Keep Africa's good-news story good

War-ravaged Burundi has made amazing gains recently. But it urgently needs aid.

from the March 15, 2007 edition

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ONUB was yet another UN success story that Western media ignored. Other good news for Burundi is also going unpublished. A new, smaller UN mission (BINUB) is now in place to support the peace process. The new UN Peacebuilding Commission has chosen to focus on Burundi. There is talk about creating a truth and reconciliation commission. The economy is picking up, and Burundi has joined the East African Community.

Those stories don't make for good headlines. Instead, if you've read anything about Burundi recently, it was probably about the arrest of people accused of planning a coup d'état. I have yet to meet someone here who believes that it was anything but an ill-considered intrigue. Indeed, 5 of the 7 "plotters" have been released. As anywhere else, there are power games here.

In addition, some journalists have been arrested for writing about this coup and digging up unpleasant stories of the past. Government sources point to the still-fragile transition and say they cannot accept "bar brawl" journalism. Journalists complain about the lack of a free press. It's a learning process, and these are minor bumps on the road to peace.

But what really could derail Burundi's peace process is the almost complete lack of international attention and assistance. Burundi's positive developments must be rewarded now to prevent regress to violence and war. For instance, demobilized soldiers want food, housing, jobs, and good education for their children. Without them, they will go back to the profiteering and killing fields. Hunger is rampant in the north of Burundi, floods repeatedly hit destitute people, and refugees are returning. Right now there are about 300,000 flood victims and famine is widespread.

The annual Consolidated UN Appeal for pure humanitarian aid stands at less than $150 million for Burundi; every year, less than 50 percent of this appeal is met. Major donors' aid machinery is dangerously slow, hampered by bureaucrats in Europe and America who don't seem to sense the urgencies.

Are we really going to have to ask one day why violence broke out again in Burundi? If it does, the main reason will be the economic misery compounded by the international community's lack of action. Donor countries still have not learned to reward peace. Even if Burundi has no strategic resources – only the world's best coffee and tea – there ought to be enough generosity to save the lives of countless people there by giving $150 million for 2007. It is the equivalent of the daily cost of US troops in Iraq.

Burundi can continue to be a good story of peace-building – but only if we care enough to help it stay the course. And we must do it now.

• Jan Oberg is director of TFF, the Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research in Lund, Sweden.

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