{"id":20270,"date":"2014-06-22T15:32:49","date_gmt":"2014-06-22T19:32:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=20270"},"modified":"2014-07-21T11:28:27","modified_gmt":"2014-07-21T15:28:27","slug":"congolese-rwandan-groups-work-together-for-peaceful-homecoming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2014\/congolese-rwandan-groups-work-together-for-peaceful-homecoming\/","title":{"rendered":"Congolese, Rwandan groups work together for peaceful homecoming"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In spite of tense relationships between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighboring Rwanda, two <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mcc.org\/\">Mennonite Central Committee (MCC)<\/a> partner organizations, one on each side of the border, are working together to support the peaceful return of Rwandan refugees to their home country.<\/p>\n<p>[Michael J. Sharp, a 2005 graduate of Eastern Mennonite University, is involved in this delicate and often dangerous work on the Congo side of the border.]<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_20278\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20278\" style=\"width: 243px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/is\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2014\/05\/Sharp_Michael_MCC.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20278\" src=\"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/is\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2014\/05\/Sharp_Michael_MCC.jpg\" alt=\"Sharp_Michael_MCC\" width=\"243\" height=\"220\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-20278\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael J. Sharp (Photo courtesy of Mennonite Central Committee)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Twenty years ago, in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide, nearly 2 million people fled into Congo. Most of them were Rwandan civilians, but some were the soldiers and militiamen \u2013 known collectively as <i>g\u00e9nocidaires \u2013<\/i>\u00a0who had carried out the massacres.<\/p>\n<p>Rwandan soldiers pursued these <i>g\u00e9nocidaires<\/i>\u00a0into Congo, causing two wars and countless smaller conflicts and setting the tone for years of frosty relations between the two countries.<\/p>\n<p>Today, more than 100,000 Rwandans still live in eastern Congo. They scrape out a living in the country\u2019s dense forests, where tensions between them and their Congolese neighbors sometimes turn violent.<\/p>\n<p>But two MCC partners \u2013 the Program for Peace and Reconciliation (PPR) of the Church of Christ in Congo (an association of Christian churches) and Friends\u2019 Peace House of the Evangelical Friends Church in Rwanda \u2013 are working to bring the civilian refugees home in a peaceful way.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRwandan refugees in Congo long to return to their homes, even after many years of exile,\u201d said Suzanne Lind, an MCC representative for Congo with her spouse, Tim Lind.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMilitary efforts to resolve their status have consistently caused much suffering and death among Congolese civilians and Rwandan refugees alike,\u201d she said. \u201cThrough this program, the churches are demonstrating a different way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Because Rwandans fled their country in the aftermath of the genocide, many are hesitant to return. Although the Rwandan government and the United Nations provide for their safe repatriation, false rumors persist that those who return will be punished or killed, even if they are civilians.<\/p>\n<p>To encourage Rwandans to consider repatriation, PPR field staff, called <i>animateurs<\/i>\u00a0(facilitators), meet face-to-face with refugees, explaining their options for repatriation. Church leaders help the animateurs to make the connections because refugees, although distrustful of Congolese organizations, tend to trust the church leaders in the community where they live.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s dangerous work,\u201d said Sharp, an MCC worker who has served as a consultant to PPR for almost two years. As animateurs travel to meet with refugees, \u201cThey\u2019re at the mercy of the armed group who controls that area.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But despite the danger, the approach works. Over the past seven years, PPR has facilitated the repatriation of more than 19,000 civilian refugees to homes many have not seen for 20 years.<\/p>\n<p>If the refugees decide to return to Rwanda, the animateurs arrange to lead them to designated \u201crallying points,\u201d where PPR \u2013 with support from MCC \u2013 provides food and urgent medical aid. From there the Congolese and Rwandan governments facilitate the repatriation, with oversight from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.<\/p>\n<p>Although the returnees are given a small amount of money to help start their new lives, they often struggle to cope in Rwanda.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter 20 years in the forest, the refugees do not know present-day Rwanda, and many are traumatized,\u201d writes Antoine Samvura, coordinator of Friends\u2019 Peace House. Many bear psychological wounds from their time spent as refugees.<\/p>\n<p>To help them adjust, Friends\u2019 Peace House is launching a project that includes offering psychosocial counseling and humanitarian items, such as school and medical supplies. Staff members have experience counseling Rwandans returning from Europe and will extend those skills to support those returning from Congo. MCC Rwanda has committed to providing supplies and project consultation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMore Rwandan refugees will return peacefully to Rwanda,\u201d because of this project, Samvura claims. \u201cRepatriates will reintegrate faster into Rwandan communities, which will be stronger and healthier as a result.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The collaboration between Friends\u2019 Peace House and PPR strengthens the repatriation experience, Samvura added, because refugees are assured that on both sides of the border, \u201cthere are organizations that will look out for their security and well-being.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In Congo, PPR field staff can assure Rwandans they will be taken care of throughout the process \u2013 from the time they leave their homes to their first contacts with Friends\u2019 Peace House. Likewise, repatriated refugees in Rwanda can call or write back to individuals who are still in Congo, to reassure them that the process went well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost importantly,\u201d Sharp said, \u201cthe process shows that despite the ill will between the two countries, it is still possible for Rwandans and Congolese to work together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Courtesy of Mennonite Central Committee, May 20, 2014<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In spite of tense relationships between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighboring Rwanda, two Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) partner organizations, one on each side of the border, are <a href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2014\/congolese-rwandan-groups-work-together-for-peaceful-homecoming\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"more-link\">... read more <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">about Congolese, Rwandan groups work together for peaceful homecoming<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":20279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[266],"tags":[6100],"feature":[],"class_list":["post-20270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","tag-mennonite-central-committee"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - 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