By Jambo ASBL
Translation from French by Ambrose Nzeyimana
I am the ignored victim of RPF attack in 1990
I come from the province of Byumba
Seriously mistreated from day one
But ignored since then
I am the displaced of Nyacyonga
Whose journey didn’t ever stop
With plenty to think about
But not much into the stomach
I am the woman with a deformed face
I climbed in my house ceiling
To escape blood thirsty killers
I am the girl with a dirty body
I discovered sexuality in the hands of a rapist
I am the son of a stranger
My mother did not have any other choice
Except to welcome me
I am the survivor of a genocide
Which took hundred thousands of lives
I am the exiled
Wrongly labelled
My story does not interest no one
Particularly those who made it happen
I am that faceless face
Which has become
A fertilizer
In DRC forests
I am that embryo in my mother womb
Whose breath has stopped
I am that old man
Using his ultimate strength
To escape evil
In their eyes
I am the animal
To be chased
I am that return
But a foreigner in my own country
I am that woman prisoner
Condemned without trial
I am that orphan
Who became prematurely parent
I am the survivor of Kibeho
If I cannot be the witness
I am that suffering
Cracked down because dangerous
I am that deception
Marked with despair
I am that fear
Which calls suspicion
I am that sadness
Hidden behind a false smile
I am the foreigner
In my own country
I am a generation
Unaware of nothing about my origins
I am that voice
Which refuses to keep quiet
I am that memory
Which does not want to forget
I am that truth
Which refuses to fade away
I am all those faces
All at once
I am all those women
All at once
I am all those men
All at once
I am those children
All at once
I am Mpore
Voice of the Voiceless
