The club

I have been known by many names here at the clinic in Kigutu: Muganga Petero (Dr. Peter); Muganga-mupfumu Petero (doctor/traditional healer Peter); Muganga-mupfumu-muzungu Petero (doctor/traditional healer-white man Peter). The term mupfumu is used facetiously, for I have no desire to have any association with these charlatans. Regardless of that point, the name I am almost universally known by this year is “Le Roi” (The King). It is a name that I wear proudly. It is the name that everyone at the clinic now calls me. They are correct in doing so, for I am truly “le roi.”

But, you ask, of what exactly am I “le roi?” What precisely is my kingdom? Who are my faithful subjects that offer blind loyalty to their king? And, finally, who made me king? By what line of succession did I assume the throne that I occupy so regally?

I am, in point of fact, “le roi” of the Short Tie Club (more commonly known simply as the STC). Those of you, for whom French is your native language, it is “La Societe de Cravat Court (SCC). Many, if not most of you, are probably unaware of the existence of the Short Tie Club. So what is the STC? To what does it owe its existence? What are its goals, its aims, its desires? Is it a secret club? Or can anyone join? All of these questions will be answered in due time. First, though, a little bit of history is in order.

It all started a year ago, primarily to combat the long-time prejudice of those who wear the short tie. It is well known that the overwhelming majority of people who wear suits do so with what we in the STC refer to as the long tie. That is the normal and acceptable attire in the business world and in any world in which ties are worn. However, in this smallest corner of the world, Burundi, the fashionable attire is the short tie. One is “tres chic” in Burundi if one wears one’s tie in the short manner. I will demonstrate my point by showing you one of the first photos of some of the members of the STC even before the STC came into existence. This occurred in the formative and nascent stages of the club. The historical importance of this photograph cannot be overstated, for it shows three people willing to risk their reputations in a hostile and non-comprehending outside world.

Our motto became “we wear short ties and we’re proud!” That’s when the idea came to me that, for too long, the world has looked down its collective nose at those of us who wear the short tie. We were thought to be freaks and fools. We were thought to be without the slightest sense of fashion. We were pariahs in the tie world.

We needed to organize our collective forces to combat this inherent bias. That was when I decided to form the Short Tie Club: to give a voice and a viable platform to those of us who believed in our mission: our devotion to the wearing of the short tie.

I declared myself president of the club. It was a title that I felt that I deserved, for I had been the one to take the initiative to start the club. I also believed that, by becoming president, I was making myself the point man for the club. I would be the one who would be the object of derision. I would be the person who would deflect the waves of criticism that were destined to come our way. I felt that I had the strength and the fortitude to handle the scorn that was certain to be heaped upon us. It was not arrogance that made me believe this. It was more my unwavering devotion to the validity of our cause.

There is an inherent prejudice in our society against those of us who dare to be different. Robert Frost once wrote, “two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I took the one less traveled, and that has made all the difference.” We in the STC similarly took the road less traveled, and it too has made all the difference. I am sure that if Robert Frost were alive today, he too would be a proud wearer of the short tie.

Yet, in the beginning of the club, there were those who could not, in the end, take that road less traveled. They defected over to the side of the long ties. I do not blame them. I do not hold a grudge. I wish them only the best, for I know how difficult it is to be the non-conformist in today’s world. We lost several members. It required all my powers of persuasion to hold the club together. I give myself credit that I was able to do so. It was then that I earned the undying respect and loyalty of my fellow members. I was their leader, and I led them into their rightful place in society.

I believe that the STC really came of age at last year’s party at the VHW clinic in Kigutu. It was then that the ties came out of the closet, along with the people who wore those ties. It was then that the short tie became not merely an acceptable form of attire, but a desirable one. People at that party were proud to wear their short ties, as these pictures so graphically demonstrate. First there were six, and then, there were many.

The STC has grown exponentially since that day, and I am proud to report that we have new members every day. We are starting to establish new chapters in cities and towns and villages across the world: wherever ties are worn. We do not proselytize our message or our beliefs. We are not modern-day missionaries, trying to convert you to our way of wearing a tie. Our simple manifesto says to go in peace and to wear the short tie without fear of bias or prejudice.

I know that those who wear the long tie would like nothing better than to destroy our little group. I know that they want us to go back from whence we came. They have used unscrupulous methods in the past and continue to use those methods to discredit us. I warn them, we are here to stay; we will not be deterred from our chosen course. The short tie: now and forever!

Speaking from a personal perspective, the job of president has been an arduous one. I have faced many crises during my tenure. I believe that I may justifiably claim that I have led us forcefully and courageously through all of those crises. The STC has come a long way under my leadership, but it still has a long way to gain full acceptance in the land of the tie-wearer. I know that this may sound immodest, but I believe that I am the only one who can lead us out of the wilderness in which we started our journey. I do not think, as of now, there is anyone with the foresight and the drive who can successfully shepherd us so that we can complete that journey.

That is why in July I made the difficult decision to elevate myself from mere president of the STC to “le roi” (the king) of the STC. I did so, because I believed then as I believe now that the STC is not ready for elections. I believe that one day it will be. Just not now. It needs a strong leader. I am that leader. I hope one day that I will be able to choose a successor. That day has not come. However, I do not want to be known as “le roi” who said, “après moi, le deluge (after me, the flood). I want the STC to continue long after I am gone.

The STC has succeeded because its time has come. Look no further for proof of that than this year’s party at VHW in Kigutu. Just look at the pictures of all the men and women rejoicing in their short ties. The second picture shows "le roi" on his throne surrounded by his faithful subjects.

I want all of you out there to know that you are welcome to join our little club. There are no dues, no rules or regulations other than that one must wear the short tie. Just send me, via e-mail or Facebook, a picture of you in the short tie; you will then be accepted immediately into the club. We do not discriminate against anyone based on sex, race, color, creed, ethnicity, religion, sexual preference, Yankee-lover or hater, tall or short, thin or fat, Burundian or non-Burundian, human or animal, vegetable or mineral. Speaking of animals, here are two pictures of the dear, departed Asman the goat in his short tie. He left us too soon, but not before he posed for these now famous pictures.

I want to give credit to those of us at the STC who have helped make the club the vital force that it is. I know that I am “le roi,” but I could not have done what I have done without their dedication and assistance. The first two pictures are of my son-in-law, Garth Friedrich, a relatively recent convert to our cause. I have invoked the principle of nepotism by appointing him the STC Treasurer. However, be reassured that he will do a very capable job in this all important task. The first picture shows that he is one of us. The second shows him in deep contemplation about the past, present, and future of the STC. The last photo is one of the original members of the STC, my good friend, Dr. Melino. He is my trusted confidante and occupies the vital position of Ministere de Sante (Minister of Health) in the STC.