“I got married while fighting in the bushes. When we had children, I thought we would not be safe, running from place to place with my family, so I decided to return to my hometown, Rwanda.”
Jean-Nepo Mukeshimana, 26, was speaking at the Munigi Transit Camp, near northern Goma, where he was preparing to leave for Rwanda, after about 10 years of fighting in the ranks of the Raiya Mutomboki, an armed group based based in Kibabi, a village in the North Kivu province of the DRC.
Born to Rwandan parents who fled the 1994 genocide, Mr. Mukeshimana was born in DRC. When he was 16, his parents returned to Rwanda because the war ended, but Mukeshimana stayed, and was later recruited by Raiya Mutomboki.
“10 years of fighting the dust, life is difficult, we can’t do anything to earn an income. He said it was sprinting from place to place every day.”
His wife, Mapenzi Uwineza, 20, said that Mr. Mukeshimana simply ordered her to follow him into the bush after his marriage, agreeing that life was difficult. “When we need food, the warriors have to plunder, what kind of life is that? We didn’t have towels, so I had to improvise with old pieces of cloth. And while our husbands are away, we will be beaten by the rebels.”
Prepare for civilian life
Along with four other male veterans, and their dependents – two women and five children – Mr. Mukeshimana spent two weeks in the camp, as part of the MONUSCOThe Disarmament, Disarmament, and Reintegration (DDR) program within the DRC, has been running since 2013.
The aim of the initiative is to help repatriate all foreign fighters and their dependents in the country, collect and remove weapons and ammunition, and ensure that those who have fought understand the importance of peace.
Rwandans in the camp are expected to tell others still fighting in the bush that it is safe to surrender and return home.
John Bashali works for the MONUSCO DDR program. He said the lack of identification, required by authorities in their countries of origin, made many fighters reluctant to return home.
To make the process easier for them, MONUSCO helps veterans with the paperwork. “There is a phone number where they can contact us, with the cost of the call being paid by MONUSCO,” he said. “After identification, they were transferred to Munigi Transit Camp to be ready for repatriation.”
Learn to live in peace
Established in 2014, the camp provides basic necessities such as clothing, food, feminine hygiene kits, and shelter. Veterans have access to news and can participate in sports activities.
The center also provides them with life skills and a stipend to support them after going home. After arriving in Rwanda, the men spend two to three months at the Mutobo Discharge Camp, where they learn vocational skills, so that they can earn a living after returning to their villages.
A new chapter
As they helped each other pack, Mr. Mukeshimana and his veterans appeared excited to be on their way to Rwanda.
“I have never had such clean clothes because in the bushes I have lice all over my body,” said cheerful Mr. Mukeshimana, who was wearing a new set of clothes provided by the mission.
Before departure, a meal of rice and beans is served. The expectant group then boarded a UN minibus, and their journey from Munigi to the border between the DRC and Rwanda began.
After half an hour’s drive, it was time to say goodbye to the DRC and start a more hopeful new chapter in their lives.
