By Antoine KaburaheThe photo of the arrival of the “President of the Burundian Diaspora”, posted by the organization’s Twitter account, has generated a lot of comments. It indeed shows “the President of the Burundian diaspora” welcomed under high protection. Many have wondered about the message that the organization wanted to convey through these photos. A
Par Antoine Kaburahe
The photo of the arrival of the “President of the Burundian Diaspora”, broadcast by the organization’s Twitter account, generated a lot of comments. It indeed shows “the President of the Burundian diaspora” welcomed under high protection. Many have wondered about the message that the organization wanted to convey through these photos. An arrival under high protection supposes that the “President of the Burundian Diaspora” is in danger and deserves protection. Or when the situation in the country is tense. In both cases, the photo is in tune with the situation. Now, does “the President of the Burundian diaspora is in danger” ? I do not know. Is the situation tense in Burundi? This is not what the authorities and several diaspora vacationers in the country say. But beyond the photo, the legitimacy of such a title, “President of the Burundian diaspora”, returned in several posts on Twitter. Several Internet users have asked from which “diaspora” it’s about. As a reminder, according to statistics, there would be more than 300 thousand Burundians dispersed in Africa, Europe, United States, Canada, Australia, etc. Many wonder how one person can be the “President” of all these diasporas. Indeed, abroad, Burundians organize themselves with more or less success depending on the country. To be “the President of all these Burundians in the diaspora”, it would therefore be necessary to have had the backing of all these organisations, through an election for example. Has such consultation taken place? Not to my knowledge. It would be a daunting task.
To return to the photo which is the source of many comments, for my part I think that it does not send a very positive message. Imagine in his host country, the friends, the neighbors, the colleagues with whom the “President of the Burundian Diaspora” take the bus or metro every day. What do they think of this country at the sight of this photo? If we want to show the peace, the beauty of Burundi, to attract investors, instead of the policeman with Kalashnikov, for example, we had to put our beautiful Miss Burundi and her two runners up at the reception with a huge banner: “Welcome Mr. President of the Burundian Diaspora”.History makes me (in spite of myself) a member of the Burundian diaspora. I therefore wish a good stay in the country to my de facto president.