When Marguerite Mbonimpa arrived in Sudbury on December from Burundi 26 years ago she said it was so cold, she didn't want to leave the house for three months.
“My husband told me I needed to get fresh air. I said, why do I need fresh air? I thought, he must be crazy,” she said.
The move was a big change for Mbonimpa, who came to the city to join her husband, a religious studies professor at Laurentian University.
The following year, she said she began to enjoy the outdoors in the winter months and before long, Sudbury became home.
“It is my city. I love it. It’s small, but I like it,” she said.
Mbonimpa was among the first Burundians to settle in the Nickel City. Since then, the community has grown to encompass approximately 50 people, said François Nzotungwanimana, a local engineer and fellow Burundian. Nzotungwanimana came to Sudbury seven years ago from Sault Saint Marie.
“When I moved to Sudbury in 2011, I came by the bridge. I saw that there were so many flags, but the Burundian flag wasn’t there and I’m like, ‘Wait a second.. we are here! We are here.' ”
Inspired by the sight of the flags, Nzotungwanimana spoke with his fellow Burundian expats and together they worked for three years to get the flag flying on the Bridge of Nations.
“It was us who initiated. We were pushing and pushing," he said. "Finally, other communities came on board and we ended up having six flags put together on June 30, 2016.”
Nzotungwanimana is involved in the Afro-Heritage Association of Sudbury, a multilingual group. Fitting, as both he and Mbonimpa are multilingual themselves. Mbonimpa speaks five languages.
Asked if there is anything about Sudbury that reminds her of home she says, "Nothing at all. It's like summer all year there. Here, it is cold."
"We call it the 'Heart of Africa' because of the shape of the country. It's actually shaped like a heart," Nzotungwanimana added. "So, we are the heart of Africa. There are mountains that move people, there are lakes. Lake Tanganyika Lake is the second deepest in the whole world."
Mbonimpa also reminisced longingly when speaking of the place where she was born.
"Burundi is a small country. It's a small, nice country ... it is beautiful. It's green. The people are very quiet. You don't know what they are thinking because they are very quiet," In her next breath, Mbonimpa remembers the sound of music from Burundi. "I like the drums, the rhythm of the drums, the colour of the costumes. I like the music from Burundi."
Burundian drums will be featured in the new Marvel movie, "Black Panther", which hits theatres Feb. 15.
"The king in that movie, the Burundian drums welcome the king. It's going to be on the world stage," Nzotungwanimana said. "Those guys have won competitions worldwide. One of the biggest things we are known for, is that we have legendary drums. When you listen to those drums, you are going to be moved."
Both he and Mbonimpa hope people will see the movie, and come to understand the many countries that make up the continent of Africa — many people still refer to Africa as a country, they said.
Burundi is a small country, both in terms of geographic area — 26,000 or 27,000 square kilometres — and population — around 10 million people. There is much to be understood and appreciated about the rich culture of the people and the special place where the country exists.
Mbonimpa would like to see more sharing of African culture in Greater Sudbury.
"We need more workshops in the community. We need to go to the community to be involved more and more, that's how they will know who we are," she said. "We would like if everyone would see us as we are, that we are bringing something new, something different and something good."
Nzotungwanimana continued on that thought.
"A lot of Burundians in Sudbury are very involved. Myself, I am involved in five, six different organizations per year. The more people see you, the more they understand you, the more they see that you are the same, and the more they embrace you, too."
The Afro-Heritage Association of Sudbury will be hosting a Black History Month celebration at Cambrian College on Feb. 24 from 6 p.m. to 11p.m.. All are welcome to attend, have fun, and learn more about the Black and African community in the city.
For more information about Burundi, you can take a tour on the internet via the following links:
justfunfacts.com/interesting-facts-about-burundi/
www.encyclopedia.com/places/africa/burundian-political-geography/burundi
Get a head start on listening to Burundi's legendary drums, here:
