This basket falls into the traditional Tanzanian “Kitwaro” category. The basket was made in Tanzania by Burundian refugees, some of whom may have returned to Burundi. The basket is spirally woven and is decorated with embedded, triangular motifs in shades of green. It bears a conical lid with a handle at the top and was made in 2018, a product of Made51.
Over 300,000 Burundian refugees remain displaced in neighboring countries, with most of them having fled Burundi after contested elections and violence in 2015. At the same time, the country has around 75,000 people internally displaced, mainly due to natural hazards such as flooding and landslides. Since its independence in 1962, Burundi has faced periods of instability and conflict. The country was once home to one of the largest Greek communities in Africa.
New Democracy’s Spiros Richard Hagabimana, a former refugee from Burundi and currently, an official at the ministry of migration and asylum, and SYRIZA’s Nikodimos-Maina Kinyua, the Kenyan-born founder of ASANTE, a non-governmental organization helping migrants, were the two African MP candidates in Greece’s 2023 national elections.