nPostednOctober 13, 2016
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nTodaynis the anniversary of the death of Burundi’s national hero, the guynassociated with this African nation’s independence: Prince LouisnRwagasore.
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nWhennI think of European nations that colonized the world, I think ofnEngland and Spain, of course. Right after that, I think of Portugal and France andnthe Netherlands…and…and Germany.
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nButnI totally didn’t remember that Belgium, too, colonized a few regionsnof Africa, including the areas now called the Democratic Republic ofnCongo, Rwanda, and Burundi.
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PrincenLouis Rwagasore was the son of King Mwambutsa IV. He started tonattend university in Belgium, but then he dropped out to work withnother activists in an independence movement against Belgian rule. Henstarted a cooperatives to encourage economic independence of Belgiumn– but the Belgian government banned such co-ops. Then he started anpolitical movement called UPRONA. He tried to plead with fellownBurundians not to allow the colonial government to “divide andnconquer” the Africans by turning ethnic group against ethnic group.nHe challenged Burunidans to boycott Belgian stores and to refuse tonpay taxes to the colonial rulers. n
PrincenLouis Rwagasore was the son of King Mwambutsa IV. He started tonattend university in Belgium, but then he dropped out to work withnother activists in an independence movement against Belgian rule. Henstarted a cooperatives to encourage economic independence of Belgiumn– but the Belgian government banned such co-ops. Then he started anpolitical movement called UPRONA. He tried to plead with fellownBurundians not to allow the colonial government to “divide andnconquer” the Africans by turning ethnic group against ethnic group.nHe challenged Burunidans to boycott Belgian stores and to refuse tonpay taxes to the colonial rulers. nn
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nAllnof these sound like peaceful civil disobedience, the kinds of actionsnmade famous by people like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr.,nCesar Chavez, and Nelson Mandela.
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nOfncourse, the Belgian rulers didn’t think such calls for civilndisobedience made Rwagasore a hero – they thought they made him antroublemaker. He was placed under house arrest.
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nStill,nUPRONA and Rwagasore won in a landslide in the election of 1961, andnRwagasore was declared Prime Minister. He had a mandate to preparenBurundi for independence…
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nAndnthen…
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| One of Burundi’s postage stamps pays homage to, not just their own assassinated leader, but also the assassinated U.S. President John F. Kennedy |
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nRwagasorenwas assassinated on this date in 1961!
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nThenassassin was a Greek man who was accompanied by three members of anpro-Belgian political party. Some suggest that the Belgian colonialngovernment had Rwagasore killed, but an official investigation intonthis possibility never happened.
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nOfncourse, Burundi still became independent, the very next year. Anperson can be killed, but often it is very difficult to kill an idea.
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nHerenare some of the best in Burundi! Enjoy!
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| Karera Falls |
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| Lake Tanganyika |
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| Kigwena Natural Forest |
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nAlsonon this date:
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U.S. Navy’s birthday
U.S. Navy’s birthday n
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nX-FilesnDay
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nMusiciannPaul Simon’s birthday
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nNationalnChess Day
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nAnniversarynof the discovery of Whirlpool Galaxy
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nEnglishnLanguage Day
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nPlannahead:
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nChecknout my Pinterest boards for:
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
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nNovembern holidays
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nNovembern birthdays
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nHistoricaln anniversaries in November
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