Every time I make a trip to Bujumbura’s market, I go into sensory overload. The colors, sounds, smells, and heat are almost too much to take. Stalls are in such close proximity that approaching one onion vendor means telling five others that you are not interested in their product. A cacophonous chorus of sounds engulfs the large covered market– from vendors yelling, “buy from me, buy from me,” to the blaring music for dancing street performers, and to the excited greetings of friends coincidentally meeting while buying bananas. Customers and vendors brush up against you at every turn, and groups of boys selling plastic bags tap you on the shoulder every few meters to inquire if you need a convenient plastic device to carry your purchases. Moving from one vendor to another poses the acrobatic challenges of attempting to find an empty inch of space to squeeze into while dodging men carrying large loads on their shoulders and yelling the equivalent to “Outta my way!” Meanwhile, I hear a distinct “squishing” sound every few steps as my shoe’s sole forms to the discarded fruit and vegetables on the market floor.

Lately the unpleasant chore of shopping in Bujumbura’s central market has been made absolutely unbearable. Mischievous children have taken to a new form of entertainment: yelling “bomb” in a crowded market. The last trip to the market lasted only thirty minutes, and I heard “bomb” yelled on two occasions. Controlled chaos became absolute insanity as vendors, customers, and bag boys moved all at once, as if in a wave, from one side of the market to the other. Soldiers followed to look for the bomb, but after realizing that it was another false alarm they began to look for the boys crying wolf.

Since the July 11th attacks in Kampala, Uganda, and the subsequent announcement by an Al-Shabab spokesperson that “Burundi will face similar attacks soon,” officials in Burundi’s capital city, Bujumbura have taken notice and strengthened security measures. At the central market, a likely target according to many, the number of soldiers on patrol increased significantly. Fruit vendors, previously stationed on the periphery of the market, have been told to move for the sake of security, as have the many bus and taxi services.

Despite the new security measures, I can’t help but feel that they won’t do much. I wonder how effective the security changes can be in thwarting an attack and whether the changes I witnessed exist only to assuage the fears of Burundians.