Highlights: “We lost everything we had”: testimony from Congolese refugees at Nakivale camp in Uganda. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the east of the country has been plagued by armed conflicts for almost 30 years. Violence which regularly provokes population movements. Some Congoles take the route of exile and go in particular to neighboring Uganda, a country which has a very favorable policy for welcoming refugees. The family of Madeleine and Fred, from Goma, fled the war and violence in the DRC two years ago.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the east of the country has been plagued by armed conflicts for almost 30 years, particularly in recent years in the province of North Kivu. Violence that provokes…

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“We lost everything we had”: testimony from Congolese refugees at Nakivale camp in Uganda

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the east of the country has been plagued by armed conflicts for almost 30 years, particularly in recent years in the province of North Kivu.

Violence which regularly provokes population movements.

Some Congolese take the route of exile and go in particular to neighboring Uganda, a country which has a very favorable policy for welcoming refugees.

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General view of the Nakivale refugee camp, Uganda, March 6, 2024. © Paulina Zidi / RFI

By: RFI Follow

With our special correspondent in Nakivale,

Paulina Zidi

Hit the road and leave the DRC for Uganda: this is the choice made, two years ago, by a family from Goma, arriving in one of the oldest and largest camps in the country: that of Nakivale , in

southwestern Uganda.

Madeleine and Fred welcome us in front of their house in the heart of this refugee camp: “

Yes, it’s our house, we built it, we were given the materials and we built it ourselves

,” they explain.

It has been almost two years since they arrived here in Uganda.

Before, they lived in Goma, but

they fled the war and violence

“

We came, my husband was a lawyer and he was shot by unidentified men.
And he was paralyzed following the bullets he received in the neck.
We fled to here, to Uganda, it was the border which was close to the DRC

,” says Madeleine.

Threats persist

For Fred, there is no doubt, it was a victory in court which earned him the wrath of his attackers.

Since that day, he has been seriously disabled.

He can no longer work, he must undergo treatment.

And even in Uganda, he

does not feel safe

: “

Because I have experienced at least two threats from people coming from Goma, I reported this to the police.
There are some who are also here.
Because there are many who come from there and when they come, they see me and they say: "You, you are still here. You fled from us, but it is not over yet."
I reported it to the police

,” he confides.

In their flight, they also lost several of their children.

Since then, they have had no news, but are trying by all means to find them.

They hope one day to be able to be reunited here in Uganda, because no return to the DRC is possible for them: “

I no longer plan to return to the Congo because of that.
We lost everything we had, we don't want to go back.

“We lost everything we had”: testimony from Congolese refugees at Nakivale camp in Uganda

“We lost everything we had”: testimony from Congolese refugees at Nakivale camp in Uganda

Threats persist

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