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Running is the easiest way to exercise, and everyone on Earth knows this. Whether it is fitness or sports, running is inseparable.
But Burundi's president went so far as to say that banning running was the way to put an end to war. Residents of the country who dare to get up early and jog may be imprisoned for life.
If such logic comes from the mouth of an illiterate person, at best, people will say that there is a problem with the person's brain.
If it is a character created in a literary work, the reader will feel that it is a kind of Q spirit.
It is unbelievable that the president of a country should say something that has no common sense, and is so convinced that the whole people are banned from running.
What would people's lives be like in such a country?
Walking into Burundi, a landlocked country in central Africa, you will see a poor, backward country, and a warm, upright, hardworking, simple, and often hungry citizens.
01
Burundi, like many countries in the world, has experienced a historical process from primitive, slave, feudal and capitalist societies.
As early as the sixteenth or seventeenth century, there were feudal dynasties here.
After the First World War, with the expansion of European capitalism, it was claimed by the British Empire, the German Nazis, and Belgium.
The first to loot the place was the British, who plundered the property and ignored the lives of the inhabitants. After World War I and World War II, the United Nations temporarily administered Belgium.
During the period of Belgian jurisdiction, there were no measures to promote the local economy except to find something valuable to itself.
Only take but not, and the war is constant, so that this place has not been too prosperous.
No matter how poor or backward, freedom is what everyone yearns for. In 1962, the place gained independence and established the state of Burundi.
The country began with feudal monarchy, and in 1966 the military staged a coup d'état and imposed a military dictatorship, which was a big step forward in history.
Where there is power, there is fighting, and in the days that followed, Burundi staged coups one after another, the president was killed, and power changed;
In the process of changing rulers, the already poor place has fallen into a vicious circle, and the people's living standards have always been quite low, which is simply miserable.
The most obvious is that the per capita monthly income is less than 100 yuan, and the per capita annual meat consumption is less than 15 grams, that is, less than a small spoonful. It's no different than not being able to eat meat.
Most people have never even seen meat.
02
Today, in the 21st century, many countries in the world have reached the level of national prosperity and strong people, and the people live and work in peace and contentment, while the living standards of the people here in Burundi are not as good as those of the mainland in the sixties and seventies.
In a country with a population of more than 10 million, there are less than 30,000 fixed telephones, and less than 11% of the country's power grid can be connected.
Less than 1% of the population and less than 30% of secondary school students attend university.
It's not that parents don't know each other and don't let their children go to school, it's because every family faces various threats of hunger, disease, and unemployment, and saving one's life is the first priority.
That is, trying to live first is what the people are most concerned about.
Education cannot keep up, let alone talent, looking at the whole country, you can't see the elite people, such a country survival is almost a problem, talk about development.
The country's strength is weak, and it is the common people who suffer. Compared with modern people, the people of Burundi can only be described by one idiom; Frog at the bottom of the well.
No high technology, no high consumption, no dazzling temptation. Their sky is the sky of Burundi, food and clothing are good, as for anything else, let alone not matching, there is no concept at all.
02
The bigger the world you come into contact with, the more complex your minds will be, and the more you want.
In the age of artificial intelligence, while people around the world are restless for development and improvement, the people here in Burundi have shown an indisputable state of comfort that is the envy of anxious people.
Such a comfortable state is not comparable to the pastoral life that many wealthy people in China yearn for.
That kind of countryside is relaxation after worrying about food and clothing, and the enjoyment of high-quality life.
But the countryside of Burundi is a place where people struggle to eat on the brink of hunger and cold.
Burundi is an agronomic country that relies on coffee beans and tea for 75 per cent of its economic resources.
Because Burundi is located in the plateau area on the eastern side of the East African Rift Valley, the country's terrain is mostly mountainous and plateau, and the climate is subtropical and tropical.
Such a natural environment has led to perennial high temperatures, drought is the norm, food shortage is the norm, available resources are very small, and there is no access to the sea.
The only place to admire is an airport in the capital, where the people cannot reach the dust, and in their hearts, facilities like airports are paradise.
Burundi is too backward for the State to guarantee a basic livelihood for its people, let alone provide them with too much welfare, making it the poorest country in the world.
03
Poverty and backwardness do not dampen the enthusiasm of ordinary people, and the way they strive to live makes people see the vitality of human beings in order to survive since ancient times.
On the streets of the mainland, in addition to sharing bicycles, fewer and fewer people buy their own bicycles, and most of what people see is traffic.
In Burundi, the means of transportation is bicycles, and those who have bicycles are considered rich by the locals, and are looked up to by their neighbors.
Bicycles in Burundi are not for simple travel, they have the heavy task of helping people pull vegetables, fruits, grain, beds, people, in short, there is nothing that bicycles can't do.
People with bicycles family bicycles solve many problems at home, bicycles support people's hope of struggle, people with bicycles seem to have nothing to be afraid of, always happy.
However, the vast majority of families cannot afford to buy a bicycle.
Here an adult goes out to work hard, earning less than 100 yuan a month, and this money has to support seven or eight children, this little money is a drop in the bucket for eating and drinking for about ten people.
People who don't have enough to eat can only go out to beg, but if you are hungry and I am hungry, there are very few who can survive by begging, and starvation has become the norm in people's lives.
Not only is food a problem for the people of Burundi, but their living conditions are even worse.
Most families live in thatched houses, which are naturally reminiscent of Du Fu's song "The Thatched House Is Broken by the Autumn Wind".
Stormy huts are crowded with large people, and it is common for grass huts to be destroyed by cold winds and torrential rains.
04
There is a song that sings: Life is to mend the seams, and those who use their hearts do not have to mourn.
This phrase could not have been more applicable to the people of Burundi. Food, there is no guarantee, there is no guarantee of housing, and in order to survive, having a spirit has become a must-have.
Parents always find ways to add happiness to their children. Some pick up broken bottles and process them into toys for younger children to play with. Older kids play with bike tires that can't be broken anymore.
Carefree children under the scorching sun and adults in distress make up the street scene of Burundi. People almost live on their own, sick and have no money to see, and don't know where to look.
Take 10,000 steps back and say: If you can be so peaceful, you can also be poor. But the lives of the people are like arrows drawn on the strings, and they will not know when to leave this world, and the average life expectancy here is only more than fifty years old.
It is dangerous to pull goods by bicycle, there are mountain roads everywhere, there are many downhill roads, the car is loaded with nearly 500 pounds of goods, it is difficult to step on the brakes on riding, and the speed is as fast as 70 km / h;
If the brakes are suddenly applied, the person will be ejected far away, often with the head broken and bleeding.
Sometimes it's too tiring to go uphill, and people risk putting their hands on the back of trucks from out of town and letting the trucks run with them for a while, and because of this, car accidents are common.
People without bicycles also have a way to survive, and they choose to do something more dangerous, which is to go fishing in the lake.
They made a simple canoe out of sticks and put it in the lake. Sometimes as soon as you enter the water, you will be swallowed by crocodiles. Sometimes, a fish can't be caught for a day.
Life is so difficult, people are still optimistic, they will sing praises for the safe return of goods, they will pray to escape the encrocodile invasion, they will sing and dance to catch a few more fish.
05
It is said that poverty limits the imagination of people, and our current prosperity also limits the imagination of Burundi. Such a poor country, such a backward level of education, but people are very polite.
Fights and brawls are never seen in public places, and the most common voice is "I'm sorry, please forgive me."
It was a mixture of aristocratic gentlemen, very incongruous with ragged clothes, but it was a beautiful sight that belonged to Burundi.
People are very hospitable, who has big things and small affairs, even if you don't know, as long as you say a word of congratulations or comfort, you will be treated with high courtesy and give you a bottle of your own homemade banana wine;
Seeing you drink, the host is very happy; And keep you from leaving until you finish the last banana in the house.
If they meet outsiders asking for directions, the people here will make them moved.
No matter how busy they are, the aborigines will put aside their work, accompany the guests to find their destination, and personally hand them over to the family they are going to, before leaving slowly.
It seems that time is inexhaustible for them, and they will not be troubled by delaying their own affairs.
What is even more unimaginable is that if they hear that foreigners are visiting, the ordinary people in the mountains will organize several people to sing and dance together, beat gongs and drums to welcome them.
It's not like us at all, and we wonder if there's any point in doing this.
06
The sincerity and warmth of the people of Burundi is also evident in their dealings with their neighbours, who almost always treat them as family.
The neighbor has something to do, and he is the first to run over to help without talking to the other party, and he will not come back if he does not finish it. If you have something delicious at home, you would rather not eat it yourself, but let the neighbors taste it first.
The biggest difference from our thinking is that family ugliness should not be publicized, they believe that the neighbor's business is their own business.
When a husband and wife quarrel, the neighbor will help the reasonable party to snub the other and criticize it righteously.
If the neighbor's child is disobedient, the neighbor has the right to scold him directly, just like a parent.
In terms of eating and drinking, we can understand the enthusiasm of Burundians, and in educating their children, their simplicity really makes us shame, and their children let others beat casually.
The honesty and authenticity of Burundians permeates every aspect of life.
At the girl's dowry, in order to show sincerity, the man's family sent different dowry, some gave bananas, some gave hoes, some sent coffee beans, no matter what was sent, everyone was happy.
At the wedding, anyone can attend without worrying about the relationship. People sing and dance late into the night, but are not provided with food and drink.
Such a phenomenon of no scheming, no comparison, no envy is how similar to a primitive society, it is poverty that makes the hearts of people here uncomplicated.
07
Burundi is a poor country, and the international community has come to the rescue. At present, Burundi has established diplomatic relations with more than 100 countries and received assistance from many countries.
Since the resumption of diplomatic relations in 1971, the mainland has done its utmost to help Burundi in the economic and trade fields, hoping that it will develop at an early date and emerge from poverty.
We know that teaching people to fish is better than teaching people to fish, and we enthusiastically provide technical assistance along with material assistance.
At present, many powerful enterprises from the mainland have settled in Burundi, bringing them advanced production technology. It has also sent a competent urban construction team to undertake some infrastructure projects in Burundi.
Transportation is the lifeblood of a country's development, Burundi does not even have railways, roads are the only ones, all goods import and export rely on air transport, and our country is actively preparing to help Burundi change the status quo.
China not only supports economic and trade development, but also provides assistance in urban construction, and sends a medical aid team every year to send the care of a big country to the local people.
At higher education, scholarship policies are also skewed towards Burundian international students, allowing them to both learn and solve difficulties in life.
In order to accelerate the development and construction of Burundi, China can be said to have done its utmost to do its part.
Many cities in China, such as Hefei and Qinghai, have established hand-in-hand support relationships with relevant cities in Burundi, and there are many interactions every year to provide timely and accurate assistance to Burundi and inject modern vitality.
08
China has never lacked the responsibility of a major country in the international community, and it has always treated countries in need of help.
The country and people of Burundi are very grateful to China for its efforts, and the friendship between the two countries is growing day by day.
What the author wants to say is: no matter how much we help, if we do not seek development, we will do half the effort.
Burundi's poverty is not a day or two, so its development is not achieved overnight, and it must be perfected from all aspects of the country in order to bring vitality to development.
It is truly hoped that Burundi will soon be lifted out of poverty and that the good people there can live and work in peace.
What do you have to say about this? Welcome to leave your opinion in the comment area!
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Edit | Ayan, Shushu
Author | Sycamore Rain