Happy Birthday to Rwanda and Burundi!

2018-07-01 Happy Birthday to the countries!, MET Column

Children in a Rwandan primary school. *Photo from Wikipedia

July 1 is Independence Day of Rwanda and Burundi, celebrates the independence from Belgium in 1962.

Belgian forces took control of Rwanda and Burundi in 1916, during World War I, beginning a period of more direct colonial rule. Belgium ruled both Rwanda and Burundi as a League of Nations ‘mandate’ called Ruanda-Urundi. The territory was under Belgian military occupation from 1916 to 1922 and later became a Belgian-controlled Class B Mandate (former German territories in West and Central Africa which were deemed to require a greater level of control by the mandatory power) under the League of Nations from 1922 to 1945. After the disestablishment of the League and World War II, Ruanda-Urundi became a Trust Territory of the United Nations, still under Belgian control. In 1962, the mandate became independent as the two separate countries of Rwanda and Burundi.

Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a sovereign state in Central and East Africa and one of the smallest countries on the African mainland. Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in the African Great Lakes region of East Africa, bordered by Rwanda to the north.

*Reference: Wikipedia

Related Articles

INTERVIEWS

I needed to bottle up my emotions in order to get one step ahead. Otherwise a foreigner couldn’t have run a noodle shop here.

2008-08-12 INTERVIEWS

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com   Belouazani Lakhdar (Algeria) Shopkeeper of a buckwheat noodle shop (He’s been in Japan since ’88) Belouazani Lakhdar is an Algerian buckwheat (soba) noodle chef. He’s been making soba noodles for 16 years in the area called Musashi-kosugi, a town which has been changing dramatically. It’s striking that his shop, Kabura-an, is located in a local shopping area that’s kind of closed, not opened to foreigners. How has a foreigner been taking pride in working as a soba chef in a closed community? How has he integrated in the local society? *Interview

Happy Birthday to the countries!

Happy Birthday to Seychelles!

2018-06-29 Happy Birthday to the countries!, MET Column

Victoria, the capital of Seychelles. *Photo from Wikipedia June 29 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Seychelles from United Kingdom in 1976. The islands were appropriated and settled by France in the 18th century. African slaves were brought to the island, and the characteristic Seychellois Creole language developed. Britain took possession of the islands in the early 19th century. The Seychelles became an independent republic in 1976. Seychelles, officially the Republic of Seychelles, is an archipelago and country in the Indian Ocean. The 115-island country lies 1,500 kilometers (932 mi) east of mainland East Africa. *Reference: Wikipedia

Happy Birthday to the countries!

Happy Birthday to Botswana!

2018-09-30 Happy Birthday to the countries!, MET Column

Kombi, Minibus taxi in Botswana. *Photo from Wikipedia September 30 is Independence Day of Botswana or Botswana Day, celebrates the independence of Botswana from United Kingdom in 1966. Christian missionaries sent from Europe spread to the interior, often at the invitation of tribal chiefs who wanted guns and knew that the presence of missionaries encouraged traders. By 1880 every major village had a resident missionary, and their influence became permanent. Christianization was completed in Botswana under the reign of king Khama III (reigned 1875–1923). When the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910 out of the main British colonies