Paper short abstract:

This paper explores how a politics of concealing and revealing information plays out in situations of crisis, and how it is mediated through social media. Second, I explore how Burundian refugees in Kigali deal with these flows of information, emotionally and in terms of making sense of the conflict

Paper long abstract:

Having the power of the 'parole', and controlling and withholding information have always been important aspects of political power in Burundi. Members of the royal court were trained in the art of concealing emotions and information, and it is still associated with class status and ethnicity. The focus on controlling information has fostered its opposite: namely rumours and conspiracy theories that seek to uncover 'secrets and lies' and search for hidden truths and deeper meanings. Whether they exist or not, there is a strong sense of an omnipresent crypto-politics, playing a central role behind the scenes.

In this paper, I explore how the politics of concealing and revealing information plays out in situations of crisis and displacement, and how it is mediated through social media such as Twitter and Whatsapp. The present political crisis in Burundi has been intricately linked with struggles over information. The media in Burundi were vocal in criticising the President's bid for a third term and journalists were among those most systematically persecuted by the regime in its clamp down on the demonstrations. Since then, the debates have moved to twitter, Facebook and Whatsapp. Based on a dataset of tens of thousands of tweets, I explore firstly how the political field has shifted to these arenas. Secondly, I explore through ethnographic fieldwork among Burundians who fled the country to neighbouring Rwanda, how they deal with these flows of information, emotionally and in terms of making sense of the conflict.