Crossing the land border from Rwanda in broad daylight to the Democratic Republic of Congo can be very hazardous especially for journalists, considering the unabated political and ethnic tension between the two countries.

But Jean-Pierre Gatsinzi braved the storm just to attend safety training organised by the International News Safety Institute (INSI).

"I am very anxious to learn how to better protect myself as a journalist working in a hostile environment and I knew the INSI training would provide me with such skills, so I could not afford to miss such an opportunity in spite of the odds," Gatsinzi told INSI Africa's Regional Coordinator in Bukavu, in northeastern Congo.

Gatsinzi, like some colleagues who declined at the last minute to attend the training in Bukavu, could have had a good reason for missing the opportunity. Bukavu, a town of about half a million people, had fallen several times to the invading Rwandan soldiers over the last couple of years.

The nearly decade-long war between DR Congo and Rwanda has resulted in thousands of people living in permanent fear of imminent attack by militias or government troops from either side.

"We are about 300 km from here (Bukavu), but we live and feel very much the same as the people of Rwanda and DR Congo," says Alice Hakizimana, another participant from Burundi with grief on her face and in her voice. The fighting there has claimed thousands of lives.

With the spadework being done for parliamentary and presidential elections to be held hopefully this year, peace still seems like an adventurous guest in Burundi.

For the moment, Burundi is relatively peaceful with its neighbours. But it is plagued by internal armed rebellion and strife driven by political and ethnic intolerance.

As in all conflict-ridden countries, journalists in Burundi, like their colleagues in Rwanda and DR Congo, face many difficulties in their daily reporting of issues and events.

"We need this training because of the conflict situation confronting the media in Burundi. It is a pity that many of our colleagues could not attend. It is a good thing for Congolese journalists as it is for all media staff working in hostile environments," Hakizimana explained at the INSI seminar.

INSI chose Bukavu to host the training because it is within reach of journalists from DR Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. Bukavu also has an airstrip and a seaport and its surrounding towns and villages are under the protection of UN peacekeepers.

And journalists in the region appear to enjoy good relations, free of the political and ethnic divisions sometimes encountered elsewhere in Africa.

"There is a very frank and brotherly exchange between journalists in this war-ravaged Great Lakes region," said Kizito Mushizi, the Bukavu coordinator of the INSI training, who is also the Director of Radio Mandeleo, a leading broadcasting station in northeastern DR Congo

"We should have been operating individually from our various countries, but the existence of the Great Lakes Network of Journalists (of which Jean-Pierre Gatsinzi is the Chairperson) is a clear indication of how united journalists are in this part of Africa.

"We leave aside our various political convictions in the interest of our professional advancement," he concluded.

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