Burundi best fit for Haiti

Burundi, in East Africa, and Haiti, in North America, though thousands of miles apart, share some unique similarities. One, they are both troubled and unstable countries.

Burundi’s geographical area is 27, 834 square kilometres and it has a population of 13 million; Haiti has 12 million citizens living in a 27,750 sq. km. territory (Kenya’s most expansive county, Marsabit, is 67,000 sq. km.)

The two countries are reportedly among the poorest. But the similarities don’t end there. While Burundi is just emerging from ethnic fighting that nearly tore the country apart, Haiti is battling gang violence at unprecedented levels.

A visitor to Burundi can attest to how communication barriers make it near impossible to communicate in this small East African country. Unlike all other African countries, which have multiple native languages, sometimes up to 50, Burundi only has the indigenous Kirundi that is spoken by the entire population. French and Kirundi are the official languages while an insignificant two per cent of the nationals speak in faltering Kiswahili—and only in big towns, such as the capital Gitega and Bujumbura.

And now, Parliament has voted to allow the deployment of our Kenyan police to Haiti to help contain the runaway gang violence that threatens to tear down the country.

But unlike past missions in countries such as Sierra Leone and Namibia, which are multi-lingual with English widely spoken, and Somalia, where Kiswahili is spoken, Haiti promises to be tough.  The only languages in Haiti are French and Haitian Creole.

As its fellow francophone nation, Burundi would have been the ideal country to deploy troops to Haiti for the dangerous assignment.

Mr Kamau is an author and former HR practitioner. [email protected].