Return to Rwanda

(February 11, 2014)

Here's a story that the BBC Arabic covered on Rwanda. It is a little rare for the BBC Arabic to cover Africa when it is not a major news story. If the peace talks or the conflict is happening in real-time, then of course they will run a story on it.

But this was different, this was more of a reflective piece. I'm only including it here because the UN was all over it. I've always liked the UN, but I just cannot believe how it pops up in every vital, important effort. I never saw that before I watched the BBC Arabic.

The story is about people who fled Rwanda 20 years ago during the genocide, and who still live in the Congo. Here, a UN worker (in the blue shirt) has come to try to convince them to return home.

Many do not want to return. One man said: it doesn't help for the UN to tell us that life back in our society is better for us. We are Rwandans, we know very well what happens over there.

And another man said: people say if we return, we'll be hit, others say we'll be burned. We don't know what's true and what's not.

And the UN worker said: returning can be a matter of life and death. They want to feel like they can trust in their safety before they return.

Here are UN peacekeepers currently in the Congo:

Here is a lush green valley where some of the refugees live (I think):