What led you to the heart of Africa?
Protect animals and people who suffer. It all started at the Lwiro Primate Rehabilitation Center (CPRL) that I have been developing for 16 years.
You are almost Congolese.
We have grown and have become involved in many sustainable human development projects.
A country devastated by violence.
Its population lives submerged in a collective trauma transmitted from generation to generation. There are still many rebel groups, 134 in the Kivu region where I am. The world fights for its minerals.
The worst part is taken by women.
And the girls. The representative of the leaders of the towns explained to me with all naturalness why they violate them. "Madame, everyone knows that girls are raped, one man after another, or their wombs are ripped out, to keep the red diamond, with their blood."
So that?
They believe it has magical qualities. A virgin's blood can cure AIDS, make you invincible and attract wealth and power… But girls have to be very young to make sure they are virgins.
Who perpetrates such barbarity?
We were 7 kilometers from a town where there were more than 52 cases, including a six-month-old girl. We got them to send police from the capital to investigate, the person responsible was a deputy who had created a personal militia.
And did he believe in those hoaxes?
All the powerful have a witch advisor. Raping girls was the ceremony before any assault. We managed to prosecute the deputy, and 11 other people, and life imprisonment. Quite an achievement.
And what about the girls?
When they return from the hospital, we school them and provide psychological care. Soon other girls and women began to appear who had been raped by a neighbor, a teacher, a police officer, or a soldier. We do group therapy with young people and adults.
That's very western stuff.
The women came with distrust. "Why can't the doctors see us one by one?" They asked, but when one dared to tell her story and the symptoms she suffered, the rest identified themselves in amazement.
And did they open?
Yes, it was then that they gave me the nickname Mama Mutima (mama heart), they said that I must be a great witch, because the women in the villages told stories that they went to Mutima feeling dead inside and left feeling like coming back. to church and visit the neighbors.
Hence the name of its center.
We are doing a very beautiful job because we train professionals in modern trauma techniques, we involve women in the care of chimpanzees and we turn girls into ambassadors of nature.
Bravo.
Animals are the best therapy, they often arrive without words where people with a voice cannot reach.
They also call her Mama Kerene.
Kerene is one of those girls, she was raped at the age of 4, I took her to the hospital myself because we couldn't find her mother, she was bleeding to death. Her mother disappeared and I looked for her to adopt Kerene.
Do you identify with these women?
They also abused me when I was little, but I'll tell you one thing, there are many women who have suffered abuse, as soon as I start to tell them, they open up to me, and I'm not just talking about the Congolese.
Secrets that are kept and hurt.
I say it openly because I don't want to be a victim. Any trauma has to be turned into something you have survived. You have to reconnect with life from another place. All women who have suffered abuse feel guilt and shame.
They should feel it.
Without a doubt, that is why I have been fighting for years to work with the Congolese regular army. Recently one raped a 12-year-old girl and the community reacted against the army and jailed him. We have come a long way.
What was the usual reaction?
Get out, girl, you're dirty!
At what age were you abused?
At 8 years old. For a long time I was convinced that I would never have a boyfriend or have sexual relations, I felt dirty, a horrible feeling, but psychology works, that's why I turned to helping those girls.
And that didn't cause you problems?
Yes, I have lived under death threats, many days I did not know if I would get home, where the rangers protected me.
What do you love so much about the Congo?
It's my house, I've been there for 16 years now, I love his sense of humor. Despite the drama they are experiencing, they are very happy and laugh.
