Why former FDLR fighters are returning to Rwanda

From the forest to Mutobo, former fighters face the challenge of rebuilding their lives after leaving the armed group. Save Share Musanze, Rwanda –Jean Claude Hategekimana feared that returning to Rwanda could cost him his life. After years with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), he decided to leave the armed group and return home. At Rwanda’s Mutobo Demobilisation and Reintegration Centre, he began preparing for civilian life. Born in 1996 in Rutsiro District, in western Rwanda, Hategekimana moved to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) with his parents and grew up in an area controlled by the FDLR. He joined the group in 2018, underwent military training and eventually reached the rank of captain. “I arrived at the Mutobo Centre after fighting to defend Goma. Following our defeat, I fled to Masisi. After realising that I was fighting for nothing, I decided to return to Rwanda. I came back on February 24,” he told Al Jazeera. Hategekimana said FDLR members had been taught that anyone who returned to Rwanda would be killed. “Upon arriving in Rwanda, I realised that the FDLR had been lying to us. For me, returning home felt like embarking on a suicide mission,” he said. His experience illustrates the challenge of reintegrating former fighters whose beliefs and fears have been shaped by years in an armed group. Francis Musoni, secretary-general of the Rwanda Demobilisation and Reintegration Commission, said the Mutobo centre, located in Musanze in Rwanda’s Northern Province, was established in 2001 to receive members of the FDLR and other Rwandan armed groups returning from the DRC. The FDLR emerged in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis. After the genocide, members of the former Rwandan armed forces and militia groups fled to what was then Zaire, now the DRC. The Rwandan government accuses the FDLR of carrying out attacks against Rwanda and contributing to cross-border insecurity. At Mutobo, the rehabilitation programme includes medical care, psychosocial support, civic education and assistance with reconnecting with families. Returnees can also contact relatives and friends through a telephone service, Musoni said. “We help them to build confidence among themselves, build trust, and empower them to go back into the community and contribute to the development of the country together with their families,” he said. The centre also allows visitors and media representatives to meet returnees....