海角大神

As international mediators gathered in Uganda this week to address the ongoing crisis in Burundi between government and opposition leaders, Catherine Boss watched closely from the capital Bujumbura, wondering if enough will be done for her husband to return from exile.

His work as a journalist forced him to flee several months ago after President Pierre Nkurunziza secured a controversial third term in office in July which inaugurated a deadly campaign against so-called enemies of the state.聽

As her husband moves between the capitals of neighboring countries, Ms. Boss, whose name has been changed for security reasons, is left to answer her three children鈥檚 constant questions about their father鈥檚 whereabouts.

鈥淎ll day, it鈥檚 鈥榳hen will daddy come home?鈥欌�� says Boss from a discreet location in Bujumbura鈥檚 Kinanira quarter. 鈥淚f Nkurunziza leaves office, my husband will come back. But that won鈥檛 be tomorrow.鈥�

Bujumbura is quiet this holiday season. The city is still reeling from 鈥淏lack Friday鈥� on Dec. 11, when a joint police and military operation killed nearly 90 people in retaliation for attacks by anti-government forces on military bases. Bodies lined the streets for days and eyewitnesses reported victims being bound and shot execution-style.

Thousands have fled Burundi since April when聽the crisis erupted as Nkurunziza bid for a third term. Opposition groups protested that he was violating constitutional term limits. But a court order allowed his campaign and he was re-elected in a disputed July vote.

Since then, tit-for-tat killings have been on the rise, worrying many Western powers, along with the United Nations and the African Union, that the violence could escalate into genocide and destabilize a region with strong memories of neighboring Rwanda's 1994 genocide.聽

Earlier this month, the to the central African nation to protect civilians. That is likely to take place without Burundi's consent.聽Last week a former army general announced the with the stated goal of removing Mr. Nkurunziza by force.

On Wednesday Nkurunziza countered by聽 if they are deployed to the country in his first public response to the AU's plans.

His comments, coupled with stalled negotiations, has left Bujumbura suspended in uncertainty as the Uganda-led mediation works to lay the foundation for ongoing peace talks in Tanzania in January. Instead, this year's holiday cheer has been replaced with fear and suspicion as many wonder what good tidings a new year will bring for the country.

Right now there's not much that looks immediately promising: local commerce remains at a near-standstill, and police and military continue to dot street corners and checkpoints along the main roads.

鈥淧eople in town are afraid,鈥� says Tony Miburu, a men鈥檚 store manager in the central business district, whose last name like many in this story has been changed for security reasons. He has seen a significant decline in Christmas sales compared to last year. 鈥� Even if they have money, they won鈥檛 really come in and shop around and the money doesn鈥檛 circulate.鈥�

'There was just no Christmas this year'

The tension has seeped into everyday life, including schools.

High schools students at a Bujumbura private school say they have been asked to refrain from talking politics on grounds. In the safety of their homes, they gossip about classmates who boldly write ethnically-charged posts on Facebook and Twitter.

They agree that it is better to be in school because, according to one 16-year-old, 鈥渢hings seems more normal that way. You just get used to it all.鈥�

Boss is constantly on-edge at work, where she says ethnically-tinged discussions have increased.聽No colleagues in her government-run office know that her husband has fled, nor that he was a journalist covering the protests.

鈥淎round the office, you can hear them say, 鈥楾utsis are enemies,鈥� she says. (A majority of her workmates are Hutu members of the government鈥檚 CNDD-FDD party). "And they鈥檙e always asking me, 鈥榃hy do you live in Tutsi quarters?鈥� I just tell them I couldn鈥檛 find a house in another [neighborhood].鈥�

Those who are still working are among the lucky ones. Bars and shops in the areas that saw heavy clashes in recent months remain shut. And local vendors have seen prices of their goods tick up as customers decline.

鈥淭here was just no Christmas in town this year,鈥� says Gorethe Ntahombaye, who sells vegetables in the central produce market. 聽鈥淭he situation here is not normal. Many people fled. Others don鈥檛 come to buy. So this year I didn鈥檛 have the means for Christmas for my four children.鈥�

Eric Ntezahorigwa, a taxi driver, says his client base has also dwindled because people are afraid to come out in the evenings to confront police checkpoints. 鈥淭here is no work. At 6, the policemen close the main roads.鈥澛�

鈥淭hey set up checkpoints stopping drivers, demanding documents and bribes. I was stopped by the chief of police and he did not even pretend to ask for documents. He just asked what I had in terms of money and phones.鈥�

As residents adjusted to this new situation, members of Burundi鈥檚 opposition coalition, CNARED, insisted Monday that the AU make good on its pledge to send peacekeeping troops to Burundi.

The Burundian government continues to unequivocally reject the deployment of AU troops, maintaining it can keep the peace with its own armed forces. They reiterated their opposing stance on Monday by rejecting the January date for the resumption of talks.

In Bujumbura, 鈥渨e don鈥檛 know what will happen next week even,鈥� Boss says, wiping away tears. 鈥淚 have no idea how old my kids will be when their dad will be able to come back.鈥�