleased with the pages we set up, and should be able to get blogging soon!

Translating some things into French to put on the CEDAC website, and for general local advocacy purposes, thought any Francophones might be interested to read it in their own language! Let me know if you spot any glaring errors!

Jean-Baptiste est content d’avouer son passé comme membre du FDD, un des groupes rebelles au Burundi. Il a passé quatre ans dans le maquis entre 1999 et 2003. Il a maintenant 26 ans, donc il avait 16 ans quand il avait  quitté son école secondaire à Kayanza et forcé de joindre la rébellion. Ses parents avaient été tués dans les massacres de 1993, et il avait déjà considéré joindre la rébellion, mais le reste de sa famille l’a toujours empêché. Et, peu a peu, ’son esprit a changé’, et il a ‘trouvé le rythme’ de la vie rebelle, donc il n’a jamais essayé d’échapper. Néanmoins, il dit qu’une partie de son esprit a toujours dit ‘non’, et qu’il rêvait de la vie civile. Avec quelques amis proches  auxquels  il a discuté pour planifier la desertion,ils ont refusé sous le  risque d’être découvert, et il avait peur que, s’il avait retourné a la colline, les amis du mouvement pourraient lui menacer. Mais en 2003, quand il avait eu  l’opportunité de s’intégrer dans l’armée ou la démobilisation, il était heureux de démobiliser.

Pourtant, le retour à la vie civile n’était pas une panacée. Il a toujours senti  la haine, et, pensant qu’il n’avait rien  contribué, il n’avait pas de l’espoir. Il était vu partout comme rien plus d’autre  que d’ancien combattant. Dans le centre de démobilisation il a rencontrait beaucoup des gens de l’armée burundaise, et il a encore une amitié avec beaucoup de ces gens qui ont été  démobilisés au même temps de lui. Ils font les blagues sur l’ethnicité ensemble ; ils ont passés  beaucoup d’années  en conflit, crée par les politiciens.

Après avoir eu du contact avec CEDAC, il a réalisé qu’il avait la possibilité de faire autre chose  que de  détruire, et qu’il pourrait changer sa vie. Il a réalisé que le Burundi a besoin des  gens comme lui, qui ont détruit leur pays, et qui sont prêt de le reconstruire, et que ceux qui ont abusé les droits humaines dans la guerre ont une capacité unique à combattre les abus maintenant. Avec l’aide du CEDAC, il a commencé de réparer, ou faire réparations pour, le damage qu’il a causé pendant la guerre. Il est un membre intégral du comité du CEDAC, travaillant pour publiciser leur vision et faciliter leur travaille sur les groupes de soutien et les initiatives de micro finance. Il est aussi au cœur des campagnes  pour les élections paisibles, qui a le but de sensibiliser les anciens combattants de se commettre aux élections paisibles en 2010 et de donner un exemple positif aux autres avec leur détermination.

Même comme la réintégration n’a pas été facile; ce n’était pas automatique, mais Jean-Baptiste est maintenant un dirigeant de jeunesse proéminent dans sa communité, consulté sur plusieurs issues, et il travaille pour promoter la vision de CEDAC aux autres combattants, surtout ceux du FNL qui sont en train d’être démobilisés – ou qui étaient exclus de la démobilisation officielle.

En conformité avec la vision de CEDAC, Jean-Baptiste a pris son avenir et celui de son pays dans ses propres mains ; il est survivant du conflit avec une vision positive et l’énergie de l’implémenter.