DescriptionThis interview consists of two audio recordings and transcripts. Jean Bosco Muhiziwintore was interviewed on 16 April 2010 at the Whitlam Library, Cabramatta by Shirley Kingsford McLeod. Interview SummaryBosco was born in the country of Burundi which is a land-locked country in central Africa with neighbouring countries Rwanda, Tanzania and Congo. Now the independent Republic of Burundi, the country is a former German and Belgian colony. The national language is French and the dominant religion Catholicism, however Bosco belongs to the Pentecostal Church.
Burundi has suffered civil wars since 1972 which have forced many of the people to migrate elsewhere. Bosco’s own family has suffered many deaths during the wars.
Bosco’s father worked in banking and he was also a pastor in the Pentecostal Church of which Bosco is still a member here in Australia. His father was killed during one of the civil wars.
In 1996 Bosco walked to Congo and from there moved to Rwanda and then to Tanzania where he married. In Tanzania they lived in a refugee camp for 11 years. He and his wife worked in the medical field and were able to migrate in 2005 with their two children.
In Australia they first lived in Fairfield and then in Canley Vale. Both began to study as to that time they had no English. Bosco completed a Bachelor of Nursing and his wife was also enrolled enrolled in a nursing degree at the time of the interview.
Bosco has very strong opinions of his life in Australia which he shared in this interview. One of his largest problems though is the cost of the Internet which he feels is necessary for education. He also shares the love of the freedom that he and his family are allowed here.
Jean Bosco Muhiziwintore Oral History. Fairfield City Heritage Collection, accessed 11/02/2026, https://heritagecollection.fairfieldcity.nsw.gov.au/nodes/view/1266
