Anisie Byukusenge has never let her disability obstruct her opportunities. The 26-year-old uses poetry to communicate to the world around her messages that reflect particularly on her own life as well as the plight of persons with disabilities. Byukusenge, was born normal. At six months she started losing sight when her eyes developed an infection, which led to intense scratching of the eyes and pain. She narrates her ordeal as told by her mother. “My mother always told me, that from six months I started crying so hard and scratching my eyes,” she says. Anisie Byukusenge (left) was recognised at the annual ‘Rwanda Performing Arts Federation’ last year. Courtesy photo. Since they were refugees in Burundi, access to basic services, such as healthcare was limited, which restricted her from getting treatment. The last born of three children in their family, Byukusenge, was born on November 11, 1993—a year before the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Her family of four escaped from the tragedy and moved to Burundi, where they lived for four years before returning to Rwanda in 1997. Upon return, they learnt that their father had been killed in the Genocide. “I lost my sight completely at the age of five. All I can remember are cow herds in the neighbourhood, chicken and the faces of family members. After losing my sight I was hopeless and thought that my life would never contribute anything in this world,” Before losing her sight, Byukusenge had picked interest in poetry, an art she would later deploy in raising her voice on the issues that challenge people with disabilities, especially discrimination and stigma. She spent close to eight years feeling hopeless –from the age of 5-13 years, with her heart full of pain. At the age of 13, a year after she had just finished her primary education in a specialised school, she could not find a secondary school to give her specialised education since her family could not afford it. She joined a mixed school where she was introduced to inclusive education –something that she was going to do for the first time. Secondary school was a challenge for her because she would go for days without learning anything in class due to poor facilitation from her teachers. Most times she would be lonely since she could hardly find friends to hang out with or even talk to. Often she found quiet places, and penned down some interesting poems. However, she also believes that it is during inclusive education that she was able to compete and show her talents. Facing challenges like lack of supervision from her teachers, stealing her property because she was unable to see, made her feel like dropping out of school, but due to her positive mental attitude towards obstacles, she was able to overcome. She excelled in her senior six exams and was among candidates to be admitted to the National University of Rwanda (UNR), the current University of Rwanda (UR). Byukusenge would go on to study languages at the Huye Campus, specialising in interpretation. In poetry she found solace and would help her overcome her hopeless state, expressing herself through writing poems. In 2016, during the commemoration of English playwright and poet William Shakespeare, Andrea Grieder, a Swiss poet, coordinated the training of 14 students to perform on March 19. She was chosen among the students to perform and this motivated her more. At the end of the training, she says, Andrea approached her and inspired her to pursue poetry. “I remember when Grieder approached me and told me that he saw something in me. After his inspiring words I did not turn back. I wanted to do more to prove to even more people that I was something,” She has since written eight poems. While she can’t precisely mention which one she thinks out of the eight poems is the best, she says, her first, why do you stare at me, talks to her more than any other. Why do you stare at me is a poem that challenges the society to give reasons why disabled people are perceived differently from others. The poem also takes away the face of the public segregating and discriminating all who are disabled. A lot of times when Anisie is walking, she feels like people are not so certain about her life and not just about her but all her fellows who are disabled in different ways. The poem depicts the fact that people are not supposed to be defined by their disability, but rather by their humanity and ability. She is also known for her other poems such as ‘the smell of the change’, ‘whom should I blame’ among others. Professionally, Byukusenge started poetry in 2016. She believes that the biggest achievement from poetry so far is that it has given her the right to communicate her inner self. “I couldn’t carry depression and agony in my heart forever, but poetry has made it possible for me to talk to the public on behalf of my friends, who are not able to. Personally poetry has brought me enough happiness that I didn’t have for quite a long time, and the fact that I can smile again, is an achievement” The music addict says she is happy and keeps an endless smile on her face, rents her own house, and does all her chores by herself. Brave enough to live in her own house alone, she believes that she may act as a witness on behalf of the others that there is a lot of strength in people, and all it takes is coming out of bondage. She has travelled to different places in Europe, including Scotland where she recited her poems on a UNESCO London invite. Being visually impaired, her poems easily appeal to crowd which makes it easy for her. “People are often touched even before I speak, which removes the barriers of my audience I find it easier to connect them to my poems because the crowd is already feeling sorry for me making it easier for my messages to be received” With her extraordinary poetic abilities, she intends to speak on behalf of all disabled people and use all her efforts to show that their presence in society is valid. In future she intends to publish books full of her poems, so that they can reach many parts of the world where she is unable to travel to. The poetess challenges the society to focus on people’s abilities and stop looking at the disability. She advises people with disabilities to always have a positive mental attitude and be hopeful. editor@newtimes.co.rw
