By Jennifer McPhee

Robert* was forced to flee the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) ten years ago because rebel soldiers were hunting him. But even though he escaped the war-torn country unharmed, the waking nightmare he left behind continues to reach out and grab him in Canada.

Robert is one of more than one million people displaced by the 12-year conflict in the eastern DRC. The war—the world’s deadliest since World War II—has killed six million people and devastated the lives of countless others through disease, sexual violence and poverty.

Free From Danger but Not Worry
Robert’s family still lives in the DRC. In August, fighting between government and rebel forces escalated in North Kivu where Robert’s uncle lives. After witnessing ordinary people being massacred and raped, his uncle fled his home on foot and joined Robert’s other family members in South Kivu. The fighting was getting closer every day, so his entire family left their village.

For two weeks, Robert couldn’t reach his family by cell phone and didn’t know if they were dead or alive. “During this time, I was so troubled and in a horrible state because of the lack of information and contact with my family,” he says. “I couldn’t sleep at night, had no appetite and it was even difficult to go to work…I thought they were attacked by the army.”

Panicked, he called friends for information, but his family had left no trace. Finally, he found someone who knew where they were. They were alive and safe. “We talked with tears in our eyes and we were laughing and crying,” he says. “It was a very powerful moment for me.”

“I was in a desperate situation”
In 1998, Robert was employed by an organization that bravely denounced the massacre of 124 women—some of whom had been buried alive, he says. As a result, rebel leaders ordered the arrest of him and his colleagues. But before they could find Robert, he escaped across the border to Burundi and boarded a plane destined for neighbouring Kenya.

In Kenya, Robert lived in constant fear that the wrong people would find out who he was. He couldn’t stay in one place for long or even contact his family and colleagues to find out whether they were safe. For years, he survived by living in a refugee camp and by sometimes giving private French lessons in Nairobi. “I had a life of worry and instability,” he says. “I was in a desperate situation.”

Starting a New Life
In 2007, he became a landed Canadian immigrant and now lives in Toronto. He has a construction job which allows his younger siblings to attend school in the DRC. He hasn’t seen his family in ten years. And his beloved father died while he was on the run in Kenya.

Robert says he recently found out that two of his four colleagues arrested by the rebels were shot to death. The others were released after churches and non-government organizations protested their arrest.

Robert’s family members had enough money to move away from the conflict zone, but many other people don’t, he says.  “It all comes down to money. If you don’t have any money…all you can do is stay there and die.”

Poverty-stricken people in the conflict areas are tired of constantly moving and many have given up, he says. “They are always being followed by war,” he says. “They feel like they are going to die anyway so they might as well die where they are.”

Hope for the Future
In November of 2008, Robert found a second job so he could send more money to his family until their situation becomes more secure. He wants to bring them to Canada, but first they must officially become refugees, which would require crossing the border into another country.

This would mean spending months—possibly even years—waiting for the paperwork to come to Canada. And even with two jobs, he could not afford to support them during this period of limbo.

He is extremely disappointed that Untied Nations forces have proven incapable of stopping the killing and displacement of so many innocent people.

Until this latest outbreak of violence, he had had hoped to return home to visit his family. For now, the family’s long-awaited reunion will not happen. “I think of my family and of my mother whom I love very much,” he says. “I’m always thinking about them.”

Shortly after this article was written, Robert received news that his family was able to return home to their village in South Kivu, DRC.

*Name has been changed to protect identity.

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