I was in DC in May for a conference and I delivered a speech, which I want to share with you.
"Hello everyone,
My name is David TABARUKA and I thank you for the opportunity to share my story with you today.
I was born in Rwanda and I have been a refugee for 14 years. In 1994, during the genocide my family felt unsafe in Rwanda and decided to flee to Democratic Republic of Congo.
We lived there for 2 ½ years until another war broke out in Congo.
Once again, our family had to run away in search of safety. Together my mom, two younger brothers and my younger sister walked from the small town of Bukavu, located in south Kivu region of the Congo to Republic of Congo.
The entire journey took us between six to seven months and after walking for 4000 miles, we finally reached the North side.
During our escape we saw many women and children being killed and many more dying because of the lack of food.
Many others, including my good friend Maurice, who was about 20 years old, died from of lack of medical attention.
During our flight through the Congo, we felt lost and abandoned. We often asked ourselves what we could have done to deserve this kind of death.
I remember seeing my younger brother, who was nine months old, having pneumonia, but we had no medicine to make him better.
At night, when we stopped to rest in the middle of the jungle, I tried to keep him warm by placing him inside my jacket.
My mother had to sell her wedding ring, the only physical reminder she had of her marriage to my father, who had died before the genocide.
In return for the ring, my mother was able to get a small bowl of soup for my brother Jean-Luc and I who were suffering from a bout of cholera.
Eventually, we were able to reach the other side of the Republic of Congo by crossing the Congo River, but in the process felt as if we had ceased to be human.
We stayed in this small village surrounded by a forest one side and the Congo River on the other side for nine months, but found it challenging to re-integrate into community life because we had lost our ability to relate to others. I used to spend time at the river thinking about my past, but I could not see anything except my pain and struggle.
Finally after spending over seven years in the Congo, our family was able to reach the United States safely.
We arrived in Burlington, VT on November 30th, 2004, it was cold and we were exhausted from the trip and from the isolation and emotional toll of not being able to communicate in English.
When we arrived at the airport, we met the director of the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program, Judy Scott, who was finally able to communicate with us in French.
We felt a huge relief at being able to make ourselves understood.
Judy and her staff slowly helped us to connect to the Burlington community and to build a new life in America.
Because of all that my family and I experienced, I have learned to value humanity.
If something can happen to one person, it can happen to anyone!
It can also happen to you!
I feel grateful because my family and I were given a second chance to see the sun again.
Today, I am pursuing a college education at Champlain College.
I am exploring new opportunities and dreaming of a better future.
If you had told me a few years ago that I would be who I am today, I would probably have said that you had lost your mind.
I thank the U.S. government for creating this resettlement program and helping refugees to create a new reality in the United States.
Today, 14 years after the Rwanda genocide, there are many other refugees around the world.
Refugees need our attention and support. They need someone who understands their language, their experience, their loss and grief and their hope.
We are all in a position to create change and to contribute solutions to the refugee crisis.
As a refugee who has been given the opportunity to begin a new life in America, I ask you from the bottom of my heart to improve conditions for refugees in Africa.
You are their only hope!
Think about the thousands of women, children and men dying in the Congo Democratic Republic and Darfur today.
We have the privilege of choosing to pay attention and to get involved in finding solutions. The lives of many depend on our efforts. Thank you."
| Permalink
| Comments (1)
