Message of support for the Declaration of general mobilization for the protection of Rwandan refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
We stated already operating on the ground since 2021 and at the front often alone for the protection of refugees without discrimination and at our personal risk, we are very relieved to read this campaign of some Rwandans who are engaged to fight for the well-being of refugees long ago forgotten in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Being a network of Youth initiatives in the DRCongo we continue to present our mea culpa to the Rwandan refugees and to all the refugees in the DRC because we have never done enough yet for them to live a dignified life, in security and dream for a reassuring future. However, we recall that since 1996 until now the Congolese population has also suffered almost the same barbarities inflicted on all of us for having welcomed these refugees.
We strongly thank the hospitality of the Congolese population who share everything with the refugees and who continue to live in harmony and peace with them, and at the same time we regret the use of certain refugees by dark forces to harm other refugees on Congolese soil. We therefore support this civic initiative which aims to promote the well-being of Rwandan refugees in the DRCongo according to the laws, by sensitizing everyone to be demanding towards the Congolese State and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) who remain the most absent in this refugee situation.
Thus any action that complies with all the Conventions and Congolese laws regarding refugees will always benefit from our support. We recall then that refugees are not political actors or military reserves but rather victims seeking protection.
Refugees are not problems but they have problems.
The coordination