The story of Adeline Niyitanga, a resident of Gatsata Sector, Gasabo District, is one of limited happy moments, broken trust and disappointment. In 2013, she met a man from Thailand who was in the country to work on a mining project. At the time, she was pursuing her studies at University in Musanze District. They met, fell in love and dated for almost two years when Niyitanga became pregnant. The then 22-year-old wasn’t worried since her boyfriend was present and offering support any expectant mother would need. Their relationship was going well till it was time for the man to go back to his home country, this was in 2016. “He had to depart Rwanda when the project encountered losses, but promised to come back after only two months,” Niyitanga recalls. That was the last she ever saw him. The wait has been six years and Niyitanga has lost hope of ever seeing or hearing from him again. “I would be lying if I said I was forced into this but my regret is that I hid it from my parents and I escorted him to the airport myself. Maybe things would have been different if my parents had intervened,” she says. “He only gave me support during my pregnancy. After giving birth he cut all connections and every time I tried to reach out using another number, he would immediately block me.” Months went by after the man’s departure and Niyitanga eventually gave birth to a baby boy, and all the pain and hopelessness vanished when she held her baby in her arms, she says. “I found hope when I held my baby. He was a blessing in my hands.” Niyitanga and her son now live with her father, stepmother and siblings. Although she was lucky that her family made peace with her situation, it’s not the case with society. “Sometimes I refrain myself from walking with him on the road, everyone is asking whose child it is, where the father is and all sorts of frustrating comments,” she explains. However, if you asked the little boy about his identity, “I am an original Rwandan,” is his response. This is something his mother instilled in him at a tender age after telling him the truth- he is aware of his father’s name and face but has never met him or even talked to him. The young vibrant boy likes drawing, playing hide and seek and is a fan of Manchester United F.C. Niyitanga works as an MTN agent to cater for their needs including her son’s education. Alain Numa, Founder of AMERWA (Association des Métis au Rwanda), a foundation that brings biracial children together to give them education and health support, and financially help their mothers, said the issue of foreigners who impregnate women and leave them is significant and has a long-term impact in society. This creates an issue of an identity crisis at an early age, he points out. “Children don’t know where they belong. They are not recognised on their father’s side and their mothers are often rejected as foreigners’ prostitutes. Some grow up to become street kids and dangerous thugs in our society,” Numa says. He also reveals that these children are at times regarded as privileged kids in society just by the look of their skin, yet, in most cases they need help. Given the age range of the kids and common circumstances in which they are born, Numa notes that it’s parallel with the years of development that have seen foreigners come to the country under different projects. With limited funds, Numa takes care of 11 children and their mothers so far. “I have all sorts of nationalities, Turkish, Chinese, Thais, Russian, and others.” “We have been pushing with the government to have a policy on what should be done once foreigners impregnate women during their stay here, in a sense of owning up their responsibilities,” he adds.
