The contentious issue of land ownership in Burundi

Land is a scarce resource in Burundi, which, together with its neighbor Rwanda is one of the smallest and most densely populated countries in Africa. In a country, where more than 90% of the population live from agriculture, access to land is a synonym for life and death. During my first stay in Burundi, I witnessed the potential explosive nature of land conflicts first hand.

Les traces de Khaddafi à Bujumbura: La religion et l'éducation

La bibliothèque de l'Université du Burundi

La grande mosquée de Bujumbura

Gatumba

Impressions from my first visit to Gatumba and Burundian border with the Democratic Republic of Congo ...

The very first impressions from Bujumbura

My first impressions of Burundi collected just a few jours after my arrival ...

Time to Say Good Bye São Paulo

I am almost about to leave for the airport. I had a wonderful time in São Paulo. And I would love to come back to this country one day. I have rarely met people that are so hospitable than Brazilians. There is a great deal of enthusiasm and passion for introducing foreigners to Brazilian culture and customs.

I would especially like to come back to visit Rio and the state of Bahia. All the great music and food seem to come from this Northeastern state, characterized by the most distinctive African imprint in Brazilian culture. I am thinking here especially about the martial art of capoeira. Just an incredible artistic expression. 

Some music recommendations from Brazil

On Sunday, February 5, I went to a concert of Elomar. He is a Brazilian composer from the Northeastern state of Bahia. He is absolutely fantastic. His compositions, which include several operas, are incredible. He performed with his son João Omar, who is an amazing guitar player.

The lyrics talk about Brazil's culture and history and make many references to Brazil's period of dictatorship. Unfortunately, I don't speak much Portuguese and rely on the translations of Brazilians. This was especially a pity during the concert. Brazilian singers love to talk during concerts. And Elomar talked a lot. He performs very rarely and seldom gives interviews. So there is a lot of mystic around his personality. But during the concert, he spoke and joked and enjoyed the audience's attention. He even made fun of one of the sponsor's of his concert, Itaú, a powerful Brazilian bank and the 10th largest bank in the world. But even without understanding much of the lyrics, the Elomar and João conveyed great emotions in their voices and guitar play.

Some other great Brazilian music: Chico Buarque, Tom Jobim (remember The Girl From Ipanema?), Baden Powell, Otto, Funk como le gusta (even saw them perform at Bourbon Street), Maria Gadu

Maybe there is a God?

I took this picture on my way home today.
It happened after days and days of big troubles with my phone camera.
But when I saw this sky, I pulled out the phone anyways and tried my luck.
Mystic.

The beauty and the beast?

Yesterday, I went to Guarujá, a city on Santo Amaro island about 100km from Sao Paulo on the Atlantic Ocean. Given the nice beaches at Guarujá, it's an attractive weekend get-away for many Paulistanos. During our drive, I took these two pictures less than 15 minutes apart from each other.

<-- The first picture shows the Atlantic Rainforest, which surrounds Sao Paulo and is considered the biggest urban natural forest in the world.

<-- The second picture shows Cubatao, an industrial city hosting more than 20 different industries mostly in the oil refinement domain. It was long considered one of the most polluted cities in the world. In Brazil, it is often referred to as the "Valley of Death". The city was known for numerous pollution scandals, which led to health problems for many of its inhabitants. Even though the government has in recent years invested a lot of money to clean up the pollution, the long-term environmental damages will remain a challenge for decades to come.

Some random political observations from Brazil:

The Brazilian Constitution is known for having 'constitutionalized' almost everything (like the retirement age or property ownership for foreigners). The initial text of the constitution even fixed the interest rate of the government at 12% (a stipulation that was amended during the first year of the constitution).

Brazilian parties get 'mandatory' radio and TV time that is attributed to them according to their representation in Congress. There is one hour of political programming per day distributed among the 10 to 15 parties represented in Congress.

Voting is compulsory for literate people between 18 and 70 years old, but optional for illiterate people and people between 16 and 18 as well as over 70 years of age. Illiterate people only received their right to vote in 1985. If you don't vote, you have to pay a penalty, which, in monetary terms, is actually quite low (4 BRL). But the Brazilian government keeps a recors of your voting participation. In case you ever want to work in a public domain, you need an impeccable voting record.

Like the German Fundamental Law, the Brazilian Constitution contains a so-called "perpetuity clause", which stipulates that federalism, regular elections, separation of powers and individual rights can never be abolished.

Architecture

<-- Orthodox Catholic cathedral built in Byzantine style in the 1940s

The city skyline is mostly made up of modern skinny skyscrapers. But there are some interesting clashes between old and new architectural styles.

<-- Sao Paulo Museum of Art opened in 1968

The streets are filled with comfortable, fast buses. Many people drive German and French cars. The iphone and blackberry culture dominates Paulista Avenue.