Friday, May 22, 2009
A people without a Nation
Posted by FBM Fidel Nshombo on Fri, May 22, 2009 at 12:49 PM
As all eyes gazed toward the genocide in Darfur, there were some invisible humans who were paying for what they never did. That being said, every one of their families had lost someone before being granted protection by the United Nations since the 2004 genocide in the Katumba Refugee Camp in Burundi.
You may wonder who these invisible people were, ”the Banyamulenge.” The Banyamulenge are the people from a town called Mulenge in the mountains of Congo overlooking the city of Uvira in South Kivu. These people were refugees in Congo in the ’80s and were naturalized by Mobutu, the former Congolese president, before he was routed out of power and died. Despite being granted citizenship, the Congolese still thought of them as Rwandan Tutsi, even after they had settled themselves comfortably in this small mountain town of Uvira and made it their home for dozens of years.
Looking at my own nightmare, I used to think I went through terrible things until I came across these Banyamulenge, here in Boise. Many of them are my friends and we sing and pray together at the same church here. Knowing them and hanging out with them made me stronger to deal with my own pain. The fact that they make my pain look smaller compared to theirs makes me a positive man.
During the First Congo war, the Banyamulenge participated in overthrowing the dictator Mobutu, joining with the Rwandan army, but the Rwandans could not accept them as their compatriots despite facial similarity and speaking the same language. With the war stirring up the Congo and more rebel groups joining in, all the Rwandans had to return to their home country at some point. The Congolese asked the Banyamulenge to go as well. For the Banyamulenge, Mulenge was more than their home; most of them had never been to Rwanda or any other place other than Mulenge. The Rwandan government denounced them for being Congolese while the Congolese claimed that they were but Rwandan. This left them as a people without a nation.
They had to scatter throughout the world, mostly in different refugee camps in Africa.
In 2004 the refugee camp in Burundi (Katumba) was attacked at night by Interahamwe militias. It was an all Banyamulenge refugee camp, therefore they did not think twice before opening fire on the tents, ensuring that there was no way out. They killed hundreds of refugees and injured thousands in a couple of hours before retreating in the darkness. This habit of attacking refugee camps had been common in most parts of central Africa. After the 1994 100-days genocide in Rwanda that claimed nearly a million lives, the Hutu Interahamwe had to flee into the bush of Central Africa. They came out to attack cities, loot food and, because of the hatred between them and the Tutsi, they attacked places where they thought the Tutsi may be living.
According to my friend, who lost four children and whose wife was injured, it was like a nightmare, as they were expecting a good day but ended up burying relatives instead.
He is here in Boise, together with many other victims and survivors of the same nightmare. They give daily thanks and praise to God for sparing their lives. In this group living in Boise, some had to go through surgeries, while others had to go through amputation of legs or arms. They are living here as refugees from Congo or Rwanda. Both Congolese and Rwandans nicknamed them as the Cogorwa for the fact they are neither Congolese nor Rwandan.
They are a people without a nation.
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This article is not well researched and the information provided is not neutral. It biased information based on one side of story and who has told it. Certainly Fidel is portraying Hutu people as Bad guys because he was told so by Tutsi. I guess if Tutsi were to tell their side of story they will portray themselves as innocent. As a Burundian born in Uvira just under the Mulenge Mountains, as a Burundian refugee who never knew my country and as a person who went to school with the so called Banyamulenge, I find it misinforming when one write lies about the whole story. This kind writing can only increase hatred and conflicts in people that are trying to recover from these bad memories. We should encourage true stories and stories get unite people rather than divide them.
For your good information, there are 450 tribes in Congo and none of them is Banyamulenge. Mulenge is a mountain in Uvira and the habitants are called " Bavira". When Tutsi from Rwanda occupied that Mulenge it was because they needed a place to cattle and Mulenge was beautiful plateau where they could cattle. Congo gave them to place to live not to change the names. As I said the Mountain Mulenge belongs to Bavira the naturally born people of Uvira. If the Tutsi from Rwanda wanted to be naturalised they should integrate themselves in local tribes and call themselves as either Bavira, Babembe, Bafuliro etc…However because Tutsis have always been so arrogant and dominant, they wanted distinguished themselves from the rest of the people. By the way Congolese people have been so welcoming to these Rwandese. They were given a fertile land, they were given higher positions in the Government and in churches they had higher positions such as Bishops of the Roman Catholics Church. What else they wanted? Dominion? Power so that they can continue their empire from Rwanda and Burundi to Congo and who knows the rest of Africa.
The war that the so-called Banyamulenge (the Tutsi from the Rwandese origin) were involved in to remove the dictator Mobutu was not justified. Everyone in Congo was suffering from Mobutu’s dictator and Mobutu was falling trough democratic processes. Why Tutsis did took gains then? Was it because they wanted to reclaim their Congolese nationality that Mobutu took away from them? Not really. The war simply an invasion of Rwanda and the violation of territorial integrity of Congo. Rwanda used the so-called Banyamulenge under the pre-text that they are reclaimed their nationality but eventually it was an invasion and a need for power by Tutsis.
Fidel is talking about 800,000 people who died during the genocide in Rwanda. He also talking about the massacre of Tutsis in the refugees’ camp of Gatumba in Burundi but he never mentioned about 3, 8 million people that have died since Rwanda and Tutsis invaded Congo. Fidel ignored to mention 2 million Rwanda Hutus that were killed in refugees’ camps throughout the Eastern region of Congo when Rwanda invaded Congo. These people were killed by who? Rwandese troupes and the so-called Banyamulenge. Are these not lives? Why when thousands Hutus are killed, no one raises their voices, but when one Tutsi is killed people like Fidel make a lot of noise and alerts the whole world? Are you saying that Hutus are not human beings?
In addition, who is a bad guy here? For instance in Burundi, over the years Tutsis have used tyranny, plunder y and gains to marginalise the Hutus. They even killed the first democratically elected President Melchior Ndadaye. They armed a militia group called “les sans defeat” (without defeat). Where was Fidel when this happened? Did Hutus complained about this? Why can Fidel research all the facts before he sympathize with one group and call the other “bad guys”?
Please read a book called: “Burundi: Hunger, Sexual Violence Dog Country by Nigel Watts and Published by Hurst Books. You will understand the truth about the great lakes region.
What we need in the great lakes region are people to support us in our endeavour to build everlasting peace and not people who are eager to continue diving us. Of course part of healing is to be able to tell our story, but true and neutral story. Because in some way or the other, Hutus and Tutsis have all killed and committed bad things. But there are still good people in all of us. Thank
Contact: clement.nkubizi@nmmu.ac.za for comments
Where is this town of Mulenge? When did Uvira become a tutsi village, what happen to the Bembe that reside there? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k3-lFv2jHg. This is the Uvira I left behind. And when was the term Cogorwa fabricated? Banyumulenge isn't used anymore because of what?
This article is actually great, whoever thinks it's bias may be the fact that they never get over what happened in the central Afr. It's never about who was right or wrong, or who killed more or less as Papy mention in his comment. I think Fidel's forcus is on the gatumba genocide and the fact that the banyamulenge are neither congolese nor rwandan...Mulenge is not in Uvira as zaza comment mention, it a mountain overlooking uvira and the Bembe people do not live in Uvira or Mulenge, the Bembe live in Bubembe or fizi i don't know what year you left the central Afr but a lot has happened since Zaza... i am a hutu who is already healed and i believe this is not as bias as it's based on one event. I believe Fidel just wanted to highlight the Banyamulenge who are not well mention in many stories of central Africa...I actually enjoy the other post by the women from Iraq...good stuff.
Bembe, the hemba, the bashi don't live in Uvira? Uvira now is refered to as Mulenge. And the Mulenge aren't mentioned in Central African history when the head of the senate seat in Congo is Mulenge. The 300,000 Mulenge residing in Congo probably isn't priority when you compare it to the 3 million tutsi in Rwanda and Burundi but nevertheless so isn't a large tract of the remaining 250 tribes in Congo. We aren't tribalist like you guys hacking away for the past century onward. What are this stories that they need to be mentioned in? History might be selective to you people but in Congo we have way to many people to dwell with idiotic concepts, the nations and tribes that make up the state is the history and national identity most adhere to. Most people in Congo could care less about identifying a person with his village. You have places like Kasai, when someone tells you their from Kasai, what comes to mind? Most congolese will just dwell with the state therefore the person is Kasain, all other information is not neccasary. But in your case we have to put all aside and pamper the mulenge identity in a country of 64 million. You my friend and the reader need to stay in your dillusional rwanda and burundi with that mindset. Uvira isn't Mulenge village its a Congolese town and former capital of Sud-Kivu. So when did it become Mulenge Village? Don't bring your Hutu-Tutsi issue into a place that ain't got the breath to waste on. Heal yourself don't worry about Congo we at the end will seal that border.
Zaza, where are you from actualy? don't comment on stories you don't understand well...Uvira is Uvira, Please! check the map! Mulenge is a mountain, The bashi live in Bukavu to help you and the bembe live in Fizi which is closer to Uvira. Again had it occured to you that the baluba and bakongo had a comflict...or the tshi and rega in bukavu...or did you know that a rwandese can not live in Kinshasa without being attacked or the fact that the rest of congolese refer to people from the east as rwandese? when was mulenge a capital of south kivu. man you are oblivion
It is quite disturbing to see how many people from that part of the (central Africa/DRC) keep feeding the spirit of war and hatred through hateful propaganda based on false information. It is true that one gives what he/she has. Hence, hatred based information based on hate in their heart. To these people, genocide and countless massacres of innocent Tutsi women, children and men are never enough. They keep paussing as victims of some kind of injustice based on the fact that Banyamulenge claim their long denied rights to citizenship in a country they lived for over 120 years. In the minds and hearts of these Congolese extremists most of whom are closely related to hutus, just because Banyamulenge have a Rwandese origin makes them not Congolese. Guess what? many of those who dessiminate this propaganda have western citizenships, either from USA, CANADA, or somewhere in Europe which they get only after few years. But, they shamefully feel that Banyamulenge cannot be Congolese even if what became Congo as a result of Berlin Conference in 1885 found Banyamulenge present in Mulenge.
For those you impostors who claim Mulenge to be a place of Bavira, or ba Bembe? do you have a term "Mulenge" in anyone of the local languages from the Sud-Kivu tribes? what does "Mulenge" means? Lying will never liberate your spirit, intellect and mind! As much as you can hate people, you can never change their history simply because you hate them. Denying their history is not a solution either. It is past time that you realize that your hatred towards Tutsis based mainly on your inferiority complex will never make you any better, nor will make them worse off.
By the way, haven't you realized yet, that they more you hate them, the stronger and much prosperous they get, while you on the other hand you get even poorer, weaker and miserable? If you were capable of learning, that would be enough lesson. But again, a heart full of hate, ignorance, with a guilty mind can never learn any thing good.
The good BAD news is that Banyamulenge are and will always be Congolese whether you like it or NOT.
By Muaki
They are a people in a hate nation.
This comment is for those who deny the fact that Mulenge is a place of Banyamulenge, and denying the congolity of Banyamulenge people. Read the entire comment by Muaki.
By the way, who do these people think Congo is? in USA, it takes five years for one to be an American, 3 in Canada, and less than 10 in most Western countries where curiously some of the extremist closed minded Congolese reside. But, in Congo? No, non, no, Banyamulenge with over a century can never be accepted as Congolese, even if fact show that Congo became Congo when these people where already there. A fact and a past that they hopeless think they can simply erase! Poor you haters!!!!!!!!1
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