Patrick Risala suspects he will never return to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He spent too many years in the bush in hiding after his house was burned down, his son was murdered, his wife was raped and Patrick himself was tortured and left for dead, to ever want to go back to the place that was once his home.
Patrick has been a teacher of Social Studies and French since 1987. In 1993, Patick married his wife, Esperonce. Patrick and Esperonce are from two different tribes: Patrick is Hutu and Esperonce is Tutsi. For years they lived peacefully in the DRC. They had a lovely home on an extensive piece of land with plenty of livestock and farmland. Their peaceful existence ended on November 30, 2006.
In the middle of the night on November 30, 2006, Patrick heard a banging on the door. He opened the door and saw government soldiers. They told him that they had proof that he was a spy and they knew he possessed knowledge regarding the Tutsis' plan to take over the DRC. Patrick told them that he had no such information and that they were clearly mistaken. He told them that he was only a school teacher and he was not a threat to anyone.
Patrick asked the soldiers where they received their information. They said that they knew he was married to a Tutsi and therefore he must have information for them. At that moment, Patrick's first born son walked into the room and the soldiers shot him. Patrick's other son managed to run away.
The soldiers told Patrick that he could prove his loyalty to the Hutus by killing his wife. When Patrick refused to kill his wife some of the soldiers took her away and raped her. The soldiers did not kill Esperonce and she was able to escape with her two daughters leaving Patrick behind.
The soldiers continued to interrogate Patrick. They pinned him down and began to carve the word 'Mupererezi' which means 'intelligence' or 'spy' in Swahili on Patrick's bare chest. When Patrick still confessed nothing they told him they were going to cut off his fingers until he confessed. One by one they cut off Patrick's fingers on his right hand, sparing only his thumb. When he still would not confess they hit him over the head with a machete and the next time he regained consciousness he was in the hospital.
Patrick recovered in the hospital for awhile, but everyday he stayed in the hospital he was risking his life. A friend of his hid him in the bush and brought food to him there everyday for two years. Eventually, Patrick was able to escape to Uganda where he was assisted by the UNHCR. Patrick was elated to find out that Esperonce had made it out of the DRC alive with their two daughters and had been living in Uganda for over two years. The family was finally reunited with the exception of their son who was killed and their son who ran away during the attack. Patrick and Esperonce still hold out hope that they will find their son.
