It is a few minutes past noon on Wednesday, April 30 when we are cleared into the Mutobo Demobilisation Centre, nestled in Rwanda’s Musanze District in the Northern Province. This facility, run by the Rwanda Demobilisation and Reintegration Commission (RDRC), is where former members of armed groups are deradicalized and reintegrated into society.
About 30 ex-combatants are gathered in a small garden clad in white t-shirts, and tagged Rwanda Demobilisation and Reintegration Commission (RDRC), which is in charge of the demobilization centre.
The group is part of a larger unit of 200 former combatants who, about two months ago, voluntarily returned to Rwanda from the neighboring DR Congo (DRC), seeking to rejoin the Rwandan community after years, and for some, decades, fighting alongside the FDLR- remnants of the perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
After the Genocide, the perpetrators moved into the eastern part of DR Congo.
Among them are former child soldiers, who were lured into the long-term sinister plan of destabilizing Rwanda.
For instance, 22-year-old Sadam Ukushaka barely recalls being dragged from his sister’s home in Masisi, a small town in the eastern DR Congo, by armed men. At the time, he was only 13 years of age.
At the onset, Ukushaka told The New Times that he barely had the time to understand what was happening before he was tasked with collecting tax from his small neighborhood.
“I was ordered to always collect money from all our neighbors to go and hand it over every month,” he added, “little did I know that I would be given a rifle to undertake this responsibility.”
Four months after collecting tax, Ukushaka says he was ordered to march into the dense forests of eastern DR Congo.
That was the last time he saw his sister.
“They told me that I would become successful if I left school and joined them in collecting taxes from ordinary citizens. They also said that the only enemy was the Tutsi,” Ukushaka recounts, his eyes heavy with sorrow.
He added, “They said we had to protect our people, that the Tutsi were coming to kill us all. And I believed them.”
With just over six months, Ukushaka would then be deployed to Kanyamahoro, a ground of strategic importance that lies within 3km of Rwanda, which overlooks Munege cell in Busasamana sector, Rubavu District.
It was in Kanyamahoro that the then-teenage soldier underwent the military courses, commonly referred to as ‘formulation’, in the DR Congo.
Kanyamahoro is also a position held by the elite FDLR special force, the Commando de Recherche et d’Action en Profondeur, or CRAP.
“Beyond military tactics, the main lesson was detesting the Tutsi to an extent that you could even hate your family member,” he recounted.
Like Ukushaka, Idrissa Tumayine, 37, was recruited at a tender age of 16. Tumayine, born to Rwandan parents, travelled to Rutshuru, a small town in the eastern DR Congo, in pursuit of a job.
The third of nine children left his family in Rutshuru and decided to pursue his job opportunities alone.
“I was young and barely knew what was happening. They told me that they have a job for me and that I would be successful and support all my family members.”
“I asked them to allow me to discuss the opportunity with family members before I was forced to enter a certain deep forest.”
According to Tumayine, there is no tolerance for child soldiers who seek to return to their homes once they are recruited.
“You either stay or you are killed. That is something that is like a principle. No one dares to leave, even when you seek medical assistance, sometimes you are left to die on your own.”
Tumayine, now a father of four, recalls being fed ideology against the Tutsi.
“All of us are told that our main enemy is the Tutsi and Rwanda. Military tactics are not the main aspect of formulation, but ideology against the Tutsi.”
For Jean-Pierre Uwimana, 43, who was recruited at the age of 12, the majority of the child soldiers are abducted from refugee camps and IDPs in eastern DR Congo.
“Another area where most of the children are recruited from is camps. When you are born as a boy, chances are that you will most likely end up in the FDLR because they come and abduct all the children between 10 and 13 years.”
The ongoing fight between the M23 and the Congolese national army coalition, including the FDLR, has exacerbated the recruitment and radicalization of children into armed conflicts.
According to Francis Musoni, RDRC Secretary General, in the last year alone, hundreds of children have been abducted or coerced into joining the FDLR ranks.
“It is unfortunate that young children are still abducted and tortured into joining militia groups such as the FDLR. We integrate them into a setting tailored to individual cases and support them to get rehabilitated back into the socio-economic fabric,” Musoni told The New Times.
According to Musoni, a survey conducted at the Mutobo Demobilization Center revealed the prevalence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other mental health issues among combatants.
As many as one-third of all respondents scored high in indicators for severe mental health problems.
For this reason, the RDRC, with the support of development partners, established a methodology where all ex-combatants and their dependents are screened for mental health challenges, particularly child soldiers.
“An important aspect of this activity is that mental health services were set up at the very beginning of the process, in the demobilization center. That way, people suffering from the most acute challenges could be diagnosed and treated as early as possible.”
Last month, the Mutobo demobilization center officially discharged 47 former members of the armed group, who completed their first phase of the training.
Since 2001, more than 12,000 ex-combatants have been discharged from the Mutobo Centre and reintegrated into society, according to the RDRC.
The centre provides former combatants with psychosocial support, vocational training, and civic education to facilitate their reintegration.
Other principal activities include general sensitization and counseling regarding civilian life, HIV/AIDS voluntary counseling and testing (VCT), provision for special needs for women and toddlers that might accompany them, socio-economic profiling, and support with basic needs while encamped, including catering services and basic health care.
