Dr Denis Mukwege

Medical Director

Songs from Panzi Hospital

Hear Dr Lee Ann De Reus speak on WPSU: I Believe in Ubuntu

“The World Capital of Killing” by Nicholas D. Kristoff.  February 6,2010 The New York Times     

“The Grotesque Vocabulary in Congo”  by Nicholas D. Kristoff.  February 6,2010 The New York Times     

    ART EXHIBIT!

:peace should not be this fragile: a portrait of panzi

April 1, 2011

Virginia Holocaust Museum

Richmond, VA

April 1-30, 2011

Gallery 50

Bridgeton, NJ

April 1- July 1, 2012

Florida Holocaust Museum

St Petersburg, FL

Oct 1,2012 -  Jan 1, 2013

Holocaust Memorial Center, Farmington Hills, MI

April 1 - June 1, 2013

The Breman Museum

Atlanta, GA

My Name Is Mwamaroyi

May 21, 2009, rural clinic, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo

Interviewer – Dr Lee Ann De Reus.    Mwamaroyi  [Mwah-mah-ROY-ee] is a 46-year-old mother of 6 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“If I were given the floor to tell other people in the world about myself and the women in Congo, I would first say that the women live in peace. The second is that I would tell the people that all this violence, which is done to women, is a consequence of two countries’ misunderstanding. If they cooperated then the wars would end, and women would be safe from rape and violence. The third thing I would tell them is that Congolese women are neglected because no one talks about the rape and violence we have suffered through.

In 2004, my youngest child was 4 yea

rs old when my country was invaded.  I was raped by rebels from the National Congress for the Defense of the People. There were three men. I was raped until my womb fell out. I suffered so much. I went to a hospital in Katana and they tried to repair and heal me. But I still suffer some pain.

In 2006, I went to visit my friend in a nearby village.

While I was traveling there, we were attacked by another rebel group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda.  I was raped again. There were five men, and this time, it was worse. I had surgery again to try to repair the damage. The surgery helped, but sometimes my feet still swell, and I get terrible headaches. 

After the first rape, my husband left me. He said I must be contaminated. So he doesn’t want to be contaminated by me. He just fled.

The wars have very negatively affected my life. I was living peacefully in my home with my husband and my children and now, because of war, he is gone. I live alone with the children, trying to carry the burden myself, and provide for my children’s education, food, and health. So all this I do alone, and I am weaker because of the rapes.

I leave this to God and people of good will. I rely on an organization that sometimes gives me some money to support my children. My children are succeeding. One of them is about to take the national examination. Another has acquired skills in woodwork and completed his studies. Another has studied mechanics, and he is looking for work. We also harvest beans, potatoes, and cassava, and sell them at the market. So we get by. This is how we survive.

I also work to sensitize other survivors of rape. I educate them and tell them they should not feel guilty, that the guilty ones are the men who rape. I tell the survivors it is not their fault.

I would like to ask, would it be possible to offer workshops that will empower women, and give them the tools to speak up?

My greatest hope is one day to see women in Congo stand up and cry out about what has happened to us, and to be advocates for our cause. If the women in Congo can stand up and say that we are at peace, it will bring me joy.

If I were given the floor, I would speak up and tell people that rape and violence have had terrible consequences. Please, it is time for the violence to stop.”