Africans In China

“So when will China elect it’s first black president?” I posed this question to my Chinese friend Clark sitting across the table as we enjoyed some really good Japanese food. (It’s good to have a break from Chinese food every now and then!) I think this question caught him off guard as he looked very confused and immediately answered, “It is impossible!” The day Obama was elected I was very proud–proud at how far we had come as a country and excited at the historical magnitude of the event. I won’t lie, I would have liked to have been in the US for just this day, but on the other hand being in Beijing on election day gave me some insight into how the “other side” sees American politics.

The shared excitement over Obama’s victory led to many conversations about race, politics, and culture between my Chinese friends and I that ended up giving me the best insight I have into for a long time…

It is easy for us (as Americans) to assume that the whole world is like us–or at least that they want to be like us. As I have travelled here to China and even lived in a dorm of other international students from countless other countries, I see just how different America is than much of the world. I tend to over-criticize our country and point out her flaws more than most. This is not one of those flaws…

I love America. I love America because she is the unwanted step-child of the nations. We are a people of people. A culture of cultures. Although I have always “known” this to be true, seeing a country on the opposite end of the spectrum has aided in my perception. After I asked this question about Obama, I realized a very simple conclusion–China is not just a country. China is a race. China is a people. China is a language. China is a culture. China is China. The idea of a “non-Chinese” being president makes absolutely no sense. After this revelation, I frantically started thinking to other places– Germany (language, race, culture) –Japan (language, race, culture) — Korea (language, race, culture) — and the list goes on.

A terrible feeling came over me– I call it “perceived cultural illegitimacy”. As an American i suddenly felt like an overshadowed, sickly orphan boy wandering through the rows and rows of defined cultures wondering who I was and where I really came from. Who are we? I asked this out loud with a dismayed look and my Chinese friends didn’t really seem like they knew the words to make me feel better! Think about it– Anyone can be an American. Within 1 generation, any family can fully become English speaking, voting, working, Americans. This includes Chinese, Mexican, Japanese, Senegalese, Kenyan, French, or anyone else you can think of. Who are we? We are us. This is the beauty of America that keeps bringing me back to her even in times of my deepest discouragement…

We are indeed the great experiment– a hodgepodge of peoples from every corner of the globe all coming together to risk a new life. America is beautiful because it is for anyone and everyone. We see this so much that we tend to take it for granted. Living in China for the past few months I have began to appreciate the beauty of diversity. Here, everyone knows I am not Chinese. I will definitely never be president here- no matter how much time I spend here. In America you can never pin-point the “foreigners” or the “real Americans.” Some attempt this and in doing so deny the very fabric of our flag –the very definition of our land. We are us. Whatever your political persuasion- you have to be in awe at a country where it is possible that the son of a Kenyan immigrant and Kansas woman can become president where just 50 years ago he would have been denied even the most basic of rights! That is something to be proud about. American identity is both a blessing and a curse. One one hand, we lack the kind of national unity and understanding that is so present in a place like here in China. We are a mutt-country. On the other hand, we were an experiment that worked– a beautiful bouquet of the world’s most colorful cultures coming together in one land.

American is a young country. We are a country that is constantly evolving and re-inventing herself. This is so incredibly different from this ancient culture that is had made me question my own identity. Here, family and ancestry is so important. It’s all about where you come from and who you come from. Some friends of mine who say they are “from” Shanghai although they had never been there–their family is from Shanghai. In a culture like this, how can an American not feel slightly left out? They want to hear me say I am British/Irish/German, but I am not-I am American–but what does that mean? Who are we? We are American. WE–And thank God it’s not just people who look, talk, and believe like me.

As I have come to appreciate and love this side of America, I realize the danger in creating our own “pseudo-nation.”With a recent rise in racist events and anti-immigrant behavior, it seems like many people need a lesson on America. I have met many people in the States that seem to imagine a Chinese-type society where everyone shares a race, language, and culture. (Coincidentally, this is white and English speaking.) I’m sorry–you can’t have it both ways! America is not like this. We never have been and we never will be, and the sooner people realize that the better off we will all be off! If you claim to be a patriot, then you need to love the real America–not the idealized and uniform version you have built up in your culturally monolithic communities. I love America precisely because she is a country unable to be defined– a country of countries. I love this America–complete with all the blacks, whites, Hispanics, Asians, and languages involved.

America is a passionate idea or it is nothing. America is a human brotherhood or it is chaos. ~Max Lerner, Actions and Passions, 1949

America! half-brother of the world!
With something good and bad of every land.
~Philip James Bailey

(http://matthewdb.blogspot.com)

A while ago when Barack Obama beat Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary, I wrote a blog to explain why it was unlikely for him to pick the latter as his running mate. I used “handsome” to describe him, and one of the responses was “What? Do you consider Obama handsome?”

Sure, I think he is a good-looking guy. But soon I was drowned out in the debate as more and more people joined my challenger and questioned my aesthetic wisdom.

So, I tried to think from the perspective of an ordinary Chinese netizen, without the knowledge of Obama’s eloquence, poise or his insight on race relations. He may not be as eye-catching as Denzel Washington, but he can certainly score pretty high on the point of physical attractiveness.

Surprisingly, many disagreed with me, and their thinking process was very interesting. For example, I thought slim was good in this era of body image consciousness, but many Chinese netizens seem to have got their standards of beauty of black Americans from telecasts of NBA games. One said it took him a while to recognize “black beauty” and now that Obama does not look like a typical NBA player it is hard for him to be categorized as physically appealing.

In fact, so many respondents cited NBA as their biggest exposure that it is not a stretch to say people like Kobe Bryant have become the benchmark for China’s youths to size up black males. Where does that leave Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman and Hollywood’s efforts in shaping global perception of black Americans? Obviously, not half as effective as the ubiquitous basketball player as far as China’s vast basketball fan base is concerned, and they have not even experienced the magic of Michael Jordan.

Chinese and blacks seem to occupy two ends of the aesthetic spectrum. A lot of trends started by blacks, such as hip-hop, reached China via middlemen like white American and Korean singers, losing much of the authenticity in the process. Even then, it is somewhat jarring to see a Chinese youth, with soft-toned skins and smaller features, don the XXL-sized attire of striking colors, which compliments a black teenager so naturally.

On the other hand, martial arts flicks reach the black demographic through mainstream channels like Blockbuster rental and mass-appeal products such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It is not an exaggeration to say that the middle ground is firmly in the hands of Middle America, whose aesthetic values serve as a filter for exchange between non-white ethnicities and races. For example, unless for a function of ethnic diversity, a black would not wear an African tribal dress, nor would a Chinese put on a Tang-style costume. Most likely, they would both sport a business suit because it is the sartorial middle ground. If they do appear with their traditional garb, the outfit will be judged against the suit.

For a Chinese without constant contact with or exposure to black Americans, Obama’s look can only be extrapolated and evaluated by being imagined as a white person. It simply cannot be done. I have come upon a diary of a young Chinese journalist who did a comparison of Condoleezza Rice and Madeleine Albright, and it was condescendingly unfair. I guess the only black ladies familiar to a regular guy on a Beijing street are Whitney Houston or Halle Berry.

It has dawned on me that movie star beauty is an inaccurate barometer for a whole race. It may distort perception. The best way to get rid of misunderstanding and prejudice is to know as many people as possible of the race or ethnicity previously unknown to you. By then you’ll be able to see Obama - not as another Denzel Washington or Kobe Bryant - but as a charismatic politician that he is.

E-mail: raymondzhou@chinadaily.com.cn

(CHINADAILY)

8 August Friday night Beijing time was as you already know a great day for the whole world and Chinese people in particular. Chinese demonstrated to the whole world what they are able to through the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. Not many people think that either England or its former colony South Africa will make a comparable party to the world in 2010 and 2012 respectively. We may have to wait for more decades to see, not an event of the kind but an event of the same or comparable taste.

I was watching the ceremonies with other many Burundians and friends mainly Africans at Nanjing. Only Burundian girls seemed to have deserted the city. Every body was cheering Zhong guo jia you and Qind dao beer was of course present at the party as always. We were waiting to see the team representing the country of Runyonga: Burundi and its President Nkurunziza Pierre could be seen siting beside other many head of states.

Unlike Burundi which had just 2 girls and one guy representing him, big nations like USA were represented by a huge number of people and hailed from wherever in the stadium.

It was a time for all nations especially the small ones with less world wide reputation like Burundi to say: Hail , I m here, I do exist, this is how I look like, common look at me and see how I m beautiful, this is my flag . No much time to say how good is the economy, how many inhabitants in the country,how long is the history, how good at football is the President or the date of independence and whatever you would say when introducing one’s country.

What would you do if you are to introduce yourself or your friend to a such huge number of people without saying even one word ? You want them to know not as much as they can from you but only the best and in few minutes without speaking ?

It’s hard I can imagine and it’s even harder when introducing the whole country. Big well known countries just need to demonstrate their power to maintain their reputation but for some countries it’s just a moment to say they exist and try to give a better image to the world.

The Burundi team seemed to have experienced difficulties or if I can be specific they got it wrong: they walked barefooted and dressed in old traditional way to mean I don’t know what. Something you will see no where but in traditional dances. The costume of the guy on the picture above is for dancers INTORE and it’s used only when dancing. Don’t expect to see Burundian dressed in such way on your trip to the most beautiful mountainous country of Africa. I won’t say any thing about the girls, the world most beautiful ever in the world but unfortunately it’s not easy to see trough the picture.

Especially in Asia, where not few people still believe that in Africa we live on the trees, a such way of dressing give a wrong impression. It does in any how give a good image to the country. I m happy that all other African countries have already understood that. See some teams pictures:

I said Burundi got it wrong because it wasn’t a moment to show how a country is or used to be. It wasn’t about the history but the best about ourselves or what we would like to be. The rest should be kept at museum or for traditional performances. I m not saying that we should hide from the world that we used to make clothes from trees ( UMUMANDA) and not from cotton before the the Germans invaded us, I want to say that “when at Rome do as Romans do”.
Daniel

In 1884, at the request of Portugal, German chancellor Bismark called together the major western powers for a talk on a negotiated solution to the questions over the control of Africa which 80% of territory was still under traditional and local control. Bismark wanted to expand Germany’s sphere of influence over Africa but have seen dangerous the fact that western powers were struggling with one another for territory.

Fourteen countries (Denmark, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands,Russia, Portugal, Spain, Sweden-Norway, Turkey, and the United States of America) participated to that conference and four of them (France, Germany, Great Britain, and Portugal) were the major players in the conference, already controlling about 20% of Africa at the time.

The conference obtained the neutrality of Congo and Niger Rivers mouths and basins and they were opened to trade for all the Colons. However, despite its neutrality, part of the Congo Basin became a personal kingdom for Belgium’s King Leopold II ( and was named Leopoldville : meaning Leopold’s Town) and under his rule, over half of the region’s African population died.

Even after the conference, the same give and take continued depending on the influence a country was gaining or losing. The map above is 30 years after the Berlin conference European powers claims, they had fully divided Africa among themselves into fifty countries

• Great Britain desired a Cape-to-Cairo collection of colonies and almost succeeded though their control of Egypt, Sudan (Anglo-Egyptian Sudan), Uganda, Kenya (British East Africa), South Africa, and Zambia, Zimbabwe (Rhodesia), and Botswana. The British also controlled Nigeria and Ghana (Gold Coast).
• France took much of western Africa, from Mauritania to Chad (French West Africa) and Gabon and the Republic of Congo (French Equatorial Africa).
• Belgium and King Leopold II controlled the Democratic Republic of Congo (Belgian Congo).
• Portugal took Mozambique in the east and Angola in the west.
• Italy’s holdings were Somalia (Italian Somaliland) and a portion of Ethiopia.
• Germany took Namibia (German Southwest Africa) and Tanzania (German East Africa).
• Spain claimed the smallest territory - Equatorial Guinea (Rio Muni).

You can see that some of the participants such as USA don’t have any claims in Africa, at least that what the map tells us. I wonder what their part was or if they wanted just to waste their time ( 3 months of negotiations) negotiating something they didn’t want.

More than 100 hundred years after the Bismark conference more super powers have emerged and of course want exactly what the former wanted and Africa is on the Agenda.

Africa is now meant to be independent, and more than 50 African countries are members of the UN. Their masters are now called partners. They didn’t easily give up their title of masters but have lost it after long fights. They are now called partners and not masters but you don’t need to be a politician expert to notice than they don’t act differently. Even a software engineer like me knows that Africa is not yet independent.

With China and India economies booming, Africa, the continent which have been fueling all the economies: USA and Europe from the slave trade era to the modern era, is for sure still needed for help and ready than ever. However, Africa is already divided and the traditional super powers have already traced their borders.

The world economy is exactly in the situation of 1884 when emerging industries were in luck of enough raw materials. China and India are in need of the food of their machines and Africa had got plenty of them.

China, which has been seeking relationship with Africa since the Mao’s era, has recently boosted it’s cooperation with Africa. It’s worth mentioning that Chinese cooperation with Africa is not matter of yesterday as one would think when reading news around internet. It’s just recently that we are being told all the time about the “disastrous China-Africa cooperation” by western media.

Even though China-Africa cooperation is not a matter of yesterday as I said previously, it’s just recently that we are being told frequently that : China is invading Africa, China is devouring African resources, Congolese kids are dying mining for Chinese companies, China is giving weapons to Mugabe and Sudan to kill Africans and many more. China have been in Africa a long time ago but was not a treat to the masters’ interest in any how. However now days, building on the long time relationship it had already with Africa, China has aggressively and quickly used it’s friendship with Africa to get economic interests and many deals are being signed despite the cries from West.

In the modern worlds, every country is meant to have right to choose its partners and West have lost the title of Master. They are supposed to be and are called Partners and not masters even tough they play the later.

The West now have two choices:

- Give up Africa and leave it with China and concentrate to their own economies. They have had enough time ( more than 100 years) to steal Africa and it would not be surprising that Belgium has now more gold than it’s colony : Congo. In terms of raw materials, I don’t doubt that Europe has enough stock for their industries for decades to come.

The consequences would arise if China managed to help Africa develop itself without the West: I don’t want this to happen just for the sake of international security. Imagine Africa as a world power without any help from Europe with the history of slave trade and colonization and all the killings of African nationalists that followed and all the made in Europe civil wars . I don’t want to have an image of a bad, criminal, bandit, … white man because really it’s not true. I’ve got very good white friends and I can say they wouldn’t be unhappy to hear Africa is developing. Even though I fearlessly can affirm that the Evil of Africa is white, I have not doubt that the White is not the Evil of Africa.

-A second choice is to really engage Europe in the development of Africa : that would be very good. Africans would easily forget their history and treat the West as a Partner not as an enemy. The current generations of Europe would have reason to reject the responsibility of their ancestors actions arguing that they would have acted differently if they’ve born before the slave trade like we do when blaming those criminal who killed Jesus. Who would not benefit from that ? None.

The consequences of the ideal solution are two:

* That would mean investing money, I mean money and not the aid, not financing unproductive made in Europe projects. That would come to a cost but there is no doubt that the West is able to handle it.They have got enough to invest and much of the benefits would still go to them.

* An other alternative that I think would not be with less consequences, is the independence of Africa. Africa would then seek economic and political independence. Imagine an Africa with nothing to report to the World Bank or the IMF and a decision maker in World Trade organization. Europe would find itself in situation of one of African partners like China and India. Africa would cease being just a natural resources provider but a hub of heavy industries. The cost of natural resources would rise and the European industries face the treat of cheap African goods on their market in application of their own rules of World Trade Organization. With the experience they have with China I don’t think they are ready to accept that.

Unable to stop China “Invading” Africa, they have lost their mind as you can see in this video, and they are now fighting on two fronts:

- Demonizing China however and whenever they can: we are now being told whatever about how Chinese actions in Africa is disastrous. We are told of a China “devouring” Africa and sponsoring dictatorship in Africa, undermining the “good efforts” of promoting good governance and democracy from the West. A Congolese kid mining is mining for Chinese companies, a gun which shoots innocents is made is China, …. the very very very very … bad China. However we all know that China is not the first supplier of Africa in any thing but infrastructures. I don’t say and even doubt that Chinese sell weapons in Africa. But unless those made in West are made in way they recognize innocents and only kill bad guys, they should not be the first to criticize it.

However this is doomed to fail: Chinese don’t care of the cries from the West and are on their way to Congo, Angola to name two, building roads and all kind of infrastructures quickly and silently. You see a bad Chinese enemy of Africa and a good European friend of Africa on the net and TV and you see in the street a Chinese building road and Europeans working in many so-called humanitarian aid organizations driving Mercedes and BMW in the Chinese made road. What to believe ? What you see or what you heard or read ? “Blessed are those who believe without seeing ” the Bible says but here we can both see and hear.

-Westerners are not stupid, they play all the cards but know which ones can win. They know they are not going to succeed telling to Congolese that Chinese are stealing their minerals if they can see made-by-Chinese roads, rail ways, hospitals,universities and schools. They have heard from long time that their country has got plenty of gold and diamonds and have got nothing from them but their people dying in mines for the past 100 years. Building a hospital and taking tons and tons of gold doesn’t matter for them because they have mined to death for someone else and didn’t see the hospital. What Westerners media haven’t understood is that Africans don’t know the price of natural resources because they have never seen salvation from them. Telling them: “hey look at Chinese they are devouring your diamonds”, doesn’t really produce expected results.

They know that they are doomed to fail and are now seeking for a 1884 Berlin like negotiated solution over the sharing of African resources. They have now to allocate some parts to China and India otherwise they risk loosing all. The “good” idea of not fighting but sharing Africa is again from Germany but not at Berlin but Bonn.

Bellow is a communique for the conferences

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However if negotiations are not yet finished, the new Bismark is going to have many challenges. China have got good reputation in Africa and Africans are willing more than ever not the right to choose their partners because that’s too demanding maybe, but the right to choose their master is seen as a must have one. They West will need to impose their practices to China what it’s impossible because Chinese will not be welcomed in Africa unless they show themselves different from Westerners. Would you hide from a river in the lake ?

China then is in a good position and has high needs and may ask a big part and why not even asking for the whole thing ? The 1884 Berlin participants didn’t get equal portions. India comes also with not a small appetite and they should wait also Russia because it hasn’t said the last word. How if our Brazilian brothers and Sisters join the game ? Maybe it’s not like football, otherwise they should also think twice.

I would like to attend that meeting because it’s not going to be the 1884 Berlin way for sure.Nothing shocking at all will be said. Partnership in helping Africa will be the main topic for sure and it sounds nice and sweet. There is no doubt that the black continent will be invited to attend. I m afraid the true negotiations will have been somewhere else. Wait and see.

Time will tell.

Daniel

We note that globalisation makes all economies more inter-dependent, but it benefits developed countries more while putting most developing countries, especially small and vulnerable economies and the least developed countries in Africa, at a disadvantage and subjecting their economic security or even state sovereignty to severe challenges.

This from the BEIJING DECLARATION OF THE FORUM ON CHINA-AFRICA CO-OPERATION of the ministers in charge of Foreign Affairs, foreign trade and international co-operation, economic or social affairs from China and African countries in 2000.

I m not going to explain all about globalization now, I think I did it a bit in my other article. What I want you to notice here is that our leaders have seen already that the size or the economic forces (or both of them) of a country are sine qua none conditions if we want to survive in the today’s world governed by globalization principles. I wonder if our brothers ( African ministers in the forum) tried counting how many they are. Three football teams with their goalkeepers and reservists at least ,representing 800 Millions of people, sharing two things : poverty, a potentially rich land and world poorest area : Africa.

They have no doubt that our economic security and our state sovereignty (and God only knows if we ever had them) are at risk. Is that a truth? I think that is more than a truth. A country like Burundi, like Rwanda , like Gabon and bla bla bla blaaaa have no future in today’s system. What I don’t know is if their trips to Beijing will be a long-term solution. Why can’t we unite? Why would we think that frontiers drawn by Europeans: French, Belgians … (and God only knows how much they love Africa) are intangible.

Think twice and tell me why?

See u soon for more comments on this declaration but the first thing I hate to see, is the picture of a such forum. More than four dozens of African presidents : does it please you ?

Daniel.

In my previous article about internet usage in Burundi, I was afraid to explain more about Globalization and recommended my readers to ask more information to those big fat economists with post doctorate degrees, lecturers in well respected institutions.

I heard the term globalization (Mondialisation as he used to name it in french) the first time from my chemistry teacher Augustin Nzohabonayo surnamed Gotos when I was in high school at Buta Seminary in South of Burundi. He used to tell us that globalization just means: “Being the best, keeping the secret and absorbing the weak ( the poor)” ( “Etre premier, Garder le secret et Absorber le plus faible”). I m not a good translator, I encourage every one to give a better translation to some who may not understand french in comments.

When I appeared for interview in 2002 for a Chinese scholarship, I was expecting some questions about relativity theories and all of those biology, mathematics and chemistry related problems that you probably wouldn’t want to meet in your whole life. I also had memorized all I could about Chinese geography and history. I was also worried that my english wasn’t good enough to express freely myself.

I felt a bit happy when I heard them talking to me in french. After introducing myself to that smiling lady, I got two simple questions: what do Burundians in general know about China ? and the second: what is globalisation and how it does affect Burundi ?

For the first one, I couldn’t start vomiting all I had read in books. Should I have said that my Mom also knew the longest river in China and all those Tsing dynasties in the books and history teachers heads ? I have learned a lot about Chinese history and Geography in school, but the beer I drunk at the graduation day seemed to have erased all of it from my head. I had to read again several books. They think Chinese are too many, I said . The woman nodded but the man at her left side couldn’t understand well french . She explained in a language witch at that time was still a whole mystery to me.

The second one was too embarrassing, even though I have had some classes of Economy in high school, I had followed sciences option (Scientifique B) which means I was stronger in sciences, literature and economy not being my cup of tea. I remembered that my economy teacher gave some lessons about it but couldn’t really remember even the definition of globalization. I had to base my explanation on the assessments of my chemistry teacher to explain it. Everyone in my class had taken what Gotos was always repeating as a definition of Globalization ( Being the best, keeping the secret and absorbing the weak ( the poor) ) as just a joke. He used to repeat them without comments while teaching chemistry. I m not saying that I explained well the concept and gave a magic strategy to Burundi to profit from it but the truth is that, the results outcome showed I passed the interview and I was given a Chinese government scholarship.

According to studies conducted by PIPA two out of three Africans have a positive view of the effect of globalization on their lives. this is a strong majority reaching as high as 82 percent in Ghana and 79 percent in Kenya. However Africans(60%) think rich countries are not playing fair in trade negotiations and these can also be as many as 88% in Ivory Coast and 72% in Zimbabwe.

“These findings suggest that Africans are eager and willing to join the game of world economic integration even as they have resentments that they are being treated unfairly by the wealthy countries.” Steven Kull, director of PIPA, comments.

In today’s article, before a series of articles that I will put in the 101% wrong category , I decided to talk a bit about Globalization even though I m not an economist because it will come very often.

Globalization (or Globalisation) has many definitions but the widely used by economists is the following: “The diminution or elimination of state-enforced restrictions on exchanges across borders and the increasingly integrated and complex global system of production and exchange that has emerged as a result.”

Try searching on internet and more definitions including politics, culture and whatever will come up. Some people confuse Internationalization and Globalization : the former refers to the importance of international (between or among nations) trade, relations, treaties etc, and the later means erasure of national boundaries for economic purposes.

Previously I said that most Africans according to studies, have a positive view of the effect of globalization on their lives. The chart below is often used by globalization advocates to praise it. In this chat they show the difference between Sub-Saharan area, China and the reste of the world.

This is the poverty rates in countries, such as China, “where globalization has taken a strong foothold “, compared to areas “less affected by globalization”, such as Sub-Saharan Africa, where poverty rates have remained stagnant. I hope you noticed what the big ecomist say: Sub-sahara is the less affected by globalization. This is a big lie , they are 101% wrong but that wil be an other topic.The evidence is that Sub-sahara Africa is the only place on this planet where poverty , instead of decreasing continued climbing for the past 20 years. Have a look at the chart yourself for your information if this is new to you.

Africa let’s repeat it is the looser in today’s modern economy based on globalization. Why ? Are our leaders too stupid to find a way out of poverty for their people. Do they luck love or just not educated enough to make it. The answer for some of you I know is the combination of all of above and many more. from Nigeria to Congo we saw presidents who probably had nothing more in their minds than stealing Africa. We never heard an American or French president who did the same. If we are to hear the same story, it will probably come from Middle East, South America or some Asian countries . Why not in Europe or North America ? They are Christians you probably would tell me and I know they are the ones who brought Christianity to Africa.

Manasse Nzobonimpa, one of East African Community and Burundi General Assemblies member was telling us last week that he once asked to some students in Europe how they see their schoolmates. Some are smarter than us, others as normal as we are and others even less smarter than us. They said before he asked why then Europe is not like Africa. The economic differences between Africa and developed countries discourage Africans at the point that one of my friends from Tanzania started talking about some theories about a probable curse from God that I won’t tell you here because it would be a long history. I will probably write about it but you may need to wait because talking about such useless and meaningless things is not in my priorities.

Explaining why Africa has lost it’s way to the prosperity is not easy thing and I m not smart enough to do it in a year or two. But if you are ready for a conclusion before introduction: Africa is only lucking Unity. We need a United Africa to move. I don’t mean East African Community or African Union, I mean, Yes I mean and I m not dreaming the United states of Africa.

Hey guys,

I m very happy that many people are reading my blog. Google analytics showed me that I have received 320 visits from 29 countries within 3 days . The good news is that 69 of them are visits from Burundi; the mountainous beautiful country in the heart of Africa, the country of Rugamba Rutanganzwa, Runyonga et Samandari wa Mandaranga, the home of, Gustave and the world most famous drummers ever. Who said we don’t use internet in Burundi?  No need to mention that Burundi is also the home of world most beautiful women, that’s deserve to be an other topic.

I m very happy of that. Currently my blog domain names are www.daniel.rugamba.com, www.blog.rugamba.com

To make life easier for my audience, I have given to my blog a new domain name : www.gakiza.com

You can use it to access my blog.

Thanks for visiting my blog again

Daniel

I received some complains from some anonymous people regarding my blog.

The guy said I m violating people’s private life but he/she didn’t explain further except keeping insulting me. If anyone feels unhappy or just want me to change in somehow, feel free to contact me. I m not going to answer to anonymous people anymore . If there is any contents on my blog u judge offending, let me know. The intent of this blog is not to offend anybody. I m not refusing that I may have caused some damages to some people, but I also need to know it. While I promise to apologize if true, I don’t promise you to keep quite for next time.

“You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you don’t do too many things wrong.” Warren Buffett.

This quotation from the world richest guy says it all. If you are doing every thing right, you are doing nothing.  However, I encourage and ask everyone to keep giving me advices, even insults if that is what you have.

But when u do it , remember to give valid contact details, emails like personal@life.man will have no answer and their comments will not be published.

Thanks very much for ur cooperation .

Daniel

Did you get it ? RIRUBU. That’s Kirundi, my beautiful mother language. But it should be written like this: RIRA UBU which means cry now. One more word BURURI. And Bururi, besides that it’s a name of a province of Burundi, I don t know if it has any other meanings or its true origin.

So what the hell is this ? Do I want to teach you Kirundi? Eh ben , you need to pay for it if you want . I want to tell you a story if I can call it a story I heard during my visit in Burundi and Bururi as well. RI RU BU is BU RU RI reversed. Put BU in place of RI and u are done. From the name of a province to “Cry now” !

If you don’t know Burundi and its history, Bururi is a province in the south of Burundi, which gave birth to presidents MICOMBERO, BAGAZA, BUYOYA (BUYOYA 1,2 and 3). They ruled BURUNDI for nearly 40 years Maybe not too many for 3 presidents if you are a Togolese or Congolese but many Burundians think so. Not only they are all of them from BURURI, they are also from one commune called RUTOVU and took power by military coup d’etat. Shall I remind you that they are Tutsi ?

It’s time to sleep. No time to finish the story.

See u tomorrow for the next part.

Recement, quand j’ai lance mon blog, j’ai ecrit que mes articles seront exclusivement en Anglais (ou Kirundi si ma Maman le demande). Raison evoquee : mon ordi a un clavier anglais.

Je viens de changer d’avis (pas d’ordi). Je vais aussi ecrire en francais car j’ai vu que pour donner mon avis sur differents articles qui se trouvent sur les sites burundais, il est imperatif d’utiliser le francais.

Dans les articles a venir alors, attendez-vous au francais.

Ir.Daniel

Hello from Daniel

Thanks God, I have finally decided to lunch this blog. After years of hesitations.

This blog which is officially lunched today (5th July 2008 ) will be a place where I will be sharing every moment I m spending on this planet with you and the generations to come. I’ve had wonderful moments with friends or alone with my computer or in that adoration room at Saint Peters Church room 111. However, I’ve been keeping all of it in myself and now can’t take the risk of exploding with it any more. I’ve decided to share it with u guys.

My blog will be in English and some Kirundi maybe in case my mom would ask. No French please. I have an English key board and after six years far from french accents, writing french with my english keyboard is a nightnmare and I m not going to complicate my life because of that.

I don t also care of my english syntax, as long as u can understand what I write, it’s ok for me. This blog is not a good reference for those who want to improve their english.

My articles will be covering my daily life and my opinions about what I see here and there.

Thanks and many thanks for reading my blog