Communities fighting for their rights in Rwanda

This is Emma Marie Mukamazimpaka. At 42 years old, she has 8 children. She lives in Rwanda, in the village of Vuganyana, near the capital Kigali.

She is part of the indigenous Batwa community, very poor Rwandans who are known for their great skills at making pottery. In Rwanda, the Batwa or “potter” community experience terrible discrimination. In a country where the majority of people live in poverty, the Batwa are the poorest. People look down on Batwa families, they are considered inferior and they do not receive the benefits or support that other people receive.

Emma Marie and her family (right) have always made a basic living by selling pots, and a small amount of subsistence agriculture. But each pot she makes sells for just Rwf 100 (€0.12) at the local market, and the small piece of land she cultivates was never enough to feed her family.

Emma Marie and her family were used to discrimination, but they did not know their rights and therefore could not report violations. The representatives in local authorities did not listen to Emma Marie. But she knew that her children were hungry, that her house was not adequate for them (photo of housing below) and that marriages with other Rwandan for young people of her community are rare.

Trócaire works with COPORWA, a local organisation which defends the rights and interests of Potters in Rwanda, since 1997. Thanks to Trócaire’s support, Emma Marie has participated in workshops organised by COPORWA. She has learnt her fundamental rights, and is also now familiar with the law on family rights.

Since working with COPORWA, Emma now confidently approaches local authorities to complain about human rights violation and discrimination, and so she has been elected chief of her village. She also represents women in the sectoral women’s council. She now knows that the Rwandan Government has put in place policies and programmes to help the poorest and most vulnerable, so she demands for herself and her community to be included in these programmes.

The photo above shows Emma Marie and her family now that their situation has improved. The local authorities have given the family and other members of her community small houses as part of a governmental housing scheme. She also received a cow so now she sells the milk it produces. She can afford to send her children to school and to feed them properly. Because she has a clean house and access to latrines, her family hygiene has improved and al the family wear clean clothes. This means they do not experience as much discrimination as in the past. As chief of the village, Emma Marie now raises issues about discrimination and human rights and influences the decisions of the local authorities.

Emma Marie says that she will continue to demand support for other families in her village so that they all have a cow. She also talks to other parents to tell them how important it is to send their children to school. She wants to continue her struggle against discrimination and want to see her community socially integrated in the Rwandan society.