"We See Reflections of Ourselves"

The actors dramatizing IRIN’s popular Kirundi radio soap opera, Tuyage Twongere (Let’s Talk) say their own lives and experiences are mirrored in the story.

Felix Nkinahoruri plays the comic rogue, Mbuzukwongira: a lazy drunkard, father of two, who sells the family belongings - even the beds - to buy beer.

“I was probably given this role because it used to be me!” laughs Felix, who has recently come home to Burundi after spending many years as a refugee in a camp in western Tanzania.

“I used to love to get drunk, I loved women, and used to spend all my money on beer and come home with nothing for the family,” Felix admits. “Now I’ve cut down on drinking and take better care of my family. I couldn’t carry on playing this character, which is trying to help people change, without first changing my own behaviour.”

Tuyage Twongere follows the lives of the refugees as they return home to Burundi. Life exiled in the refugee camps was fraught with issues – the breakdown of families, rampant domestic violence and rape, high HIV infection rates, aid dependency and moral despondency.

But the repatriation to Burundi has brought conflict over land and property, pressure on weak or non-existent essential services, upheaval among families, and issues of justice and reconciliation to the fore.

Photo: IRIN

Amida Juma says playing the part of Mawazo in "Tuyage Twongere" transformed her own life

Amida Juma plays the former mistress of Mbuzukwongira, Mawazo. Once flighty and callous, her destiny changes when she is raped in the forest. She transforms herself into a role model by accepting responsibility for her own life and settling down to raise her child.

“This drama has changed me,” says Amida. “I used to be a woman who looked down on people and treated them without respect. My humanity was buried deep inside me. Now, I respect myself and others too.”

The actors in the IRIN Radio soap opera belong to a refugee drama group called Yagirabandi. Almost half the members have now returned from the camps to Burundi, where they are regrouping. IRIN currently records episodes of the drama on both sides of the border – Burundi and Tanzania – to reflect the reality on the ground.

Tuyage Twongere is broadcast twice a week on five radio stations in Burundi and Tanzania.