I was just three inches a way from being killed.
It was the night of August 13, 2004 in Gatumba. On this night, many innocent women, children, and men were killed.
When I was young, I narrowly escaped two massacres in Gatumba and Kalemie, which targeted the Banyamulenge people.
I could do nothing but pray to God to save me and my people.
I just couldn’t believe where my life had taken me. At that time, I thought, you just feel like you’re waiting to die.
This was the fourth time in recent years that a massacre happened to my people. Even today, there has been no justice.
Even though they happened when I was young, I can remember the terrible things that happened to my people, the massacres in Congo at Kalemie and Vyura, and at the Burundian refugee camp in Gatumba.
I leaned to trust in God, and asked Him to send me and my family to America. Then the greatest thing happened.
Since I arrived in the US, I have shared these stories of my people with friends, cousins, and teachers. My brother, Jean-Claude, has made contact with different NGOs in California, trying to spread the word about the humanitarian crisis taking place in Congo and Burundi. It’s a terrible to explain what has happened to the Banyamulenge during these massacres.”
Thank you to the readers of this bog for learning the truth about the Banyamulenge. I hope that one day you will read the book that my brother is writing about the Banyamulenge during the Muleliste reign of terror from 1964 to 2004.
I pray daily for the grace to forgive those who killed my father, my uncle, family members, and all my people that I knew and loved.
My family and I have received a very warm welcome in the United States by the IRC [the International Refugee Commission)
Four days after arriving, I began high school at Skyline High in Oakland. I was placed in the 10th grade (despite the fact that I was an 11th grader in Burundi!). I have made many friends at school and near our home. Some of them are American, and many others come from Africa like us.
Apart from my classes at school, I have taken classes in photography at the IRC. In three months, I will earn a certificate in photography.
I am proud to be a photographer. One day, I would like to go back to my country and take pictures of my hometown and the beautiful countryside around it.
A year ago, a volunteer named Matthew began coming to the house to tutor me and my older sister in English. He is helping me learn to speak English well, like an American. This will help me continue my studies and have a good job one day.
He comes to the house each Tuesday and Thursday evening. One time, we asked him to take us into the city of San Francisco, and we went together and visited the city and some beautiful parks.
It was the night of August 13, 2004 in Gatumba. On this night, many innocent women, children, and men were killed.
When I was young, I narrowly escaped two massacres in Gatumba and Kalemie, which targeted the Banyamulenge people.
I could do nothing but pray to God to save me and my people.
I just couldn’t believe where my life had taken me. At that time, I thought, you just feel like you’re waiting to die.
This was the fourth time in recent years that a massacre happened to my people. Even today, there has been no justice.
Even though they happened when I was young, I can remember the terrible things that happened to my people, the massacres in Congo at Kalemie and Vyura, and at the Burundian refugee camp in Gatumba.
I leaned to trust in God, and asked Him to send me and my family to America. Then the greatest thing happened.
Since I arrived in the US, I have shared these stories of my people with friends, cousins, and teachers. My brother, Jean-Claude, has made contact with different NGOs in California, trying to spread the word about the humanitarian crisis taking place in Congo and Burundi. It’s a terrible to explain what has happened to the Banyamulenge during these massacres.”
Thank you to the readers of this bog for learning the truth about the Banyamulenge. I hope that one day you will read the book that my brother is writing about the Banyamulenge during the Muleliste reign of terror from 1964 to 2004.
I pray daily for the grace to forgive those who killed my father, my uncle, family members, and all my people that I knew and loved.
My family and I have received a very warm welcome in the United States by the IRC [the International Refugee Commission)
Four days after arriving, I began high school at Skyline High in Oakland. I was placed in the 10th grade (despite the fact that I was an 11th grader in Burundi!). I have made many friends at school and near our home. Some of them are American, and many others come from Africa like us.
Apart from my classes at school, I have taken classes in photography at the IRC. In three months, I will earn a certificate in photography.
I am proud to be a photographer. One day, I would like to go back to my country and take pictures of my hometown and the beautiful countryside around it.
A year ago, a volunteer named Matthew began coming to the house to tutor me and my older sister in English. He is helping me learn to speak English well, like an American. This will help me continue my studies and have a good job one day.
He comes to the house each Tuesday and Thursday evening. One time, we asked him to take us into the city of San Francisco, and we went together and visited the city and some beautiful parks.
12/07/08 chantal survivors
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