August 2009
11 posts
Return to Uganda
I arrived back in Uganda late Sunday, and have spent the last couple of days wandering around the town, revisiting my old haunts (except the legendary Bubbles, which will come later in the week). I’m also catching up on sleep – as you might have gathered from my last post on all the parties in my last few days in Burundi, I didn’t get a whole lot of sleep, and the bus ride was pretty tiring. It’s...
Last days in Burundi
Although I’ve already left, I wanted to post quickly about my last few days in Burundi, which in many ways summed up why I love the country so much. On Thursday, I was able to meet Marie Rose, one of only two female ex-combatants who are Members of Parliament (on which more later), and she told me more about the country’s reconstruction plans and what the government is doing to help women...
Leaving Burundi
I left Burundi at the crack of dawn yesterday morning, and am now writing from Kampala, Uganda. I’m gutted to have left, I miss the country already, with its tiny town centre, its beautiful beaches, its brochettes, and of course my friends, Burundian and Muzungu, who made the country so special.
I feel so privileged to have worked with some great people, Pierre Claver from Survivor Corps and Eric...
History Passing
A couple of days ago I read on the BBC about the funeral of the last British WW1 veteran, who died a fortnight ago, aged 111, and nearly bawled. A part of our history is now gone forever; there are a few others left, but only one who saw action, and none who fought in the trenches. Of course it seems ridiculous to be so upset by the death of a 111-year-old, and even more so to be sad for the...
Burundi Tourism
I’ve already blogged about the fact that there is no tourism industry in Burundi, despite its marketable assets. Today, via my friend Carol, I gained an insight into why that might be. She works in microfinance and will have some bosses from the US visiting next week, and was trying to find out if there were any excursions from Bujumbura that she didn’t already know about, so paid a visit to the...
Being Gay in Burundi
There’s a new report out by Human Rights Watch on Gay Rights in Burundi – which in pretty dire straits at the moment after a law passed earlier this year criminalising homosexual behaviour and making it punishable by up to two years in jail. The law was heavily promoted by the party of the President, Pierre Nkrunziza, who is, surprise surprise, a born again Christian. As well as shepherding the...
Playing with the boys...
Yesterday it was an American called Tom (also known as Chief)’s birthday, so I bunked off work early in the afternoon to go to Bora Bora and play beach volleyball with the marines and other US Embassy staff. Which I’m pretty sure I’ve never played before, but which was actually pretty fun. Considering that I have more or less the worst hand-eye coordination in the world, and avoid ball sports like...