The name Walter is taken from a Germanic name meaning “ruler of the army” (http:/), yet the Walter I was honoured to meet and connect with, like a mother to a son, is a beautifully made gentle soul, soft spoken, always smiling and showing no outer scars of a person exposed to some of the worst brutalities against humankind. On the contrary, he is poised, warm, friendly and grateful for his portion, for his cup in life, once empty even of basic needs that every child is entitled to and flung to the harsh elements of fate, is brimming with goodness and soon will overflow. This is because a young man realized that if he was so cruelly flung into the valley of death as a child, alone, confused, hungry, thirsty and lost in the crowds of hurting people fleeing for their lives with empty hands and aching hearts, he was alive for a purpose. All they had was the sky above as their roof and each other—strangers by blood but brothers in circumstances. He remains beautifully made and hopeful that there is still goodness to be enjoyed.
Walter Nsengiyumva was born in Karengera, Cyangugu, Rwanda on 22 December 1984 to Leon Mbarushimana and Nukarubana Beatrice. His father is a tailor and his mother a primary school teacher. Walter recalls that in 1990, when he was about 6 years old, conflict started in his country. He was attending primary school. The entwined story of the Rwandan monarchy, Tutsi rule and resistance, the country becoming a republic and the rising of the Hutus all resulted in war. Bombings, butchering, burning of villages, looting, gunshots, and violence against women and children were rife, resulting in the mass exodus of villagers. The working citizens of Rwanda in marketplaces, churches and other places where people congregated were targeted by insurgents and resulted in the senseless killing of the helpless and innocent. Confusion between tribes emerged. Tribal lines were blurred since the government and army were made up of the Hutus and Tutsis. The real reason for the war was no longer known. By July 1994, the RPF (Ugandan trained soldiers party) controlled most of Rwanda. Out of great fear, the people fled to surrounding countries. Most moved into the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), including Walter and his family. He continued his primary school education in exile. In 1997, rumblings of conflict in the DRC were heard. Refugee camps were attacked and, once again, the senseless slaughtering of the innocent and helpless occurred.
Once again, the family was uprooted and fled from this battlefield of bombs and bullets. Heartbroken and homeless survivors had to literally walk through pathways of death, through parts of the central African jungles face-to-face with wild animals, hunger and illness. The stench of fear and death filled the air. Dead bodies, with missing body parts, were disrespectfully strewn all over. Walter recalls at a certain point on this deadly walk many people, already weak from starvation and thirst, jumping over corpses who became violently ill. Nobody was allowed to speak to avoid being heard by fighters who would detect the nearby passersby. Many crying and dying children were carried by helpless, grief-stricken parents. Family members had to make the painful decision to move while leaving behind the fatigued, hurt and sick including their own children. After six months of walking, seeking refuge in that forest, they were attacked at the Congo River, which is wide and filled with crocodiles, hippos and venomous snakes, causing people to become scattered. Gunshots were heard in the direction of the water, which forced the crowds to move into the water. Many separations occurred. Walter’s parents and siblings were all separated. It became a walk with strangers. Refugees clung to one another for companionship and direction.
Walter recalls that at one point he was feeling sick and had to lie down on a small concrete area where small boats come in to dock on the side of the river. He heard gunshots and saw two dying women next to him. One of the soldiers called out to Walter beckoning him to halt. Walter was terrified and took to safety by running into the water, sinking into the mud and river weeds. The weeds anchored him as he choked in mud. He managed to come up but the water currents were too strong for this young child and he was carried downstream. As he continued his way down the river he saw a man fishing. They did not speak the same language but the man noticed that Walter was sick. The man gave Walter a piece of dried fish and cassava to eat and guided him by showing him the way forward. Alone, fatigued, cold and filled with fear, Walter continued his walk in the forest. As daylight curtains were closing, he met a group of about 20 survivors who had fled an earlier shooting. They were met by a Congolese pastor who had a strategic hiding place. He managed to assist their crossing of the river on his small boat. Crossing during the day was dangerous and the pastor requested the survivors to wait till dark. Morning broke and they found their way at sunrise. The people walked for about one-and-a-half days. Walter spotted his baby brother, Abayo, sitting on the forest pathway crying as he was in severe pain from a wounded and swollen foot. Ten-year-old Walter picked up his four-year-old baby brother and placed him on his back. He was heavy but Walter was now his brother’s keeper. It was a bittersweet reunion and they comforted one another. They struggled to catch up with the others but their little limbs were fatigued. With each moment the separation gap became wider. They managed to come to the main road where they followed the footprints of other refugees ahead of them. A hunter in the forest spotted Walter wearing a belt and requested that it be handed over or he would shoot him in the chest with the arrow. Walter carefully put down his little brother, removed the belt, handed it to the hunter, lifted his brother and placed him on his back. They silently continued to walk. Starvation continued for days. Night was approaching and they could not move anymore. They decided to rest on the side of the grassy pathway. Armed soldiers who were following the refugees passed by. One soldier stopped and almost brushed past Walter and his brother in the dark. The soldier began to urinate unaware that he did so on the two little boys who were too terrified to move in case they were shot in the dark.
In the morning, Walter and Abayo continued to walk. Days later, they met a lady praying with a rosary in her hand. Walter was also wearing his rosary. She saw them come towards her and embraced them, cried and begged them to stay with her. At first, Walter refused but the boys were helpless, fatigued, starving and hurt so his better judgment won. The woman’s husband was a chief in that particular village. The boys lived with them for two months. The daughter of the chief was a religious sister and she assisted with speeding up the process of family reconciliation. The International Committee of the Red Cross came to fetch refugee children who were lost in the Equatorial Forest. Walter and Abayo, along with other children, were brought to Rwanda. After 9 years of painful separation, the two were reunited with their relatives and then with their mother. After 10 years of separation, they received news that their father was alive. Walter completed secondary school. His family, refugees from Rwanda in the DRC, then took root in Brazzaville, Congo. Walter is now in South Africa studying towards a Bachelor’s degree in Electronic Engineering at the Durban University of Technology. He is completing his third year and has produced outstanding results so far. Industry usually gives first preference to local students but Walter’s results were so exceptional that they opened doors for him.
His studies were sponsored by an Italian company and he is now being recruited by a German company, prepared to send him to Germany to do practical work. Baby brother, Abayo Innocent saw Walter as his role model and decided that he would join him in South Africa as he was completing high school. On 4 March 2012, there was a series of blasts at an army arms dump in Brazzaville, which was close to the school that Abayo Innocent attended. Sadly, he was one of the many who were tragically killed. At the age of four, Abayo walked for years to find refuge and, despite his innocent spirit being weighed down by painful circumstances, he too blossomed into a promising young man, filled with potential to give to mankind, but cruelly taken at age 19. Walter was in South Africa at the time and was unable to say goodbye to the little brother he carried through the snares of life or to even comfort his parents.
Stripped of material possessions but armed only with a strong spirit together with faith and hope in each hand, Walter vowed that he will make a success out of his life. Education would enable him to help his family fight the scourge of poverty and injustices heaped upon the helpless and voiceless. With encouragement from his parents, Walter felt motivated. He realized that education was the vital key that would open doors to a meaningful and fulfilling life since education can endow a human being with dignity, independence, power to make the correct decisions, vision to see potential, a voice to debate, negotiate and have opinions. Although education is a basic human right, young budding minds of refugees are robbed of this stimulating nutrition. Education empowers and gives much needed hope so that the total person can make a meaningful contribution to a world often starved of peace.
Displaced people often lose hope, their humanity and their ability to trust and love. Children are stripped of the things we take for granted—morning hugs, greetings, breakfasts with family or even praying together. They have no land, home or sense of belonging. Against all these odds Walter is a focused young man who believes that God has been gracious and generous by sending helpers who assisted his safe passage.
At conception, God places a ‘Resilient Seed of Hope’ in the heart of every human being and despite the weeds around us, if appropriately nourished and allowed to sprout, grow and blossom, then that tree will bear flowers and fruit for all God’s creatures to enjoy. Walter is a living example of that. Walter is a living sign of resilience and hope for all. ??
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