I arrived back in Uganda late Sunday, and have spent the last couple of days

Although I’ve already left, I wanted to post quickly about my last few days in

I left Burundi at the crack of dawn yesterday morning, and am now writing from

A couple of days ago I read on the BBC about the funeral of the

So a couple of days ago I posted about a political arrest and insults to

I’ve already blogged about the fact that there is no tourism industry in Burundi, despite

One of the things that’s wierd about Burundi is that all the money is different

Better late than never, here are a couple of videos that I shot at the

Yesterday, a senior member of the government (people have told me different stories on which)

There’s a new report out by Human Rights Watch on Gay Rights in Burundi –

Yesterday it was an American called Tom (also known as Chief)’s birthday, so I bunked

In the two months I have been in Burundi, I’ve got to know Eric pretty

This week has been a bit hectic. One of Brian’s aunts passed away last week,

Lisa has already posted about Bujumbura’s Musee Vivante, which we visited while she and Bryan

If you want a survivor story with bells on (sort of literally, as it’s about

UPDATE: You can now see two videos of the ceremony here. Last week I was

Nope, not the kind that blow up kids and tanks, the kind that extract nickel.

One of the things that drives me, and most of the other bazungu I know,

So while I was in Rwanda last weekend, I was able to follow up my

After Bujumbura, Kigali came as a major culture shock. Rwanda’s roads are well known among

Gordon Brown talks about how blogging and the internet are changing politics and international relations,

Cadette Nshimirimana is shy and softly-spoken, but speaks passionately about her work with CEDAC and

Willy is reticent about his time associated with the rebel Frolina movement. He tells me

Hassam Ciza, one of Burundi’s small Muslim community, did not join the rebels voluntarily. In

So, this weekend I finally made it to Bora Bora. No, not the mountains in

Over the weekend I had two experiences that got me down a bit about this

Everyone says it: Burundians love to party. On the plane out here I met a

Conseil : ce poste n’a pas été corrigé, et probablement il est plein des erreurs ! Si

Quand je parle a Clairance Mpawenimana, je lutte de ne pas pleurer. Pas a cause

Conseil: ce poste n’a pas été corrigé ; si il y a des erreurs, veuillez me

Jeanvierre Nibafasha certainly doesn’t fit the stereotype of a former rebel. She is highly educated,

About ten days ago I blogged about Moby Dick, the mosquito that was tormenting people.

I have heard a lot about Arcade Habiyambere before I meet him. A former member

This weekend Eric had a visitor from a partner organisation in Zimbabwe, who he was

Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles by Richard Dowden. He’s very knowledgable and gives good introductions

Today I set up blogs for Pierre Claver and Eric from CEDAC, which you can

Translating some things into French to put on the CEDAC website, and for general local

There’s a bit of a hiatus in blog posts and profiles at the moment as

Two pieces of news: This morning Eric and I created a site for CEDAC, which

For the last week my life has been made a misery by a single mosquito.

On Saturday myself, Brian, Adrien and an American called Pamela went for a road trip

The whole time I’m talking to Clairance Mpawenimana, I’m struggling not to cry. Not because

Barnaby is a former member of the FAB (Forces Armées du Burundi), having been in

If you’re wondering how to walk in high heels on a dirt road, the answer

In the last few days I’ve talked to a lot of people who were, in

Jean-Baptiste Simbo is gregarious, smiling and open. He is happy to admit his past as

This is the slogan for the disarmament poster campaign in Bujumbura, roughly translating as ‘lets

One of the first things I noticed when I moved to Burundi was the vast

Anyone inspired by this blog (or generally) to learn more about Burundi should read ‘Burundi:

Those who follow football will know that the Confederations cup (the winner from each of

Talking to Eric Uwimana is at first disconcerting. He was in the FNL, the last

Meeting Fabiola Nshimirimana, I can barely believe her past. Beautiful, smiling, and very pregnant indeed,

CEDAC is an umbrella organisation for former combatants’ associations led by the dynamic Eric Niragira,

This weekend I went up to Butare in Rwanda to meet up with Lisa, the

David Niyozima, a former professor of psychology at the University of Oregon, and himself a

A: They all live in the shadows of larger, richer, more powerful neighbouring countries, often

Finally got the video profile online – low res as ever but that’s the nature

The first organisation Survivor Corps Burundi works with is the Associations des Femmes Juridiques du

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLv1hvpHdbs Tourism Burundi, in song form!

As anyone who has lived in Uganda will know, they take their religion very seriously

Check this out! A group of Kenyans have translated Facebook into Swahili to make it

There aren’t that many capital cities in the world where you can be driving home

I found this article on the BBC a few days ago, about how the narrative

There is very little about Bujumbura that looks like a country emerging from a civil

I’m coming to the end of my preparations to go to Burundi – the visa

To say that Burundi isn’t well understood would be something of an understatement. Even as