Day 3

Bujumbura: 18th July 2009

As we prepare to leave Bujumbura and travel to Bukavu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, I am filled with conflicting thoughts and feelings. Burundi is stunningly beautiful. Bujumbura, on the northern shores of Lake Tanganyika with its golden sandy beaches surrounded by distant mountain ranges should be a holiday hot-spot full of relaxing tourists. But chillingly the inviting waters of the lake, like Burundi itself, are haunted by hidden monsters.

Beneath the surface of Lake Tanganyika swim some of the world’s largest crocodiles. The largest even has a pet name ‘Gustave’. He grew enormous on the victims of the genocide thrown into the Ruzizi River that flows between the DR Congo and Rwanda into Lake Tanganyika.

A few years ago, UN peace keepers from South Africa set out to hunt him down. They wanted revenge for two of their company who were snatched by a giant crocodile while carrying out exercises in the lake. But Gustave is considered a national treasure, protected by the state and the search was called off.

In 2002 the government of Burundi committed to a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and a special court to try those responsible for massacres and human rights abuses. But progress has been painfully slow and the commission is still not up and running. Those responsible for the 1994 genocide and previous massacres in 1972 and 1988 remain free. Many are in positions of power. Like Gustave they lurk, hidden beneath the surface.

To avoid this fear and tension from bubbling over again, the international community must focus its gaze upon Burundi and give this troubled country the priority and assistance it needs. This time, they might be able to prevent another “never again” tragedy from happening before it takes place.