Patrick contacted the National Refugee Committee (CNR) based in Kibabi, Masisi territory, so that his case could be examined by MONUSCO DDR/RR section. / Photos Tijs Magagi Hoornaert
MONUSCO, through its Disarmament, Demobilization, Reintegration, Repatriation and Resettlement (DDR/RR) section, works for the demobilization of national ex-combatants and the repatriation of foreign ex-combatants.
During the years following the installation of MONUSCO in 1998, MONUSCO supported the government in operations to disarm armed groups.
In twenty years, the Mission has demobilized and repatriated thousands ex-combatants, according to the testimony from Jean-Claude Bahati Muhindo, from the DDR/RR section MONUSCO/Goma: "Since 2002, we have received and repatriated more than 10,316 Congolese combatants; 10,235 foreign combatants, with 9,496 dependents. We have also destroyed 3,503 small arms and 48,531 munitions since 2004”.
Patrick, an atypical career
Patrick (*) is also included in the thousands of foreign ex-combatants. On a Monday in 1993, when civil war broke out in his country, he was only four years old. His father was forced to bring his family to safety and leave the town Giciye in Rwanda to seek refuge in the North Kivu province in eastern DRC.
Now an adult and a father, Patrick keeps memories of his Rwandan family. His life in the DRC has not been easy. He moved several times, so he couldn't adapt. During all these years, he always remembered his native Rwanda and harbored the hope of being able to return there one day.
As he has gone through the demobilization process, he says: “The first memory I have is when we were in the forest, fleeing from armed men. My father led us to safety. It was completely the opposite of the sedentary life we used to live in Rwanda,” says Patrick, his throat knotted.
Twenty years later, the situation has not changed. In North Kivu, where Patrick has spent most of his life, the activism of national and foreign armed groups is in full swing.
He joined an armed group in which he remained for six years. He finally decided to leave it to return to civilian life. “I disappointed my parents by becoming a militiaman in 2008. My father was not in the military. But for me, like for other young people in my situation at the time, we had no other options than to join armed militias”, he testified.
While in the forest, his hopes quickly vanished. Life is hard there. He constantly had to move, he did not eat his fill, being constantly on the lookout for possible ambushes. "I was scared, like many other fighters," said Patrick.
Then came the day he met his wife, furthering his desire to start a family and change his life. “The decision to choose my wife was lifesaving. I then had to leave the forest because combatants were not allowed to have a family, but I made my wife pregnant,” he said, smiling.
This is how he contacted the National Committee for Refugees (CNR) based in Kibabi, Masisi territory. His case was then examined by MONUSCO DDR/RR section. In 2014, Patrick and his family arrived at the Kibabi refugee camp, mostly inhabited by Rwandan refugees.
“I wanted to give my family a safe space. Life in the camp was not easy at all. I stayed there for seven years. Seeing my two sisters and my two brothers leave the camp before me encouraged me. It was obvious that my turn would come one day.
Patrick and his family were then transferred to the Mutobo center in Rwanda, where they stayed for 45 days, before joining Giciye. There, they learned a trade in order to become independent as soon as they returned to their country after thirty years of exile.
Patrick: “I don't want to leave my family anymore. I try to provide them with a peaceful life that I never had. I want to become a moto-taxi driver and travel the streets of Giciye like a real parent who takes care of his children”.
Patrick went through a difficult time in his life. However, he did not reject the opportunities presented to him by the Congolese authorities and MONUSCO. Today, he has become a role model for other combatants.
(*) The first name has been changed.