3 young Burundians from three universities trained since March 2014 in Peace building and Good governance at Arusha, Tanzania have recently come back. The scholarship was given by the EAC in partnership with GIZ.-By Yves Didier Irakoze
Michel Ndayisaba: “sessions were very interesting and instructive because we saw that peace is possible and can be built without wars or conflicts between people.” ©Iwacu
“The training was of a so paramount importance that we saw how some countries like Ghana, Liberia,… knew periods of conflicts and how afterwards they gained peace and became the model of other countries,” points out Alexis Arakaza, a participant in the training. The program was really genuine because it taught us how to be responsible and good leaders. It also showed us how to treat opponents of different ideologies not as enemies. “The conflicts are sometimes caused by individual interests that people need to reach. But, we have to know that conflicts or disagreements are not always bad or wrong. People have to bear in mind that we can live together with those we don’t share the same ideas, highlights Arakaza.
According to Michel Ndayisaba, from the Bujumbura University “Lumière” who also participated in the training, sessions were very interesting and instructive because we saw that peace is possible and can be built without wars or conflicts between people. This can be successful if leaders are so integrative and punish the conflicts’ agitators.
“We took the example of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda ICTR based at Arusha, that deals with the authors and authorities involved in genocide especially those who incited people to kill each other but also “Gacaca”, a particular local court for common people like those who killed their neighbors with knives or machetes,” says Ndayisaba.
Concerning good governance, Ndayisaba mentions that there are indicators that are taken into account. Leaders should respect political stability, the government’s effectiveness, impartiality, the rule of law, fight against corruption,…
Michel Ndayisaba reveals that the remedy on the issue of corruption is that leaders must act with integrity and rigour and this depends on the area where someone has grown up, how he has been educated,…
The Burundian youths appreciated the training
According to Ndayisaba, EAC youths have been chosen to follow this training program because their place in EAC is meaningful while they are the tomorrow’s leaders. “It’s up to us to share what we gained with other fellow Burundian youths. We are sensitizing other students in order to avoid violence especially on the eve of 2015 elections,” points out Ndayisaba.
For Gilbert Niyongabo, Chairman of EAC Youth Club at Bujumbura University “Lumière”, he got benefits from the program because he realized that it’s very crucial to agree each other and respect others though they have different ideas and ideologies, they have to gather what set them apart and move forward.
“We should know that good democracy is the one that takes the viewpoints of the population and not the one built around individual specific interests. This should be considered at all levels of the people, i.e. from the authorities to governed people,” concludes Niyongabo.
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