John Nsengiyera, 27, recalls, with a tinge of nostalgia, how life used to be back home in Ngungu, a region in Masisi territory, in DR Congo’s North Kivu Province, where cattle grazed on rolling green hills.
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Although the Congolese Tutsi community from this region has been subjected to discrimination since 1964, according to his parents, they always lived a decent livelihood.
"Despite all the discrimination, we had so many cows, enough food at home, and we lived in harmony with our neighbours. However, things got worse for us in 1994 when the Interahamwe (genocide militia) invaded our land when hundreds of thousands of Rwandans fled to our country,” Nsengiyera said.
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When the Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA) stopped the Genocide against the Tutsi, in Rwanda, in July 1994, the ousted genocidal regime’s army (ex-FAR), politicians, and Interahamwe militia who orchestrated the Genocide – runaway, en masse, and with their weapons and loot, to eastern DR Congo, then known as Zaire. They arrived in Zaïre with the same ideology of exterminating the Tutsi.
"When they fled to our country, they arrived with their genocide ideology and targeted the Congolese Tutsi, and this is when the suffering of my community started in earnest,” Nsengiyera said.
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Before fleeing from Rwanda, the genocidaires had massacred more than one million people, in three months. In eastern Zaire, they enjoyed the full protection and support of the country’s government and Western NGOs and governments including France.
They later banded together into what they called the Army for the Liberation of Rwanda (ALIR). In 2000, soon after the US government listed it as a terrorist organization following its murder of American tourists in Uganda’s Bwindi forest, they formed FDLR so as to evade or distance themselves from their horrendous crimes. The violence they orchestrated for the past three decades is what caused the mass exodus of Congolese refugees to Rwanda. The latter is now home to more than 80, 000 Congolese refugees including Nsengiyera, who cannot wait to return home.
To date, the DR Congo government, through its denial of the existence of Congolese refugees in Rwanda, is attempting to divert attention from the real reasons why these refugees exist in the first place. Kinshasa’s continued collaboration with armed groups, including FDLR which targets the Congolese Tutsi, has aggravated insecurity in the region.
Tutsi communities continue to be subjected to widespread hate speech, discrimination, hostility, and violence rooted in the genocide ideology revived by the genocidal militia, FDLR, and embraced by the Congolese leadership and security apparatus.
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Nsengiyera’s family first sought refuge in Rwanda in 1997 when he was a one-year-old.
The family returned to their country in 2009 when relative calm returned. However, this was short-lived because the discrimination worsened and they returned to Rwanda in 2012.
While peace remains a receding mirage for many Congolese and in other countries in the world, every September 21 marks the International Day of Peace, which is observed around the world to commit to peace above all differences, and to contribute to building a culture of peace.
It was established in 1981 through a unanimous United Nations resolution.
The resolution defines the culture of peace as a set of values, traditions, and modes of behavior and ways of life based on: respect for life, full respect for the principles of sovereignty, full respect for and promotion of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, commitment to peaceful settlement of conflicts, efforts to meet the developmental and environmental needs of present and future generations, and respect for and promotion of the right to development.
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Similar sentiments are shared by Nsengiyera, who believes that while Congolese refugees found a safe haven in Rwanda, they are not living in peace.
He said: "There is no peace away from home.”
"Where I am today, there is security, but I wouldn’t call it peace – which has many components. I cannot say I am really peaceful when living here as a refugee, and thinking of my relatives who are stuck in Congo and who are facing persecution and death. We cannot say we are enjoying peace when we are called refugees,” Nsengiyera said.
To him, peace prevails only when someone is able to develop, freely and harmoniously live on their own.
"Peace is not personal, but something that is shared. Peace cannot be achieved when people’s rights are being infringed upon,” Nsengiyera said.
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Olive Muhabwazina, 28, another refugee from DR Congo, since 2012, defines peace as a situation where one is able to live a dignified life in their own country, enjoying all their rights.
She said: "I am grateful to the government of Rwanda for helping us when we couldn’t find peace in our home country. They welcomed us, those of us who were able to go to school did. Those who wanted to engage in other vocations, the government of Rwanda allowed them to.”
But she said that they can only enjoy peace if they are able to return home. She called upon the international community to do more in helping countries which are in conflict to achieve peace.
"We are safe in Rwanda, but those who are in Congo are being persecuted when the world is watching. I am urging the world to do their best so we can have peace in Congo.”
Rwanda has not only made a name for itself as a safe haven for refugees. Currently, more than 130,000 refugees from Burundi and DR Congo are sheltered in Rwanda.
The country has contributed more than 6,000 peacekeepers in UN missions in several African countries and Haiti.
Despite global efforts to achieve peace, it may not be achieved soon, at least according to President Paul Kagame who talked about this on Wednesday, September 20, at the 78th United Nations General Assembly which coincided with the annual ‘Peace Day’.
"Today, there is no sign of ongoing conflicts ending any time soon. We do not even see hope from those with the most influence that an end is in sight. Innocent lives are left alone to carry the burden of this instability. That is a profound injustice,” Kagame said.
He noted that Rwanda remains committed to working with partners to contribute to a durable solution for the global refugee crisis.
MP Germaine Mukabalisa told The New Times that the International Day of Peace is a good time to reflect on the fact that women are very vulnerable to conflict, as rape, sexual violence, and exploitation are often used as war weapons.
She said: "Women can also be agents of peacebuilding, reconciliation, and development. For the last 29 years, we (Rwandans) have enjoyed sustainable peace that enables us women to realize our full potential.
"It is a deeply embedded obligation now to be intentional in carrying forward this peace for the future generations to enjoy.”
According to Margret Mahoro, a Senior Programme Manager at Interpeace Rwanda, the International Day of Peace is an opportunity to promote peace and raise awareness about the importance of peacekeeping efforts around the world.
"This day creates an important opportunity for peace builders from different organisations to meet and collaborate, discuss challenges, and come up with strategies for way forward,” she said.
For Gloriose Musekweya, the Senior Legal Officer at Initiatives for Peace and Human Rights (iPeace), a non-profit organization working to help communities and individuals in Africa's great lakes region achieve sustainable peaceful coexistence using human rights and good governance education, the International Day of Peace carries even more meaning for women.
Musekweya said: "Observing International Peace Day serves as a reminder for me as a woman, that the attainment of lasting peace plays a crucial role in advancing human rights and specifically gender equality.
"Additionally, it's essential to acknowledge that our distinct viewpoints, life experiences, and contributions have the potential to tackle the underlying triggers of conflicts, contributing to the pursuit of a fairer and more peaceful world for everyone.”