Burundi-Before+Refugee+Crisis

HOME
=Life Before the Refugee Crisis=

(1)

**A Burundian Mwami (prince), circa 1852.**
The earliest inhabitants of present day Burundi were Twa gatherers. The Hutu and Tutsi peoples began to arrive in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries from areas of Sudan and Egypt. Under German rule, Burundi became part of German East Africa in 1885. In the early 20th century, Burundi came under Belgium rule and shortly thereafter became a League of Nations mandate under Belgium control along with Rwanda, called Ruanda-Urundi. Burundi's mandate was overridden upon the formation of the UN, but it did not become independent until 1962. For more information on Burundi's political history, please see the Politics Page. (5)

(2) Agriculture is the biggest industry Another industry is manufacturing of small consumer goods like soap and shoes
 * Economy**:
 * ===A Burundian Tea Farmer===
 * exports include: coffee, tea, cotton, maize, bananas, tapioca

There is a large Christian presence in Burundi, 3/5 of Christians in Burundi are Roman Catholic. Christianity was spread in Burundi under German and Belgian rule in the 19th and 20th centuries. Roman Catholicism has been a source of conflict because of the blurry lines between church and state which seem to favor Hutus in its economic and social policies. The other predominant religions in Burundi are based on indigenous beliefs.
 * Religion and Tolerance:**

Burundi was traditionally (and is presently) composed of three main ethnicities, Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa. For more information on Burundi's different ethnicities, please see The Traditions and Culture Page.
 * Ethnicity:**

=**Children:**= (3)

An FNL Child Soldier
Since independence in 1961, many factions of all sides of the conflict have turned to recruiting child soldiers.

**"Children are sometimes tortured to extract confessions, and most have no access to legal advice or representation," -Alison Des Forges, Human Rights Watch**
The rebel militia Forces Nationale Pour la Liberation (FNL) most often utilizes child soldiers. These children are often arrested and charged in the criminal justice system as adults. For more information on child combatants in Burundi you can visit [|UN: Children and Armed Conflict] and [|Human Rights Watch: FNL Child Soldiers] to learn specifically about FNL child combatants.

=Women:=

(4)

A Burundian Woman who was the victim of assault

 * Since its independence, women in Burundi have been the victims of atrocious human rights violations and have had few legal rights (mainly concerning; divorce, property rights, and inheritance).** Another problem faced by women in Burundi is polygamy. Men often marry several women to have them work as laborers on their farms and disown them after the harvest. This is a great hardship for women because, it's very difficult for women to find other means of income in the predominantly agricultural economy outside of their family incomes.Visit [|Burundi Women: Under Attack] for more information on the human right atrocities committed against women and to take action. This website allows you send a message to the Burundian president urging him to take action against the discrimination of women and bring perpetrators of human rights crimes against women to justice. (6)

Sources:
(1) __Mwezi__. __Collection de Photos d'Epoque__. 26 Apr. 2007 <[|http://homepage.mac.com/trondsc/Burundi/History/3.LeRoi.html>.] (2) Walhin, Isabelle. __Muramyva Province of Burundi__. 2005. __2005 Photoshare Contest Winners__. John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. 26 Apr. 2007.  (3) __Ex-FNL Child Soldier Getting a Haircut__. 2006. __FNL Child Soldiers in Burundi__. Human Rights Watch. 26 Apr. 2007 <[|http://hrw.org/backgrounder/africa/burundi0606/>.] (4) __Victim of Assault__. __Burundi: Women under attack__. Amnesty International. 26 Apr. 2007 <[|http://web.amnesty.org/pages/bdi-240204-action-eng>.] (5) "Culture of Burundi." __Countries and Their Cultures__. 2007. 6 May 2007 <[|http://www.everyculture.com/Bo-Co/Burundi.html>.] (6) "Country Profile: Burundi." __BBC News__. 15 Mar. 2007. BBC. 26 Apr. 2007 <[|http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1068873.stm>.]