Interview with Liberate Nicayenzi, MP

Liberate Nicayenzi, a member of Burundi's national assembly representing civil society, is the most senior of her group serving in the country's institutions. She is also a member of the organisation to promote the interests of the Twa. On 22 Sept., she spoke to IRIN in Bujumbura about the plight of her people. QUESTION: Mrs Liberate you are from the Twa ethnic group and an MP in the national assembly. You are also a member of the Unissons-nous pour la promotion des Batwa (UNIPROBA) organisation. When did you create your organisation, what were your objectives and how many of them have you already achieved? ANSWER: Our organization UNIPROBA was created four years ago. Our main activities are the promotion of Twa people in various provinces of the country by increasing the knowledge of Twa people through meetings, for example . The other objective was to enrol as many Twa children as possible in primary and secondary schools. Our objective was also to secure land for the Batwa by applying to the relevant government authorities. The other objective was to develop pot-making skills ... and to teach them other skills such as carpentry, brick and tile-making or livestock keeping. In short our objectives are anything that can develop them. Uniproba also assists orphans, widows and the Twa who were jailed due to the current crisis. We also created this organisation after realising that the Twa people had been neglected and international laws on the protection of minorities did not apply to them. Q: Did you achieve your objectives? For example how many children have already been enrolled in schools? A: This year we sent about 1,000 children to school. Some are lacking school materials. We get assistance from humanitarian organisations. The government seems to ignore the plight of Twa people. It is as if it has not yet understood their problem. We have a number of students in secondary schools. We have been assisting them with a little money to help them pay school fees and buy uniforms. Following our application for land, in some places the Twa have been given land while in others they have not. I don't know why. The government is aware of the fact that the Twa have no land and the problem is easy to solve. Q: What kind of assistance would you like to get from humanitarian organisations and other donors? A: We would appreciate very much if they supported us in our development projects and help us to have international laws on the protection of minorities or people on the verge of extinction respected here in Burundi. We would like them to urge the Burundi government to give us equal rights as enjoyed by others. We believe the unity of Burundians should not only apply to Tutsis and Hutus but to everybody, without distinction. Q: Hutus and Tutsis have been holding meetings so as to share power. Have you put forward your proposals or have you been promised anything? A: We are still waiting. We hope they will remember us. The constitution says that no ethnic group or sex shall be segregated. So we hope it will be put in practice. Q: Did you speak to the mediator of the Burundi talks about that? A: We were not even given an opportunity to express our views. No Twa participated in the Arusha talks. The talks took place between Hutus and Tutsis only.... We feel bad to see Burundians still ignoring us as in the past and behaving as if we do not exist. They talk about us but ignore us when it comes to implementation. For instance, the president [Pierre Buyoya] yesterday or the day before yesterday said Hutus and Tutsis would each make up 50 percent of the army and added that Twa would not be forgotten. This is of great concern to us. During his visit to Burundi, [Nelson] Mandela said they would each contribute 48 percent and the two remaining percents would be reserved for the Twa. We wonder if the Twa people will be added on the 100 percent. Q: Can you tell us the highest post currently held by a member of the Twa community? A: Twa people do not occupy important posts in the Burundi government. The highest post occupied by a Twa is that of Member of Parliament and it is one only. We hope they will remember us during the formation of the transitional government. In the local administration a Twa can only be a nyumbakumi [leader of a set of 10 households] for other Twa people. We have no zone head, no commune administrator, no provincial governor, no director, in short we have nothing. Q: Women in Twa society say they, too, are segregated. As a person who is doubly segregated can you tell us the specific problems faced by Twa women? A: Twa women have a lot of problems. They provide for their families. If they don't make pots for sale, their children cannot be fed nor clothed. Twa women do not visit hospitals or participate in meetings. Consequently, they lag behind in many areas. That's why their life span is very short. They get married illegally and consequently are often thrown out by their husbands. Men marry as many times as they wish and other Burundians don't care and they let it happen. Twa women are poor in everything. They have no clothes, no shelter etc. A Twa woman repairs the family thatched house. She does not participate in development meetings and she does not know how to defend her rights. She is either at home or selling her clay products to sustain her family.