Batwa children. (Photo: Manila2Vanilla.com)“Before, we had no dignity. Now we can afford proper clothing, make a decent living, and hold our heads high,” said the leader of a Batwa community outside of Bujumbura.
A couple weeks ago, I visited a village that is home to the Batwa, a traditional, hunter-gatherer community of pygmy origins, which comprises 1% of Burundi’s population. The Batwa are spread across Central Africa, from Uganda in the east to Angola in the west. They were the first to inhabit the land that today comprises Burundi. They are also the most marginalized, vulnerable community in the country.
Burundi’s heavy dependence on land has resulted in massive deforestation and reduced availability of land. Such conditions have made it difficult for the Batwa to continue their traditional hunter-gatherer life. The typical Batwa today struggles to put food on the table by either tilling land that belongs to others (read: indentured servitude) or selling clay pots used for cooking at a rate far cheaper than the amount of labor that goes into making them.
However all is not lost for the Batwa. Several have “made it,” achieving a university education and holding steady, well-paid jobs in Bujumbura and the larger towns. A handful even hold high-level posts in the government.
The reception my team received when visiting the Batwa community was exhilarating and humbling. The women of the village sang and danced their hearts out. It was a moving expression of gratitude for how far they had come. Here is a video of the reception they gave us:
This community has ameliorated their living conditions and has been relatively successful in earning a living through agriculture and small-animal husbandry. Unlike many other Batwa, this community was not trapped in feudal farming, nor struggling to eat. But they reminded us that there remained dozens of other communities scattered across Burundi that still lived in destitution and should not be forgotten.
Central Market fire in Bujumbura, Burundi (Photo: Brice Niyondiko)Burundi: A week ago, the capital's Central Market burned to the ground. Now the tiny East African nation is struggling with rapid inflation and price hikes as rumors circle about the cause of the fire.
On the morning of Sunday, January 27, smoke filled the otherwise clear sky in Burundi's capital Bujumbura as its Central Market burned to the ground.
The market was the epicenter of the nation’s economy, providing goods to the entire country, as well as neighboring DRC and Rwanda. Food products, manufactured goods, beverages, clothing, construction materials and equipment sold at the market generated about $4 million per day.
For the past week, all of that activity has been at a standstill.
Many say the fire’s economic impact will be just as devastating as was the bombing of New York’s World Trade Center.
Burundi doesn’t often make an appearance on the world stage. Nestled in east Africa between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Tanzania, it’s one of the smallest countries on the continent, about the size of Maryland. It is also one of the poorest. The average Burundian makes about $600 a year. Decades of ethnic conflict between the majority Hutu and minority Tutsi have set back the economy considerably.
While its 10.5 million people have enjoyed peace and steady economic growth in the past few years, signs abound that the fire has weakened the country’s already fragile economy.
Though the fire was spotted at 6:30 a.m., the fire department didn’t arrive until one hour later, at which point they passively watched the blaze mount up to 20 meters (65 feet) tall, while attempting to retrieve non-existent water from their pumps. The fire started to diminish at 1 p.m. when neighboring Rwanda sent helicopters in with buckets of water. But by then it was too late. The market was already demolished, along with millions of dollars worth of merchandise and local currency.
Of the 5,000 merchants employed by the Central Market, only 10% had their products insured. Taxation up of to 53% on high-volume bank accounts meant that many merchants stored life savings in cash at their market stalls. Most of that money has been burnt to ash.
Alongside dozens of other merchants, one woman ran into the fire with her baby strapped to her back in an attempt to retrieve 500 million Burundian Francs (BIF) / $312,000 she had kept in her stand. She and her baby died in the blaze.
Burundi’s inflation, normally 11.8%, is expected to skyrocket further. Banks and exchange companies are reluctant to part with United States Dollars (USD), a currency heavily relied on for its stability and necessary to conduct business with DRC.
Signs indicate that Burundi’s currency is already headed towards a crash. The day before the Central Market fire, the exchange rate was 1515 BIF to 1 USD. At the time of publication one week later, the rate was 1572 BIF.
Burundi to U.S. Dollar rates spike after the June 27 fire.
Further exacerbating inflation is the limited availability of goods. It’s increasingly difficult to acquire food products and manufactured goods. Prices have soared since the fire. Before the fire for example a pair of mangoes was 1,000 BIF. One week after the fire, the price was 4,000 BIF.
The country-wide transportation system has also been affected. The main station with bus lines running throughout the country and neighboring countries was previously located at the market. It has now been relocated at the edge of town, making it difficult to access and causing a decline in the number of passengers. Trips throughout the country and the region have decreased, causing a reduction in transport of goods and trading revenue.
All of these factors will devastate Burundi’s nascent economy.
“What we have now is a lot of desperate people, willing to do desperate things,” said Jacques Mukozi*, a facilities manager based in Bujumbura.
In a country familiar with violence, corruption and stifling political dialogue, distrust runs high and rumors abound as to the cause of the fire, now widely believed to be arson.
Bujumbura’s Central Market fire was just one of many fires which have demolished Burundi’s markets in recent years. In January 2012, Kamenge Market, in northern Bujumbura caught fire. In 2011, Kayogoro Market and Nyanza-Lac Market in the southern Makamba Province, as well as Bururi Market in Bururi Province all witnessed fires. And in December 2010, Mutaho Market in the central Gitega Province was destroyed by a fire.
Though market fires are common in Burundi, people are struggling to understand the motivations behind Bujumbura’s Central Market fire. “Whatever someone was hoping to gain by this was just plain stupid because the economic repercussions are immense,” says Mukozi.
Like many Burundians, Mukozi hopes the country will bounce back from the fire, rather than fall into the kind of chaos the country has seen during less peaceful times.
Monday, 7:30pm: In order to avoid tax rates of up to 53% on high-volume savings accounts, most of Central Market's merchants had their life savings stored at their stalls. That explains why dozens didn't hesitate to run into the burning building yesterday to retrieve their money.
Monday, 5:30pm: I walked to the market and had an unsuccessful conversation with the police, who were standing at the road blockades leading to the building.
A halo of smoke continues to cover the structure and authorities have still not entered to recover the bodies.
There's much speculation on number of people killed and the fire's cause, but no one has any concrete information. Police had no idea how long the roads would be blocked and were, "Waiting for the authorities to give the next order." Conversations with a handful of people lingering at the blockades only repeated rumors circulating around Bujumbura.
Monday, 1:30pm: No one knows how many have died in the fire. Smoke continues to fill the market structure, making it impossible to enter and retrieve the bodies.
For lack of media information, I've turned to Twitter, which suggests that 73 are injured in hospitals and 34 are being cared for by the ICRC.
Authorities have begun an investigation from outside the structure to determine if the cause was arson or an accident. Many rumors and speculation circulate Bujumbura.
Food prices have already started increasing to include fuel costs to go outside the city to retrieve food items that are usually purchased from the now destroyed Central Market. Everyone in Bujumbura is inter-connected and will be touched by this disaster in some way or another.
Central Market the morning after a devastating fire. (Photo: StarAfrica)Monday, 11:30am: English news coverage on the fire continues to be practically non-existent, and French coverage remains limited. Several have ventedfrustration on Twitter about the lack of media attention on an event that will devastate the economy of Burundi.
Monday, 9:30am: The official death count is unknown. There is one confirmed death of a female merchant who entered the burning market to retrieve 500 million Burundi francs (312,000 USD) she had kept in her stand.
Monday, 7:00am: Authorities are assessing the fire's monetary damage, estimated at hundreds of thousands of USD. Unconfirmed reports suggest that only 5% of the Central Market's merchants had insured their goods. The loss will be devastating in this country with a per capita GDP of $600.
Inflation, normally 9.7%, will inevitably increase further. Food items are about to get more expensive for Bujumbura residents, and the country as a whole.
The local bus station, located next to the market, remains closed, limiting mobility around the city.
Sunday, 8:00pm: The fire has been contained but the market is completely destroyed. Such a sad day for a country economically hanging by a thread and lacking in sufficient entrepreneurialism.
The cause of the fire remains unknown.
Sunday, 7:30pm: The U.S. Embassy just issued a warning to avoid the Central Market area. (Woke up a little late, did we?)
Here's a video of the explosions. I've never heard this much noise in sleepy little Bujumbura.
Sunday, 7:00pm: I'm catching up on some of the French news coverage (since there's zero English media coverage on the fire). Apparently the flames reached as high as 20 meters this morning. There were a few explosions, likely the result of flammable liquids lying around. It is still not known whether the fire was an accident or intentional arson.
Sunday, 5:30pm: The blaze continues, but there are thunder rumblings in the distance. Let's hope that the rain puts the fire out once and for all.
Sunday, 4:00pm: The blaze has diminished a little, but is still going at a steady rate. Throughout Centre Ville, the air is covered with thick smoke, roads are blocked off and Burundi military line the streets.
Sunday, 2:00pm: Water is being helicoptered in by Rwanda. There are unconfirmed reports that the police, in addition to civilians, are involved in the looting.
Smoke from Bujumbura's Central Market, against the backdrop of Lake Tanganyika. (Photo: Author of Manila2Vanilla.com)
Sunday, 12 noon: The blaze continues. The second poorest country in the world after DRC, Burundi's merchants are desperate and heavily dependent on their merchandise. Chaos ensued as several merchants attempted to retrieve their goods from the flames. Witnesses watched one woman run into the fire. She did not return.
There is also looting taking place. Military are present to restore order. There are 2 fire trucks on the scene, but they lack ample water pressure to dampen the fire.
Sunday, 10:00am: Bujumbura's beautiful sky is filled with smoke this morning as the Central Market goes up in flames. Many merchant livelihoods will be lost today.
This has been an eventful week. I just returned from another trip to Burundi's rural areas, where life starkly contrasts the otherwise urban existence in the capital.
Electric power outages are daily, internet access is sporadic, and cell phone network outages are common. In addition, it's currently one of two annual rainy seasons, which means torrential rains, muddy unpaved roads, and agriculture crop flooding and failure. Fatalities from car accidents, mud slides, and chronic hunger are common.
Though over 9 million people meet regularly with such challenges, these events don't even reach Burundi's national news.
Meanwhile, much of the same was happening in the eastern United States: Hurricane Sandy swept through New York, causing flooding, electric outages, a $6 billion revenue loss, and over 70 fatalities.
I tried to find an image capturing Burundi's electric outages in the same way. No luck. So just picture the entire country of Burundi as the bottom half of this image, every day.Minute-by-minute updates of Sandy were all over international media, and even on local Burundi radio stations.
Given similar natural disaster repurcussions in both the U.S. and Burundi, what is the reason for media coverage differences between the two countries?
Inadvertent media bias, whereby certain natural disasters get more media coverage than others, is certainly at play. But another explanation could be the level of access to information.
In Burundi, information on natural disasters is highly limited. With sparse internet access and poor road infrastructure, news is primarily disseminated by radio. However, only 3% of the country has access to electrity, and with regular blackouts spanning 2 to 3 days, most Burundians lack the means to play radios. Whereas social media often fills disaster knowledge gaps in more developed countries, only 1% of Burundi has access to the internet.
In the U.S., internet is pervasive. Interactive maps detailing electricity blackouts, flooding and evacuation zones, and Hurricane Sandy's path were available on nearly every major media outlet. Everyone owns a camera and can upload photos of natural disasters in a matter of seconds. Social media fills in the gaps with hyper-local news available for each neighborhood in New York.
The plethora of information in developing countries has a multiplying effect: Media information generates anxiety, which in turn generates more media information.
Media can contribute greatly to anxiety in times of disaster. There's no doubt that Hurricane Sandy has left the northeast of the U.S. crippled and picking up the pieces of debris. Yet nicknames like "killer storm," and "Frankenstorm" didn't serve any purpose but to create unnecessary panic.
Media on the other hand can be used to help calm anxiety-ridden populations. Interestingly, one of the recommendations in this article is to process through storytelling (like this blog post, for example).
So what does this have to do with me and you?
It means that in the midst of typical cell phone, electrical and internet outages during a typical torrential storm, I spent two days in rural Burundi looking for an internet connection to call and verify that everything was okay with loved ones in New York.
I'm happy to report that everyone I know emerged from Hurricane Sandy physically unscathed. How lucky New York is that such storms happen occasionally, rather than every week. Now the task is to pick up the pieces and return to life as usual.
Outside of the continent, Africa is often viewed as a singular place, one to visit on a winter holiday, whose culture can be reduced to one style of dress or music, and whose landscapes are but a Stanley-esque "scene of rampant wildness." Media portrayals and size inaccuracies in the world map are partially to blame for that.
In 2010, The Economist published a map by computer graphics designer Kai Krause, entitled, "The True Size of Africa." By super-imposing countries over Africa, the map illustrates the continent's size relative to other countries. The image is a telling illustration of Africa's vastness. Here we see that Northwest Africa alone is larger than the contiguous United States.
Krause's map enables us to better comprehend Africa's vastness: 54-odd countries, 2,035 languages, four times as many dialects, and 3,315 ethnic groups, making Africa the most genetically diverse continent in the world.
Even in tiny Burundi, the population is comprised of three distinct ethnic groups (85% Hutu, 14% Tutsi & 1% Batwa) and has three commonly spoken languages (Kirundi, Swahili & French).
The landscapes and climates found on the continent are equally diverse, ranging from the dry, windy, desert of the Sahara Region in the north to the tropical rainforests of Central and West Africa, to the snowy peaks of Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania, and penguin seascapes of South Africa and Malawi.
In Burundi, the climate is somewhere between tropical and snowy: cool at night (about 20C/60'sF) and warmer during the day (low 30'sC/80'sF), with a couple seasons of tropical rain.
Furthermore, the whole of Africa is not as poor and desolate as the Western media and Kristofs of the world would have us believe. There are international rock stars like Ghana, who's 14.4% GDP growth rate in 2011 far surpassed that of China's 9.3%. And Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, whose 2011 government transparency scores surpassed or doubled India's and China's.
These figures are not meant trivialize the suffering that does occur in Africa. Yes, there are still areas on the continent re-living scenes of Blackhawk Down, Blood Diamond and Hotel Rwanda. And the highest hunger rates in the world are found in Africa - Burundi, DRC & Chad. However, even in Burundi, signs abound of the country's slow but steady growth rate and increasing foreign investment - new hotels, road projects and a state-of-the-art gym.
Indeed, Africa is more nuanced than just a single TED talk. Hopefully this post will create a better understanding of the continent that spans the Mediterranean to the Antarctic Sea, and comprises 20% of all land on the planet.
Batwa children. (Photo: Manila2Vanilla.com)“Before, we had no dignity. Now we can afford proper clothing, make a decent living, and hold our heads high,” said the leader of a Batwa community outside of Bujumbura.
Batwa, 
