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10/11/2014

Burundis young peaceworkers

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The Kamenge Centre brings together 43,000 young people

near the convent of the Saverian nuns who were slain in
September. Here is the testimony of Fr. Claudio Marano, a
priest who has been living in Bujumbura for 25 years
DAVIDE DEMICHELIS
ROME

They are just a few hundred metres away from the convent where three
Saverian nuns were massacred between 7 and 8 September. They have been
there for 25 years. And theres quite a few of them: 43,150 new members
signed up this year. They are the boys and girls of the Kamenge youth Centre
in Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi. The centre is run by 63-year-old
Saverian missionary, Fr. Claudio Marano, who has been in Burundi since
1990.

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FR. MARANO SURROUNDED BY HIS BOYS AND

We strive for peace, working with young people of all ethnic backgrounds,

GIRLS

religions and nationalities. White beard, round face, imposing build and

OTHERS SECTIONS

colourful oversized African shirts. Fr. Claudio never stops and neither do his many collaborators: We need to calm peoples

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hearts, even by playing football or watching a film. On football pitches and volley ball courts, in sewing classes and literacy

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courses, the Centre aims to help the inhabitants of one of the toughest neighbourhoods in Bujumbura to grow, get to know one
another and above all, to live peacefully alongside each other.

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And yet not far from the centre grounds, three Saverian missionaries, Lucia, Olga and Benedetta, fell victim to a merciless
crime: This is how it is here, anything can happen, at any moment. Maybe someone was paid to kill them. It is unlikely the
nuns would have provoked the attack, even involuntarily. In fact they may have been killed because they hadnt done anything
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Fr. Claudio knows how things work in that part of the world. He has lost count of the number of threats he has received. He
received 25 threats a day during the war: They would come and start shooting behind the convent and then I was warned by
telephone. Once I was captured, interrogated and then by miracle the police came to release me. Hutus and Tutsis were
engaged in a 13-year war - in Burundi and nearby Rwanda - that spanned from 1993 to 2005. The conflict has been put to rest
now but divisions remain and are one of the main causes of instability in the country.
This was the climate in which the three nuns were killed. And it is in this climate that 43, 000 young people meet here every

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day to play and grow together at the Kamenge youth centre: It is important to stress that in Burundi there are people who are
working for peace! Fr. Claudio raises his voice: he will not allow the country he loves to be remembered solely for negative
reasons. Nevertheless, he continues to look at the situation with a healthy realism: We havent had any news about the
progress of the murder inquiry. The man accused of massacring the nuns is in prison (the sim from their cell phone was found
in his pocket), along with the night wardens who monitored the convent. The case seems to have been closed but certain
aspects still remain unclear: why the defendant would have wanted to kill them and above all, it is unlikely he acted alone.
In a country that is 62% Catholic, missionaries are well-liked among the locals: The center grounds are surrounded by a ring of
flowers: our doors are always open. The three deceased nuns who have been buried in Bukavu, near the Burundi border, also
involved in peace efforts. Fr. Claudio was present at their funeral: Every day we show that living together is wonderful, even if
we are different.

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