21 September 2010

10-Year Odyssey Takes Refugee from Despair to New Life

Janvier Tuyishime fled his home in Rwanda in 1999, and began a journey that took him to West Africa and Belgium before arriving in the United States in 2009. Tuyishime discusses his 10-year journey, which included homelessness and four years in a refugee camp, and his new life in the United States.

The transcript below combines an interview with Tuyishime along with text from his e-mails.

Question: When did you leave Rwanda?

Tuyishime: I left Rwanda in 1999.

Q: Why did you leave Rwanda?

A: After the genocide in 1994, extremist Hutus fled to the DRC [Democratic Republic of the Congo]. In 1994, the “genocidaires” destroyed my house but then I rebuilt it. In 1999, the Hutu genocidaires came back to kill more Tutsis in Rwanda. They came to my house. They forced the doors open of my house, but I jumped through a window and ran away in order to save my life. I left by myself and escaped to Kigali. I never went back.

Q: Where did you go?

A: I went from Kigali to Togo and then went to Belgium. I was in Togo for one year, and I was hidden by Togolese friends. I was in Belgium for one month. In Belgium, I stayed in a center for illegal immigrants and refugees, but I was deported from Belgium.

Q: How did you feel when you were deported?

A: Oh, I felt very, very, very, very, very bad and very sad. It is difficult to describe this situation.

Q: How long were you in Togo and what happened there?

A: I was in Togo for 9 days. When I arrived in Togo the gendarmerie [police] arrested me and sent me to prison. They said that I was not a legal immigrant and I was in jail for 9 days.

I was tortured and I slept on the floor in a cell with many people. There was not enough room to lie down to sleep. There were many mosquitoes and when it was raining the rain would come through the window. I could not take a shower and I was not allowed to use a toilet. There was just a bucket and no toilet paper. It was very, very bad. Sometimes the guards slapped me and I had some sort of disease on my skin.

I was only given a little bit of food, just once a day. I was very weak and the gendarmerie said that they did not want to take care of me anymore. I was handcuffed, put in a car, and they took me to the border between Togo and Ghana. The officer gave me a paper to sign. It said that if I ever came back to Togo they would arrest me or deport me back to Rwanda. I signed the paper. They took my handcuffs off and sent me over the border to Ghana.

Q: What happened next?

A: [I made my way] to the UNHCR [United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees] in the capital, Accra. I was homeless and jobless. In May 2002, the UNHCR accepted me in the transit center in Accra. In January 2005, UNHCR moved me to the Krisan Refugee Camp in Ghana. I was there until March 2009.

Q: What was life like in the refugee camp?

A: Life was very bad, there were no facilities. The water was not good to drink and the soil was poor, so we couldn’t farm and we couldn’t get much to eat. The food that they gave us was not enough and we were very hungry. There was infection and disease. There was despair and the trauma was too high. There were snakes and scorpions that bit people and many more miseries. I lost hope. It is a long and bad story.

Q: When you were in the camp where did you want to go?

A: I liked America and I wanted to go to America. America is the land of opportunity and it is the land to restart life and to free someone. The nation is very, very great, and in America there are many possibilities to regain life and to rebuild ourselves. The people in America are very, very good, generous and welcoming. I knew that and I liked America.

Q: What was the process of being able to come to the United States like?

A: I got a chance to meet the American people at the U.S. Embassy in Accra and the UNHCR gave them my case file in either 2007 or 2008. In two years, it was just interviews, medical check-up, and orientation, and after that was departure. The people at the embassy were very great and gave me much support.

Q: How did you feel on the day you left for America?

A: I felt saved. I was very happy.

Q: Where did you arrive? Who met you at the airport?

A: I arrived in Indianapolis. The local organization that sponsored me, Exodus Immigration, met me at the airport. They were very fine, nice people.

Q: What is your first memory of life in the United States?

A: It was euphoria. I felt very, very happy to be here. I was very most happy.

Q: What did you do after the airport?

A: They brought me to my new residence and they showed me my house. Immediately they led me to the store to buy food.

Q: How did you feel during that first day in your house?

A: I felt I was in paradise.

Q: Did you know any English before you came to the United States? Did you have a French translator from Exodus?

A: I knew only a little bit of English. There was someone who spoke French but he used simple English and we tried to understand each other. He made the effort to talk to me and I made the effort to hear from him, so it was not difficult to understand him. Immediately, Exodus took me to English classes. The teachers were experienced, active and they were good educators.

Q: Did Exodus help you to find a job?

A: Yes, I was working within one month. I worked as a landscaper at a company.

Q: What were some of the most difficult things to get used to?

A: The difficulties were just about the language. The little bit of English that I knew in Africa is different than in the U.S. I had accent and pronunciation problems. Some people talked very fast and to follow them was not easy. I didn’t meet any problems with the culture, though, because I am very flexible.

Q: You arrived in the United States in March 2009, and it is now June 2010. How do you feel about your life now compared to when you first arrived?

A: The difference is now I’m more confident and set up. When I first arrived in America I was new, and it is now that I feel that I have rebuilt my life. I was someone when I arrived in America, but I feel more someone today. I’m feeling an active part of the nation. I feel brotherhood with the people. I feel that this is my home.

Q: Why do you think that you were able to make this transition and feel a part of America?

A: People greeted me, helped me, and I was able to acquire the social life. Americans integrated me into American society. There were very good people who helped me. I was able to get a job and get a home health aide certification because of my skills and because people helped me. I’m feeling very, very, very happy.

Q: Who were some of the people who helped you? How did they welcome you and make you feel at home?

A: There were people from Exodus and some I met at church. Some invited me to their house for dinner and for Christmas and Thanksgiving. Some invited me to social outings and some invited me to discover the countryside of Indiana. Some invited me for church activities. Some visited me in my home and some called me to talk, sent me e-mails and gave me gifts. They helped me get a job. They helped me rebuild my life. People from Exodus took me to medical and job appointments and driving school.

Q: How do you feel about your life in Indianapolis?

A: I like it very much. It is very sweet. I am very, very happy. I like American energy. I like people and I like the culture. I like everything in America.

Q: What is your job?

A: My new job is I am a home health aide. I work for United Home Healthcare. I help patients. I like my job very much. I have Certified Nursing Assistant [CNA] certification and a Home Health Aide [HHA] certification. The staff at United Home Healthcare is very nice. They have a very great humanitarian character. When I applied to United Home Healthcare, through the interview about my life as a newcomer to the U.S., they felt concerned. They wanted to see me starting fast the job in order to rebuild my life in the U.S. And … they were very pleased with the quality of my work and the service I provide to the client. Because of the great job I am doing, the staff supported me and I passed a test and earned another certificate we call “home health aide,” issued by Indiana State Department of Health. So, I have now two types of certificate: CNA and HHA.

The staff continues to support me to go ahead. They looked for me [to have] the new shift where I can work more hours earning more wage. I will work 12 hours a day, 60 hours a week! Excellent shift if I start! I like it.

Q: Do you feel that you are an American or a Rwandan?

A: I feel more that I am an American. I want to stay forever in America.

(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov)