04.03.2010 13:27
Rwanda, a country marked by refugees
www.fcbarcelona.cat
For the first time, FC Barcelona, through its Foundation, is visiting a refugee camp in Rwanda, which supports more than 18,500 people.
The fruit of an agreement between the UN agency for refugees, ACNUR, the FCB Foundation is visiting
the Kiziba refugee camp, in the district of Karongi, in northeast Rwanda. The camp is home to
18,500 refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Refugees of the Great Lakes conflict
The ‘Great lakes Conflict’ has had a huge impact on this region, and Rwanda is
being affected by the armed warfare over geopolitical, social and economic interests involving the
Hutu and Tutsi ethic groups.
Civil War broke out between these two conflicting groups in 1994, and led to the genocide of
some 800,000 Hutus and Tutsis. The Tutsi rebels defeated the Hutu regime and the killing ended in
July 2004. Almost 2 million Hutus fled to Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda and the DR Congo, and the
militia also entered conflict with the Tutsis in the latter country. Therefore, many refugees were
forced to flee again, this time to Rwanda, many of them children. There was a huge wave of refugees
from the DR of Congo to Rwanda in 1996. Despite the 2002 peace agreement, there is still plenty of
tension.
Most densely populated country
Rwanda, with 10,746,111 inhabitants, is the most densely populated country in Africa. The
Foundation’s collaboration with ACNUR seeks to provide integral support to the zone in order
to avoid the exploitation of children, forced recruitment, the consumption of toxic substances,
gender violence and underage pregnancies.
In addition to the educational, sanitary and infrastructural support offered at the camp and
education centre that FC Barcelona visited on Thursday, the club also hopes to offer activities and
facilities to two refugee camps in Rwanda: Nyabiheke, in Gatsibo, with more than 14,200 refugees,
and Gihembe, in the north of the country, which has some 19,500.