Note: some names have been changed to protect those quoted.
“I am 57 years old and from Kibati, in Masisi. I came to Goma two weeks ago because I needed help. I was born in Masisi and am a farmer there. My husband is also a farmer and we cultivate things like beans and maize and ground nuts. I have had 14 children but only four are still alive. The others have died from diseases and one died from fighting. This was about three years ago. It was when the CNDP were fighting with government soldiers. He was 17 years old and there was fighting in our village and he was caught. There wasn’t a health centre to take him to and he died. During this time three years ago after he was killed we fled to Goma and stayed in one of the camps and returned to Masisi when the fighting stopped. But since then Masisi has had fighting nearly every day.
There is a lot of shooting and a lot of violence. Much worse than before. In April we fled to Rutshuru because of the fighting but when fighting broke out in Rutshuru we went back to Masisi.
There are armed groups around us the whole time – they drink and push us around and loot everyone’s houses. Two weeks ago I was farming our beans when we saw armed men walking around the edges of the fields. We knew what they were going to do – everybody knows that when they come to the fields it is to rape women. So we hid in the greenery but they found us. One armed man took me and raped me. There were some other women around and the same thing happened to them so we decided that it was better that we all come to hospital in Goma together which is why we are here. My husband was very supportive and said that he wouldn’t abandon me even with what had happened. I am very lucky that he is so supportive and grateful.
I have been tested for HIV and tomorrow I will get the tests – it was an armed man and we know that all armed men have HIV so I am worried.
He was very violent with me and I am in a lot of pain. I will stay here until the pain goes and I feel better and then I must go home. I look after a lot of orphans from my family – children of people who have been killed. I have three from my sister and one of her children’s daughters too. They need me to look after them even though I am getting old. All I want now in life is peace – I don’t want to be raped again and I don’t want to have to keep on running. This war has destroyed us – all we want is to live in peace.”
About CARE: Founded in 1945, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty and providing lifesaving assistance in emergencies. In 84 countries around the world, CARE places special focus on working alongside poor girls and women because, equipped with the proper resources, they have the power to help lift whole families and entire communities out of poverty. CARE and its local partners implement long-term development programs and humanitarian assistance interventions in the Great Lakes countries (DRC, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi), including programs to prevent sexual and gender-based violence and provide support to survivors.