Reconciling Youth and Police in Bujumbura, Burundi

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Context

Today’s Burundi is marked by the 2020 election period and the new COVID 19 pandemic having a negative impact onthe  health situation and social and economic conditions.. In managing both situations, Burundi decided to .apply all measures to protect population against the Covid 19 excepting the national confinement. The population is continuing going on with its daily activities. Public services meeting a considerable number of people such as local market, schools, churches and elections campaigns still ongoing too. To contribute to this current context, IPB is continuing peace activities in respecting the social distancings and the hands washing requirements. It’s an opportunity for IPB to sensitize to the population on the measures to respect as given by the Minister of Health.

Brief summary

Three activities were performed during this quarter; five HROC basic workshops, (ii) one HROC basic workshop with university students,  (iii) one HROC  Follow up  with secondary school students.

 Activities Description

Five (5) HROC basic workshops.

Fifteen HROC facilitators facilitated five three days HROC basic workshops in five targeted provinces in framework of thei project entitled "Contributing to violence prevention and civilians protection before, during and after the 2020 elections in Burundi."

This project aims at engaging youth and local authorities in trust building and prevention of violence through trauma healing workshops and establishing EWER mechanisms in five target provinces including: Bujumbura Rural, Bujumbura Mayorship, Bubanza, Cibitoke and Makamba. Twenty five (25) participants attended from each province forming one hundred twenty five (125) participants in total.

Some testimonies

Richard

I am coming from a family of nine children. I am the last born and only one of my brothers and I are albinos. At eight years old my father registered me at primary school. I felt very glad of starting my intellectual training; however, this lasted for a short time due to the fact that from the first day in my primary school up to now in university, I have been marginalized because I am an albino. I was always rejected by my classmates. Some of them didn’t want even to approach, talk or play with me without any reason. Due to that, before the trauma healing workshop, I was always having a feeling of guiltiness, fear and shame, anxiety, sleeping difficulties, lack of appetite and a feeling of isolation. After receiving the teachings of HROC and sessions of listening, everything changed and I started a process of healing. Today things changed in me since I was reintegrated and considered by organization and I am feeling personality as other people and I’m confident to myself of my capacity to contribute for good coexistence in Burundi. I am engaged to work hard in order to contribute in fighting against this plague which is trauma.

Félicité

What wounded me mostly was the fact that I’m accused of being a curse. This was developed since my first fiancé died twenty days before our marriage. All my community and neighbors didn’t want to accept that no complicity I have played in that death. It took long time to get a new fiancé. Finally I got new one and got married to him. Unfortunately, our oldest son fell down in a septic fosse and died too. Today I leave a life of someone who lost where to flee and I don’t know what to do. What is for sure is that the family didn’t expect something good coming from and I have developed the same thinking from them. As consequences of this situation I live in, I developed isolation, fear of being killed one day and never mind about community wellbeing and other trauma symptoms from those we come to learn.

What is good for me is to understanding that I’m traumatized and learn ways to overcome from it. Other special thing for me is to learn that life must continue after traumatic experiences. It was good also to getting opportunity to hear from other’s traumatic experience which is comparable or very touching from mine  I commit to care for community wellbeing mostly the 2020 election to be peaceful once in Burundi history. More thanks.

HROC Follow up

IPB conducted a HROC follow up with secondary school students on April 14 ^th, 2020. Twelve students participated including 9 females and 3 males. Following are some testimonies.

Eliane

Before attending the HROC basic workshop, I was always frustrated by everything, even the simple ones since I lost my mother. This went on diminishing after the three days basic workshop.  I didn’t want to hear someone saying the word "mother". Whenever it happened, I had to isolate myself from that place for many hours.  I was unable to listen to anybody. If there are questions to respond to, I must insult this person or cry.

Following teachings I got from the workshop things changed day by day after accepting that my mother died and those who still having them could miss them as I did. It’s good to have this follow up to continue expanding my healing. I took time to assist those living under the same situation as I did before attending HROC program.

Herriette

I lost my father when I was still a little girl of four years. He loved me and I loved him too. This was aggravated by the fact that he was killed by a family member. It was difficult for me to understand and accept this act in my inner heart. I grew very with a heavy anger toward the rest of my extended family and I had developed idea of revenging myself whenever I could have means to do it.   

Since I attended the HROC basic workshop, I understood that I was traumatized and that all bad things I was planning was the consequences of it. That was forbidding me to build my future life which was a must.  I had difficulties to assimilate my studies. Today things changed because I do have good memory and I continue to practice what I learnt and I know that life must continue after traumatic experiences. I’m thankful for IPB that accepted me to follow this program.

Tatiana

Since I lost my father, I grew up without joy. I didn’t support to hear a child calling his father. I felt to understand and accept that I had no father. I expected always to meet him one day. During the three days’ basic workshop, I listened with more to other student who are orphan of father as I was and finally I accepted that I lost him and that I will not meet him any more. After that I felt joy coming as I saw other laughing whenever it’s needed. I created opportunities of joy with my peers and I succeeded. These teachings came the right time on my side. I’m thankful for that and I’m sensitizing them when other orphans asked me where I got the joy I do have and how I changed. I wish to see many young students getting this teaching

HROC basic workshop with universities

IPB conducted a three days’ HROC basic workshop with universities on April 15 till 17, 2020 at IPB-HROC compound. Twenty participants were there including 14 males and 6 females.

The engagement of youth in trust building and prevention of violence through trauma healing workshops was the key.

The COVID 19 situation and the way to fight against it was also discussed too. Following are some testimonies:

Elysee

What hurt me a lot is the death of my friend killed when we were together at a bar. A young man that we didn’t know up to today came and told him, “Lie down”. My friend respected and the man told me, “Leave here without looking back”. I left but with huge fear. Arriving very far, I called the police to letting them know everything that happened. The police tried its best in order to reach very quickly at the place. Unfortunately, they found there a dead body laying on ground. I am feeling bad; I still remember everything we were doing together. His family told me that I was one of the wrongdoers. However, my father witnesses that I was his best friend.  That touched me a lot. I still don’t believe that I will find another friend like him. After following the trauma healing workshop and got time to share about my traumatic experience. I entered a process of healing and I felt at easy. This rebuilt in me trust in the community.

Evelyne

I was traumatized by the death of my mother. I grew up with my father alone. After some years, my old brother adopted me as a single man. Later on, he got married and told his wife, “this is my young sister Evelyne I’m her father and mother”. The wife didn’t accept that. After some years, she asked me to go back at my parents’ home by telling me that she was not my mother. I had lived a difficult life whenever my brother was not at home. She refused to give me something to eat. I remember some days when I passed the whole night outside of the house with great fear. After some days, I decided to get married in order of leaving my sister in law’s house. This didn’t give me a smooth daily life after developing isolation and other trauma symptoms and its after effects or consequences.

After following HROC basic workshop I come to know what is trauma, its consequences and the way of overcoming from it.  .

More thanks to IPB-HROC that organized this workshop. I wish I should benefit other workshops and I advocate a similar workshop in all province of our country.