Burundi is rich in natural resources including arable land, natural forests, wildlife, water resources, peat, gold, nickel, and other mineral deposits. Like its neighbors rwanda and the democratic republic of the congo, the tiny african country of burundi has a long history of internal violence. International african institute royal african society social science research council u. Burundi history, east african history, books barnes. Little known in the englishspeaking world, burundi is rwandas twin, a small central african country with a complex history of ethnic tension. The legend most promoted today states that he was rwandan. The country lies on a rolling plateau in the center of africa. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on burundi, including when used in literature e. In addition to the books about burundi, you may also be interested in childrens books set in other central african countries. National economy of burundi, burundi new official language, ethnic relations and history, religion, ethnic cultural differences, government and. The first known inhabitants of what is now burundi were the twa, a pygmy tribe of hunters. I read a story to my four children almost every night. Burundis weak democratic norms, genocidal history, and the impact of contagion and diffusion of violence in the region provide a number of the conditions that could contribute to a genocide. Both suggest that the nation was founded by a man named cambarantama.
He offers documentation that identifies the source of these massacres as. Please let us know if you have more books we should add. Infoplease has everything you need to know about burundi. Samaritans purse began distributing giftfilled shoeboxes to this nations children in 2008 and launched the greatest journey, our followup discipleship program, here in 20. Austin, texas october 1, 2007 from bloodshed to hope in burundi is an eyewitness account of both a horrific and persistent genocide and of the ongoing efforts of many courageous individuals to build a more just society. A history of rwanda and burundi, two african nations run by western imperial powers until independence in 1961. Repeatedly in the history of burundi and burundian refugees as well as others, the kaleidescope on these two issues has shifted, as the saliency of one ethnic identity or the other thickens and thins. Burundian daily life has since been conditioned by the exigencies of survival in a time of civil. Two thousand years of history zone books by jeanpierre chretien and scott straus aug 18, 2006. This book drive hopes to expand the english department at the university of burundi to alleviate the language barrier.
I took the books and printed them, and now i have plenty of story books in kirundi. The worst blot on burundi s record is the ethnic slaughter unleashed upon the hutu community in april and may 1972, in response to an attempted uprising. This research investigates the past and present conflict variables of the great lakes region with a focus on burundi and assesses the potential that the. The vast majority of burundis population is hutu, traditionally a farming people. A journey of remembrance and forgiveness by tracy kidder, baho.
Between the 7th and 10th centuries ad, the hutu, a bantu agricultural people, occupied the region, probably coming from the congo basin. The genocide which occurred in rwanda in 1994, in which majorityhutu militias wiped out from 500,000 to a million of the minoritytutsi population is wellknown. See also whats at wikipedia, your library, or elsewhere broader terms. Official web sites of burundi, links and information on burundis art, culture, geography, history, travel and tourism, cities, the capital city, airlines, embassies, tourist boards and newspapers. Conflict, ethnic groups, religion, tribes, history, people 116 of 100 results for books. Burundi simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. In the 15th and 16th centuries, tall warriors, the tutsi, believed to have come originally from ethiopia, entered the area. Burundis dominant language is french, whereas neighboring countries all speak english. A history of rwanda and bu rundi, two african nations run by western imperial powers until independence in 1961.
The countrys history of ethnic strife goes back centuries. Burundi country profile republic of burundi nations. The civil war was the result of long standing ethnic divisions between the hutu and the tutsi ethnic groups in burundi. A sixnation regional proposal to send troops into burundi to maintain peace and order was devised in july 1996. Burundi history 19621993 the white paper on the real causes and consequences of the attempted genocide against the tutsi ethny in burundi 1972, by burundi ambassade.
List of books and articles about burundian history. Culture of burundi history, people, clothing, women. It borders on rwanda in the north, on tanzania in the east, on lake tanganyika in the southwest, and on congo kinshasa in the west. They always look forward to that moment, especially the youngest one, whos only two years old. Burundi was trapped in a state of civil war until 2004, after which julius nyerere and nelson mandela mediated a lengthy and eventually. Lses richard stupart recommends this book to anyone wanting an introduction to the major themes in burundian politics and history, or an. Welcome to the childrens books set in burundi section of kids travel books. Burundi has a traditional economic system in which the allocation of available resources is made on the basis of primitive methods, and many citizens engage in subsistence agriculture. From bloodshed to hope in burundi book release dolph. The author refutes the governments version of these events that places blame on the former colonial government and the church.
Nigel watts book discusses the troubled political fortunes of this beautiful yet disturbed country. Little known in the englishspeaking world, burundi is rwandas twin, a small central african country with a complex history of ethnic tension between its hutu and tutsi populations that has itself experienced traumatic events, including mass killings of over 200,000 people. The men entered the province at dawn on tuesday and were killed in the district of musigati, police official said. Hollywood icon angelina jolies latest venture, first they killed my father slated for release in cambodia on netflix midfebruary followed by a worldwide release later this year is based on this poignant book by loung ung. Webster s bibliographic and eventbased timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. The internationally brokered arusha agreement, signed in 2000, and subsequent ceasefire agreements with armed movements ended the 1993. Weaving a rich tapestry, peter uvin pitches the ideas and aspirations of people on the ground against the theory and assumptions often made by the international development and peacebuilding. In 20, burundi spent 8% of their gdp on healthcare. If 1965 consists of the first time in recorded history of contemporary burundi that people lost their lives simply because of who they were ethnically considered to be, 2015 is yet another moment in the postcolonial history of burundi that people are losing their lives simply because of who they are politically considered to be. At least 100,000 people are killed, among them nearly all hutus of the professional or educated class. Cultural identity stems from tribal affiliation rather than from any unifying national characteristic.
A history of rwanda and burundi, 18941990 tony sullivan. Burundi is rwandas twin, a small country in central africa with a complex history of ethnic tension between its hutu and tutsi populations and a deep familiarity with traumatic events, including the mass killing of over 200,000 people. The history of burundi in ancient and medieval times has been little studied. The landlocked country, a historic kingdom, is one of the few countries in africa whose borders were not determined by colonial rulers.
Located in east africa, burundi has been known for centuries, in part, for its political instability and violence between the rival hutu and tutsi peoples. Burundi, country in eastcentral africa, south of the equator. This book situates burundi in the current global debate on ethnicity by describing and analyzing the wholesale massacre of the hutu majority by the tutsi minority. The worst blot on burundis record is the ethnic slaughter unleashed upon the hutu community in april and may 1972, in response to an attempted uprising. The frequency of ethnic clashes increased, developing into a lowintensity civil war. Our embassy years during genocide focus on american history series. The vast majority of burundi s population is hutu, traditionally a farming people. List of books and articles about burundian history online research. Burundi is one of the most thickly populated countries in africa 126 inhabitants per sq km in 1969. Much of burundis angst these days is in relation to fear of rwandan reexpansionism and the tutsihutu schisms therein. Telling her story of growing up under the khmer rouge regime, ung was a privileged khmer child living with her family in phnom penh when the khmer rouge. In 1993, the countrys first democratically elected president, a hutu.
Burundis first democratically elected president, a hutu, was assassinated in october 1993 after only 100 days in office. Members of the hutu and tutsi tribes have often fought for control of burundi. History burundi issues, area, farming, system, power. Political violence and nondemocratic transfers of power have marked much of its history. In burundi, children do not starve for food, but also for story books. Burundi s first democratically elected president, a hutu, was assassinated in october 1993 after only 100 days in office. Burundis history from ganwa king to colonial rule modern ethnic typologies in both burundi and rwanda typically focus on primordial stories. Our embassy years during genocide focus on american history. The burundian civil war was a civil war in burundi lasting from 1993 to 2005. Burundi is a part of the albertine rift, the western extension of the east african rift. Much of burundis rich cultural heritage, most notably folk songs and dances, was intended to extol the virtues of kingship. Burundis article about burundis by the free dictionary.
Little known in the englishspeaking world, burundi is rwandas twin, a small central african country with a complex history of ethnic tension between its hutu and tutsi populations that has itself experienced traumatic events, including mass killings of. Its one of the few nations that survived the transition from precolonial polity to westphalian state with its original territory mostly intact, which could be a history lesson all by itself. According to the who, the average life expectancy in the country is 5862 years. Check out our country profile, full of essential information about burundis geography, history, government, economy, population, culture, religion and languages. Burundi presidents power grab is latest by a number of regional leaders to have raised term limits or bolstered their powers published. Burundis environmental landscape is a mix of highland forests and savanna grasslands. The domination of the hutu majority by the tutsi minority has not resulted in a fusion but in extreme divisiveness in terms of national identity. More broadly, the mindset of the eastern congolese agrarian is rooted in burundi culture and very little written history is available pre1850s. The conflict began following the first multiparty elections in the country since independence from belgium in 1962, and is seen as formally ending with the swearing in of. The origins of burundi are known from a mix of oral history and archaeology. Burundi is hilly and mountainous with access to lac tanganyika. Fiction and nonfiction books set completely or at least partially in burundi.