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Recently, there has been a saying circulating on the Internet:
"Fake men love to watch beautiful women dance, and real men love to watch Biao Zi pull bananas."
The so-called "Biao Zi Lasho" refers to the Odebora banana.
They are a group of old watches living in Burundi, Africa, who make a living by transporting bananas, and "Odebiao" is a collective name for them by netizens.
I believe most people have brushed such a video.
An African brother, riding a 28-bar bicycle, carrying 500 pounds of bananas, galloping on the highway,
With the Whistle Divine Comedy BGM, it is hot-blooded and magical, and the fit is simply taken off.
If you ask him if he is afraid of riding like this, he will definitely say: "Don't die all the way, it all depends on the figure of eight!"
For him, the brakes are decorations, which he never uses.
Because of this speed, once braking, the instantaneous friction will make the car burst, and he will hang faster.
At present, on the Douyin platform, only two entries, #Odebiao and #Odebora banana, have exceeded 1 billion views.
But what many people don't know is that behind Odebula's banana is the unknown story of blood and tears in Burundi.
Today we will talk about Odebiao and the African Burundi in which they live.
African Odebiao
Burundi is a landlocked country on the Great Rift Valley in East Africa.
The terrain of the territory is complex, with many plateaus and mountains, and the average altitude of the country is 1600 meters.
Because it is located in the center of the African continent and resembles the heart, Burundi is also known as the "Heart of Africa".
But behind this beautiful and gentle name is the poor living conditions of the Burundian people.
Burundi has a land area of 27,830 square kilometers, which is about the size of Guilin City, China.
The population is more than 12 million, more than twice the population of Guilin.
Geographically, Burundi is tightly wrapped by surrounding countries,
It is bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the south, and Congo to the west.
Without Haikou, the import and export of goods must rely on the ports of other countries.
Burundi is also not as rich in diamonds, gold and oil as other African countries, which has led to a lag behind in its industrial manufacturing industry.
The whole country is basically supported by agriculture.
Bananas are one of Burundi's most abundant fruits and an important cash crop for export abroad.
There are countless local recipes for bananas, which are used to make beer.
Banana beer is the national drink of Burundi, don't look at the name is beer, its degree is not low,
Two glasses of pale yellow sweet banana beer will immediately feel like the world is spinning.
Due to living conditions, Burundians do not have many recreational activities,
The best pastime is to gather together and drink banana beer with straws regardless of each other.
The huge production and demand for bananas in Burundi has also spawned a large number of bananas who depend on transporting bananas for a living.
Burundians living a life of licking blood from the tip of a knife.
Some people may ask, why did Yun Ge banana also lick blood on the tip of the knife?
A 2014 foreign documentary, The World's Most Dangerous Road: The Road to Burundi, may tell us the answer.
Recently, the documentary here has been turned out by some Chinese film commentators and carried out a second creation.
Coupled with the magical whistle Divine Comedy BGM, it instantly became popular all over the Internet.
The lords give these Burundians who ride their bicycles and pull hundreds of pounds of bananas every day.
took a very windy alias "Odebiao".
Whenever the BGM sounds, netizens know that this is Aodebiao is pulling bananas again,
Others dubbed this BGM "Destiny Song".
Old Pan in the documentary (Pan Freit. Pamphlet Nazague is a brewer and owner of a local banana beer workshop.
Every week, Lao Pan would go to the market to buy bananas, and he needed to buy a mix of three types of bananas.
Sweeter, more noodle and cheaper to brew a good banana beer.
Today Lao Pan bought 8 bunches of bananas, which weighed about 160 kilograms,
He would never transport bananas by bike himself, knowing that it would probably get him to bliss.
Transporting bananas for the old Pan is the small tower of Odebiao No. 1 in the documentary (Tassian. Tasian Maniarakitsa),
The destination is the brewery of Lao Pan, 15 km away.
The little tower stepped on his two-eight bar, and this is the way to go.
Luckily, there's a long downhill trail after the start, which makes riding the little tower a lot easier.
The car swooped down, and the small tower on this road never dared to brake,
Without superb technology and excellent psychological quality, the average person cannot reach the destination alive.
After 45 minutes, the small tower came to the door of the old Pan brewery.
Little Tower didn't go to school, riding a bike was almost his only skill to earn a living.
Don't look at him this year is only 22 years old, but he is already a father of 2 children.
He told reporters frankly that this job does not earn much, and there is no future, and he can't even afford a new pair of pants.
But he's not a daydreamer, at least the job keeps his family from starving.
Compared with the small tower, Old Pan's life is much more comfortable.
He has been a winemaker for 15 years, and several people in the village work for him.
After receiving the bananas, the workers buried them in the pit and allowed them to ripen on their own.
After that, the ripe banana is peeled and mixed with a washed licorice.
Squeeze out the juice from the banana by hand, put it in a barrel, add yeast, store it for a few days, and the banana beer is ready.
Although the production process looks disgusting, the banana beer has a rich and sweet taste.
There is no such thing as a man who can't break two bottles of wine, if there is, then three.
It is a very stupid behavior to inquire about the degree, and Lao Pan, who has been a winemaker for so many years, has never tested the alcohol content, and everything depends on fate.
The small tower of Odebiao who delivers bananas, if it comes to a new wine, it is inevitable to take two sips, but it will never be greedy.
Bicycles do not check for drunk driving, but Odysbon consciously implement safety to the end, after all, riding here is much more dangerous than driving.
In the days when bananas are not pulled, Odebiao either pulls goods or pulls people, anyway, as long as they are awake, they must be galloping.
Next to the village where the old Phan brewery is located is a road to Bujumbura, Burundi's largest city.
Truck driver Antoine (Antoine. Cabra Antoine Kabura) has been driving on this road for more than 10 years,
He could drive to his destination with his eyes closed, but in some sections of the road, he still had to slow down because he knew there must be a bunch of heels behind the car.
Riders who want to save time and effort will choose to hang in the back of the truck.
India's old watch pickpocket train is a wonder of the world.
The only one who can PK with them is the African Odebiao pickpocket truck.
No truck in Burundi escapes being pickpocketed, and the truck whizzes by, followed by a string of Odebiao.
They hold the handlebars of their bikes with one hand, grab the tail of the truck with the other, and sometimes play a solitaire lottery game.
Under this kind of difficult action, there are even Biao brothers who dare to take off their hands and whistle.
To know that an accident, half a life is scrapped.
Not only are they dangerous, but truck drivers are also panicking.
If there is an obstacle in front of you, or there is a pothole in the road, the truck driver can make a sharp turn or brake to dodge.
But Odebiao, due to obstructed vision, is likely to disappear in place.
Every year, countless people die in such traffic accidents, and the government does not bother to count.
Antoine, a truck driver, said he thought the government should take steps and that such dangerous behavior should be banned.
Daily travel between Bugarama and Bujumbura, Burundi's largest city,
Eric transporting bananas (Eric. Eric Nitzitunga is also an Odebiao.
He and his girlfriend live next to a major highway in Bugarama.
They don't have children yet, after all, Eric's job is too desperate.
Bugarama is about 40 kilometers away from Bujumbura, where bananas are cheaper.
Eric ships Bugarama bananas to Bujumbura every day to earn the difference.
Such work is more lucrative than a pure porter like Little Tower.
Bugarama riders are famous throughout Burundi,
They carry the heaviest, biggest, most variety, and fastest rides.
Of course, it is also the most thunderous in Yan Wangye, because they have to rub shoulders with the bullhead and horse every day.
Odysbors did not go to school, but they were the ultimate practitioners who never disappointed Newton.
Facing the reporter's camera, Eric showed his unique secret of tying bananas.
Make sure that the center of gravity of Banana Hill coincides with the center of gravity of the bicycle, so that people don't roll over when turning.
After hugging his girlfriend goodbye, Eric embarked on today's journey.
Today, bananas in Bugarama are bunches of 8,000 Burundian francs, which is about the equivalent of 20 yuan.
He had 500 pounds of bananas tied to his 28 bars.
Such a weight, even locally, is considered a serious overload.
Eric has been doing this job for over 5 years and is very confident in his skills.
So far, he has only broken bones a few times, and his life is still there.
Several kilometers of downhill road, plus 500 pounds of load,
Eric was speeding on the highway, and his speed soon reached 70 kilometers per hour.
At this time, he has no way to press the brakes at all, otherwise he may turn into ashes in the next second.
Today Eric's luck is not very good, it rains, he indulges silky on the road,
But you can only wait for the next uphill stretch to naturally slow down.
At the same time, it is necessary to raise the spirit of 12 points and pay attention to the road conditions ahead.
Sometimes, Eric can't resist the temptation to pick up the truck.
But the result is often embarrassment.
In recent years, the government has introduced control measures on dangerous sections of the road leading to Bujumbura, increasing the number of traffic police.
If a rider is caught picking up a truck, he will face a hefty fine.
There can be policies and countermeasures.
The Odyssey will let go immediately after hearing the police whistle, and will not give the police a chance to fine them at all.
15 km from Bujumbura there is a difficult uphill road,
If there was no one to help push the cart, carrying hundreds of pounds of bananas, it would be impossible to walk up.
As a result, professional cart pushers appeared here, earning 10 Burundian francs for each cart pushed by the gang.
At the end of the long climb, Eric would often buy a bottle of soda at a roadside shop and drink it down.
The next 15 kilometers were all downhill and came to Bujumbura.
The first store that Eric was going to deliver was in the southernmost part of the city.
Eric, who was carrying 500 pounds of goods, a divine dragon swung his tail and skillfully stopped the two eight bars in front of the store.
Eric sends bananas to the shop 5 times a week, a bunch of bananas, and he receives 12,000 Burundian francs.
His purchase price is 8,000, which means that he earns a difference of 4,000 Burundian francs per bunch of bananas, which is equivalent to about 10 yuan.
Eric's second delivery was at a farmer's market northwest of the city, owned by Alice, a beautiful single mom.
After giving birth to 4 children, the husband ran away. Eric came late today due to rainy roads.
Alice said that this delayed her business, and she could only pay Eric 10,000 Burundian francs today.
The huge bicycle transportation industry has spawned another business, which is bicycle repair.
Alexander. Alexander Tarsis has been working as a bicycle repair shop owner for five years at the Bujumbura farmers' market.
More than 100 of his staff worked for him.
The business of the shop is very hot, and some people even came from the Congo to repair his car.
It really corresponds to the saying "those who pan for gold are better than those who sell shovels".
Eric also came to Alexander's shop to change tires.
Previously, his tires had been patched 4 times, and today he needs a new one,
Otherwise, if it rains, the ride will be very dangerous.
The mechanic took out a new tire with "Diamond" written on the box.
If you are a post-70s or post-80s generation living in China, you may still have an impression of this brand.
Before 2000, Diamond tires were active in roadside repair stalls large and small in China.
Not only tires, but most African bicycles are imported from China.
Those 28 bars, which gradually faded out of the sight of Chinese people, entered Africa and became the production tools of the locals.
After changing the tires, Eric embarked on the return journey.
This is the day of the African Odebiao, who returns either in ashes or in a box of ashes, and every day is worried.
I can't brake when pulling a banana, I can't live with a banana down.
Speaking of which, you might think that the Biao brothers are a group of people struggling at the bottom of Burundian society, but they are not.
They are precisely the ones who got the last ticket to cross the subsistence line,
Because there is a two-eight bar, at least it can ensure that they will not beg along the street.
In 2018, in the World Happiness Report released by the United Nations,
Blom was named the unhappiest country in the world.
Why are Burundians living so badly? It starts in the 16th century.
Civil strife and killings
In the 16th century, a feudal dynasty in central Africa encompassed what is now Rwanda and Burundi.
Burundi at that time was called Urundi.
Thanks to the mountainous terrain, the inhabitants of the Ruanda-Urundi feudal dynasty have been engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry since ancient times.
There are three ethnic groups living in the country, of which the proportion of Hutu population is about 84%.
The proportion of the Tutsi population is about 15%, and another 1% are Tewa.
The Hutu live on agriculture, the Tutsi on animal husbandry,
The Twa basically live in primeval forests, living by gathering and hunting, and generally do not interact with the outside world.
So the history of Rwanda-Ruanda-Urundi revolves around the Hutu and Tutsi.
Over time, Hutu and Tutsi boys and girls continue to spark love,
The two communities spoke the same language, practiced the same religion, and began to become you and me, and I have you.
However, at the end of the 19th century, with the arrival of colonists, the harmony between the two communities was completely broken.
In 1884, at the Congress of Berlin, Rwanda-Ruanda-Urundi was designated as a German colony.
Germany has since brought the theory of racial superiority and inferiority here.
"Race science" was very popular in Europe at that time.
In 1863, the British scholar John Hanning Speke proposed the "Mitte hypothesis".
Claiming that the peoples of Africa have no history and civilization and that blacks do not possess the intellect necessary to build any civilized society,
Any civilizational achievement in Africa stems from the Hamtic people.
According to the biblical Book of Genesis, the ancestor of the Mites was Hamu, the second son of Noah, who was of the same lineage as white Europeans.
The German colonists identified the Tutsi as a branch of the "Hammits".
As a result, the status of the Tutsi was sharply elevated.
The real purpose of the colonists in promoting the "Mitte hypothesis" was to outline a racial hierarchy:
European colonists at the top, Tutsi in the middle,
The Hutu, who constitute the overwhelming majority of the population, became serfs who were oppressed and exploited.
After all, when you first arrive, the easiest way to successfully take over a country is to cause internal contradictions.
If the people were united and fraternal, like a monolith, wouldn't it take three days and two heads to rise up against colonial rule?
In contrast, a country with sharp internal contradictions is much easier to manage.
But the problem is that before the arrival of the colonists, the Tutsi and the Hutu had long since separated you and me.
How can two peoples be forcibly divided? The method is also simple and crude:
Those with light complexion, tall stature and a straight nose are Tutsi; Those with dark skin, short stature and collapsed noses are Hutu.
Proper Appearance Association.
This leads to a family in which the older brother may be classified as Tutsi and the younger brother as Hutu.
Just ask you absurd or not? More ridiculous things are yet to come.
At the end of World War I, Germany was defeated and the Rwanda-Urundi colony of Rwanda, formerly part of Germany, was divided among Belgium.
Compared to Germany, Belgium's-churning policy is more powerful:
Anyone who has more than 10 cows in the family is Tutsi; Less than 10 are Hutu.
This trick succeeded in provoking class contradictions on the basis of racial antagonism.
But I want to ask, according to this division method, if my cow lays cubs tomorrow, will I immediately become a Tutsi?
In any case, the colonizer's set of combined fists fisted, and the two ethnic groups that originally coexisted peacefully became more and more separated in their hearts.
The large number of Hutu has been suppressed, with a severe lack of survival materials and no access to a good education.
The smaller Tutsis controlled large tracts of fertile land and held important government positions.
As the saying goes, a lie repeated a thousand times becomes the truth.
After the continuous brainwashing of the colonists, the Tutsi gradually developed a high-minded mentality,
They also felt that Hutu were naturally inferior and deserved to be enslaved and oppressed.
Since the 50s of the 20th century, national liberation movements have swept the African continent,
European colonizers were increasingly unable to maintain the rule of their overseas colonies.
During the same period, Louis Rwagasore, a Tutsi prince of Urundi, married a Hutu wife.
In 1959, Louis founded the Union pour le Progres National (UPRONA).
Advocate national integration and liberation, and advocate national autonomy and independence.
In September 1961, Louis won the support of both Hutu and Tutsi communities and became Prime Minister of Udon Thani.
However, before the prime minister's position could be hot, Louis was assassinated by the Belgian colonial authorities a month later.
Following the death of Louis, attempts at national integration in Burundi were interrupted and armed clashes between the two communities became more frequent.
In 1962, Rwanda-Udon Thani separated, the two countries gained independence, and Urundi was renamed Burundi.
When it first became independent, Burundi briefly regained its royal power.
But in 1966, the military-turned-Tutsi prime minister Michel Micombero staged a coup d'état.
The king was overthrown and the Republic of Burundi was established.
It stands to reason that moving from an imperial system to a republic can be regarded as opening a new era,
However, Burundi has not ushered in a new atmosphere and is still mired in the vortex of ethnic struggle.
Before the 90s, power in Burundi was firmly in the hands of the Tutsis.
The number of Hutu who hold important government positions is woefully small, and the Tutsis are trying to clean them up.
In 1972, the exiled predecessor, King Ntare V, returned home.
Micombello took the opportunity to claim that the Hutus had colluded with him in order to liquidate the Tutsis and overthrow the republic,
This has led to bloody clashes between the two communities in several areas.
Subsequently, the Micombello government retaliated against the Hutu at the national level,
Burundi took place its first post-independence genocide.
Between April and September 1972, some 200,000 to 300,000 Hutus were killed and 300,000 Hutus became refugees.
After entering the 90s, the antagonism between the two ethnic groups eased somewhat.
Western countries have vigorously pursued democratization and multi-party systems, and Burundi has to agree to start the democratization process in order to adapt to the international situation.
On 15 March 1992, Burundi promulgated a new constitution establishing a multi-party political system,
Naturally, Hutu can also participate in political elections.
Since the establishment of the Republic, Burundi has been a one-party dictatorship of the Tutsi-led National Progressive Unity Party (UPRONA),
All levels of power and the army were controlled by the Tutsis.
The Tutsis are very confident in the election, and their plans are:
Isn't it just a show, I also let you Hutu people participate and show my generosity,
The throne of the Lord of the Last Kingdom will surely remain mine.
But people are not as good as heavenly calculations, you must know that the Hutu have an overwhelming population advantage.
In June 1993, Melchior Ndadaye, a Hutu intellectual and politician, won the election.
He became the first democratically elected president of Burundi after independence, and also ended the more than 30-year history of Tutsis ruling the country after independence.
This time the Tutsis were completely dumbfounded, even though Ndaye constantly stressed that he would not infringe on the interests of the Tutsis,
There will be no retaliation against the Tutsis, but the Tutsis still cannot accept the fact that the Hutu have become the president of the country.
On 21 October 1993, Ndaye, who had only been in the presidency for three months, was assassinated by Tutsi soldiers.
This is the first Hutu president in 30 years, so he whined,
Millions of Hutu people across the country have completely gone violent, taking up arms and rushing towards the Tutsis.
The Tutsi people are not afraid, the two ethnic groups are frontal and rigid,
Burundi has experienced an unprecedented level of bicommunal civil war, which has lasted for 12 years.
In 1994, neighbouring Rwanda, which is closely linked to Burundi's destiny,
Also because of the contradictions between the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups, the Rwandan genocide that shocked the world broke out, and nearly one million people lost their lives.
The United Nations had to intervene in the ethnic conflicts in Burundi and Rwanda, but for several years with little success.
Until August 2005, Hutu Pierre . After Pierre Nkurunziza was elected president of Burundi,
It was only then that the civil war between the two communities gradually subsided.
In order to prevent a recurrence of the tragedy, on 18 March 2005 Burundi promulgated its sixth constitution since independence.
On the basis of a multi-party system, it is also stipulated that no government institution can be dominated by a single ethnic group.
In the Government and the National Assembly, the Hutu and Tutsi communities may not make up more than 60 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively, and 50 per cent in the Senate.
The positions of two vice-presidents are held by people from different nationalities and different political parties.
To put it bluntly, no one will want to monopolize power in the future.
Burundi, which has been in turmoil for decades, seems to have ushered in the dawn of peace.
However, the problem of racial contradictions has not been completely resolved.
After the Tutsi lost the 1993 elections, they never had a president.
In 2015, Nkurunziza, who had been president for two terms, announced that he was ready to continue his bid for the presidency.
Under the Burundian Constitution, the President can only be re-elected once.
The population accused Nkurunziza of breaking the law, which eventually triggered large-scale unrest in Burundi.
Years of war and civil strife have left the country in ruins and remains one of the poorest in the world.
Distress and hope
According to a 2022 report by the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs,
Eighty-seven per cent of Burundi's population lives below the international poverty line of $1.9 per person per day.
80-90% of the population depends on agriculture for their survival, and youth unemployment is about 65%.
In 2021, Burundi's per capita GDP was $221, while the world's per capita GDP was $12,234.
Burundi's economy is less than 1/55 of the global average.
At a glance, the whole country looks like an insulator of wealth.
According to data released by the World Bank in 2020,
Burundi is one of the least electrified countries in the world, with only 11% of the population having access to electricity.
Most of these people live in urban areas, where only 3 per cent of rural electrification is available.
This means that almost all rural families in Burundi rely on solid fuels such as firewood for cooking and lighting, and still live a sunrise life.
In order to increase the family workforce, women in Burundi have to work hard, and six or seven children in a family are the norm.
As a result, the poorer the birth, the poorer the birth.
Due to limited medical conditions, the average life expectancy of Burundians is only 61.57 years.
With the exception of a few decent occupations such as civil servants, doctors, and teachers, the lives of most ordinary people are precarious.
Fishing, farming, pottery, carpentry, porter, if not, they live by begging, robbing and stealing.
When it comes to poverty, the two words that people most easily associate with are "laziness",
But when you look at Africans living in the land of Burundi,
It seems difficult for us to come up with such a simple definition of them.
Just like those Odysbiao in the documentary, they get up early and greedy, and they are racing with life
Just to give your family and yourself a bite to eat.
As Stetson wrote in "Me and the Temple of Earth": "As far as fate is concerned, Hugh is just."
I think it is their spirit of not being afraid of hardship and hard work that has infected many netizens and made people addicted.
If there is no burden on the body, who gambles with their lives for tomorrow?
If you feel that your life has not been satisfactory recently, you may wish to visit Biaozi Lasho.
These god-like men will surely rush to your heart.
As long as the two or eight bars are still galloping, there is still hope for life.
I don't believe in my life in my life, and I rely on the hard eight characters.
Netizens jokingly said that "Odebiao cannot lose the two or eight bars, just as the West cannot live without Jerusalem".
Today, Odebiao's memes are used in various short videos with African themes, with unique BGMs, full of magic.
Odebiao is not a single person, but lives all over the world, working in all walks of life,
All those who never bow to life and suffering, is the spirit of life kissing me, but I singing in return.
Everyone who struggles for their dreams and lives seems to find their own shadow in Odebiao,
I didn't know what the song meant at first, and then I listened to it again.
A new day has begun, BGM is ringing, and the biao brothers have pulled up bananas and rushed on the runway of life.
May you Audbiao on the assembly line, Audbiao who delivers takeaways,
Odebiao in the factory company, coder Odebiao... No matter the wind or rain, you can run freely.