05/06/2005

Stephanie is a Rwandan refugee who fled to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 1996. After almost 10 years of exile, she heard one of her family members on Radio Okapi saying that her village was now safe and that they would welcome her back. RI met Stephanie at a transit centre in Goma. She left her other three children in the DRC with her partner's parents because she first wants to be sure that they will be safe in Rwanda. She told RI that she was worried about restarting her work in the field and feared that her house would be destroyed. The UN Refugee Agency is providing some help for her as she returns home, and has given her a small food ration and agricultural tools.