Profile in Perseverance

Maratane refugee camp, Mozambique -  It is a busy morning for 67 year old Burundian refugee Generose Mundanikure at her mud brick home at the heart of Maratane refugee camp in northern Mozambique.

Outside the house, two local laborers diligently husk corn that she grew in a small field nearby.  A young man enters their homestead to borrow some tools to work on a bicycle. Someone else drops by for some advice over a dispute with a neighbor. In the busyness of the morning, Generose and her husband, 68 year old Thomas Ntahonkiriye make time for all their visitors.

In 1972, Generose and Thomas were a young couple in love.  They had married five years earlier, after meeting when Thomas was assigned as a teacher to a primary school in Generose’s village in Burundi.

As a young and unmarried teacher, Thomas would often be invited to the home of the villagers for dinner in the evenings. His favorite visit was to the home of Generose’s family just so he could see her.

She would often him walk out to the gate after supper, the only time that was culturally appropriate for them to be alone.  After a few months, they were married.

“He was very handsome and he had a job, so I was very excited to marry him, “says Generose.

Five years later, the life of this young couple was upended when they were forced to flee to Rwanda when intellectual Hutus were targeted. As a school teacher, Thomas’ life was at risk, so they left with their two young children in 1972.  They managed to start a new life in Rwanda and he continued to teach primary school.

In 1993, following elections in Burundi,  Generose and Thomas, like many others, returned home. While they were waiting in a transit center in Bujumbura, the President was killed and ethnic clashes ensued shortly afterwards throughout the country.

Generose and Thomas fled again to Uvira, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) this time, with their now seven children.  When fighting began again in the DRC, they tried to return to Burundi but never felt comfortable there. They continued to be persecuted because they were not seen as true Burundians due to their previous years in exile. Furthermore, they were attacked in their home, where Thomas was shot and Generose was stabbed with a knife by members of a youth gang known as the “Sans Echec.” They decided to flee again and ended up in the most peaceful place they could find, Mozambique.

In Mozambique, they have managed to build a life because of their hard work and perseverance. They cultivate some land nearby growing maize and beans.  Through it all they raised their seven children and now have 17 grandchildren. 

With UNHCR's support, several of their children were able to go to secondary school and complete their university degrees. Their youngest is finishing at the  University in Mozambique this year. 

Through their small agricultural initiative and other small business, they manage to get some extra income for themselves as well as employ some of the surrounding Mozambicans and refugees in the camp.

“They are an excellent example of how families take initiatives to support themselves but also provide employment for refugees and the local community,” says John Woja, Head of UNHCR’s Field Office in Nampula.

“Their business may not be a huge enterprise but it contributes to the economics of the camp.”

“We don’t see this as anything extraordinary,” says Generose. “We are just doing what we need to get by.”

“When we left Burundi in 1972, we didn’t think we would still be refugees over 45 years later,” says Thomas, “but what gave me strength was always having my wife by my side.”

Despite the many times they have been uprooted during their nearly 50 years together as a married couple, the one item they managed to hold on to throughout their life in refuge, is their original marriage certificate.

“We just always kept it with us,” says Generose, "but the most important thing has been that we always managed to stay together.”

“I will live forever with her,” says Thomas smiling at his bride.