A Burundi Reunion

A Reminder of Key Events

We were in Burundi from 2010 until September of 2016. It was an interesting and eventful chapter in our lives. When we arrived, we didn’t have children. I hadn’t lived and worked in a French-speaking country for about ten years, but language ended up being one of the easier aspects of the transition. Priya and I had been to Burundi once prior to moving there – a weekend trip to visit friends in 2009. At the time I had no idea we would be moving there the following year. For some reason it felt comfortable to me early on. I’m not sure what it was, but when it came time for us to move, it seemed like a natural transition. I had been working with Burundian refugees in Tanzania and shifting to working on their return and reintegration made sense. Plus, I already spoke French.

Our first child was born in 2011 and life was changing quickly. Child number two came two years later. I was traveling a lot, not only back and forth to Rwanda (also part of my remit), but to New York several times for meetings, Kampala, Amman and Rome. We went on vacations to India, Singapore, the Seychelles and the UK. Professionally, the organization was growing and we were doing some exciting work.

But things in the country began to unravel in late 2014 and early 2015. There were rumblings of a government militia training in the Congo, a lethal force that would eventually be deployed in Burundi with impunity. Suppression of the opposition was on the rise. The sound of gunfire and grenade explosions became a near nightly affair. Hopes that the country would shake off its turbulent past faded. By May 2015, the situation would come to a head. The country that by some measures was considered the poorest country in the world, would plunge into chaos. A failed coup attempt by opposing forces would result in an amplification of violence and the exodus of the vast majority of the international community, including my wife and children for a period of time. 

With two small children, we knew our time in the country was coming to an end. It took some time to sort out the transition but by the following year, arrangements were made for my move to Kenya and the Somalia program. For the family, it was a natural transition that has worked out well. For my work, it was sort of out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Over this period, we developed many friendships. This line of work is transient in nature and the international community often don’t stay for long periods of time. We stayed longer than most so we saw many people come and go. The events of 2015 had the biggest impact on our social lives, including our children, as many friends disappeared almost one day to the next. Even some of our Burundian friends were forced to flee the country.

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Now in a Different Setting

Last weekend, we reunited with several of our friends from the Burundi days. Nairobi has a certain gravitational pull for people who are connected to humanitarian and development work. It’s an East African hub of increasing importance and one that is attractive for many families.

One of the families organized the barbecue at their home on the outskirts of the city. It was such a wonderful setting and a far cry from our rather annoying urban environment. For the grown-ups, it was a time to catch up and fill in the gaps of what has transpired over the past several years. The kids, for the most part, had little or no memory of each other. Most were quite young when they played together in the lush compounds of Bujumbura. But they seemed to have fun anyway.

It was a bit like university class reunion. Aside from our Burundian friends, we were a bunch of people living in a place that we all knew would be temporary. We embraced it during the time that we were there, experienced some life-changing events, and then we all moved on. There was some effort to stay in touch but not too much – enough that we were able to reconnect in Nairobi.

It’s rainy season so they rented a tent, tables and chairs. We were a big enough group that it made it easier to host. In the end, the rain held off and it was a slightly cool but nice evening. Over dinner we shared stories. It was interesting to compare and contrast memories. It wasn’t that long ago but so much has happened to all of us since then. One thing that we had in common was the fond memory of life in Burundi. Sadly, in spite of its beauty and wonderful people, the country’s leadership continues to fail its citizens and it remains one of the poorest places on earth.

One person raised the point that after so many transitions, countries, friends, memories, etc., it’s sometimes difficult to piece together one particular chapter. There were some nodding heads when she said this. It’s something I have struggled with over the years. I’ve lived and worked in eight countries on three continents (I don’t count tour guide work in France and Italy, but I do count Rwanda and Somalia where I have had established residences). It's one of the reasons I started this blog almost twenty years ago. It's a way of documenting all of this and hanging on to some of these memories.

I have had hundreds of friends come and go over three decades of living overseas. I want to stay in touch with good friends and then time and space create a wedge.  It’s been sad to say so many farewells over the years. We often say that we’ll stay in touch but we usually don’t. It’s just not possible. But when you’re able to pull off an evening like this, it’s pretty special.