Burundi is a country that does not stir the popular
imagination for most people in the world. Situated in Central Africa, with a
population of just over ten million, the small landlocked country seldom
gathers the news headlines.
In April 1994, a flight returning from Dar es Salaam,
Tanzania, was approaching the airport in Kigali, Rwanda. On board were the Rwandan
President, Juvenal Habyarimana
and Burundian President, Cyprien
Ntaryamira, returning from UN peace negotiations in Arusha. As the plane
approached to land, it was hit by two surface-to-air missiles, exploding
immediately. All twelve passengers on board were killed instantly. Few could have foreseen what would happen next. In the following 100 days, around
800,000 ethnic Tutsis and Hutus were butchered as Rwanda imploded into a
cauldron of murder. Thousands were hacked to death by machetes and millions
more were displaced, all the while the world stood still.
The neglect and the shame have meant that the world
eternally remembers Rwanda, yet no one remembers Burundi.
Even before 1994, Burundi had suffered its own internal
conflict. For decades, ethnic Hutus had suffered economically and politically
under the existing regimes. Yet in 1991, a non-ethnic Parliament and new
constitution was agreed, and in 1993 the country elected its first Hutu President,
Melchior Ndadaye. Hope quickly dissipated. Within three months Ndadaye was
assassinated by Tutsi extremists. The death of Ntaryamira and
violence in Rwanda only made the situation worse.
Yet one Burundian held different aspirations. Venuste
Niyongabo, a Tutsi from the south of the country, was preparing for the Summer
Olympics to be held in Atlanta, Georgia. As one of the world’s poorest
countries, Burundi did not have a proud sporting reputation. It sent its first
athlete to the 1988 games in Seoul and only formed the country’s Olympic committee
in 1993. With few televisions in Burundi, Niyongabo had no idea what to expect
of the games. Not only was he was to compete in the 5000m, against the feared
Kenyans but in a race that he had only ran twice before!
For athletes nowadays, the biggest fear before entering into
a big competition is injury. For Niyongabo, a week before the 5000m finals, he
learnt that Burundi had suffered yet another military coup d’état. With few
details and poor communications with the world, the Burundian delegation in
Atlanta had no idea what was going on back home. Niyongabo had no idea what was
happening with his family.
Yet on 3 August the as the athletes prepared to run, at the
height of a civil war, the Burundian nation stopped to listen to their radios. According
to some reports, rebels refused orders as they listened to Niyongabo compete.
It was to become a special day for the whole nation as their man beat all the
favourites to stroll home and take gold, the country’s first Olympic medal. It
caused great celebration within the Olympic village as everyone partied.
According to one report, the Burundian Minister danced despite the fact he was no
longer a Minister.
The world, now fully aware of African conflicts and obsessed
by tribal enmities, asked Niyongabo whether his win was for the Hutus or the
Tutsis? Niyongabo replied that his win was for the whole country.
Burundi did not suddenly drop arms and stop the conflict.
The ugly civil war continued for almost another decade, killing around 300,000
people and displacing many thousands more. Yet reports unravelled, similar to
the Christmas Day truce in World War One, that on that day soldiers were told
not to fire their weapons and celebrate Niyongabo’s success.
Niyongabo never went onto gain the same success as he did in
Atlanta that night. His career was blighted by injuries. Yet he spurred on a
legacy for which he can be proud. Burundi has sent athletes to every Olympic
Games since 1996 and continues to emulate the victory of its only Olympic
medal. Niyongabo now lives in Italy where he helps promote friendship and
fraternity through sport. We can only hope that in London we see the same.
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