Posted
October 13, 2016
Today
is the anniversary of the death of Burundi's national hero, the guy
associated with this African nation's independence: Prince Louis
Rwagasore.
When
I think of European nations that colonized the world, I think of
England and Spain, of course. Right after that, I think of Portugal and France and
the Netherlands...and...and Germany.
But
I totally didn't remember that Belgium, too, colonized a few regions
of Africa, including the areas now called the Democratic Republic of
Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi.
Prince
Louis Rwagasore was the son of King Mwambutsa IV. He started to
attend university in Belgium, but then he dropped out to work with
other activists in an independence movement against Belgian rule. He
started a cooperatives to encourage economic independence of Belgium
– but the Belgian government banned such co-ops. Then he started a
political movement called UPRONA. He tried to plead with fellow
Burundians not to allow the colonial government to “divide and
conquer” the Africans by turning ethnic group against ethnic group.
He challenged Burunidans to boycott Belgian stores and to refuse to
pay taxes to the colonial rulers.
All
of these sound like peaceful civil disobedience, the kinds of actions
made famous by people like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr.,
Cesar Chavez, and Nelson Mandela.
Of
course, the Belgian rulers didn't think such calls for civil
disobedience made Rwagasore a hero – they thought they made him a
troublemaker. He was placed under house arrest.
Still,
UPRONA and Rwagasore won in a landslide in the election of 1961, and
Rwagasore was declared Prime Minister. He had a mandate to prepare
Burundi for independence...
And
then...
 |
| One of Burundi's postage stamps pays homage to, not just their own assassinated leader, but also the assassinated U.S. President John F. Kennedy |
Rwagasore
was assassinated on this date in 1961!
The
assassin was a Greek man who was accompanied by three members of a
pro-Belgian political party. Some suggest that the Belgian colonial
government had Rwagasore killed, but an official investigation into
this possibility never happened.
Of
course, Burundi still became independent, the very next year. A
person can be killed, but often it is very difficult to kill an idea.
Here
are some of the best in Burundi! Enjoy!
 |
| Karera Falls |
 |
| Lake Tanganyika |
 |
| Kigwena Natural Forest |
Also
on this date:
Plan
ahead:
Check
out my Pinterest boards for:
The way you weave storytelling into your posts is captivating. I always look forward to reading more.
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