Rwanda welcomes more returnees from DRC

Thirty eight Rwandans, including 28 teenagers and nine children, who have been living in DR Congo, were on Friday welcomed home on arrival at Nyagatare transit centre, Rusizi District. The return, a voluntary decision, puts an end to several years of refugee life that the individuals had endured after they fled the country during the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi. The returnees, who have been mainly living in Fizi, Idjwi, Kabare and Masisi, will soon proceed to their respective districts of origin to meet with their relatives, according to officials.Some of the women who returned had to break up with their Congolese husbands, they said. The return comes nearly a month after the application of the UN High Commission for Refugees’ Secession Clause, which implied that Rwandans in foreign lands lost their refugee status. The returnees add to the many others who had returned over the past few months.Francine Mukandayisenga, 33, a returnee, said she had been living in Fizi, eastern DR Congo. As a refugee, she said she lived in deplorable conditions and her three children were malnourished. The mother of three said she regretted the time spent living as a refugee. “I am happy today because finally I have come back home,” Mukandayisenga said. “My country is peaceful and progressing day and night.” She called upon others still living in camps to also return home and contribute to national development. Anastasie Munyemana, an officer at Nyagatare camp, who welcomed the refugees, thanked them for their decision to repatriate. “You can now feel free as other Rwandans,” she said, urging the returnees to work hard.

National

Rwanda welcomes more returnees from DRC