Marguerite Barankitse
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Marguerite "Maggie" Barankitse (born in 1957 in Ruyigi,
Ruyigi province Ruyigi Province is one of the 18 provinces of Burundi. Location Ruyigi Province is in the center of eastern Burundi, bordering Tanzania to the east. It is north of Rutana Province, east of Gitega Province, southeast of Karuzi Province and south ...
,
Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...
) is a Burundian humanitarian activist who works to improve the welfare of children and challenge ethnic discrimination in
Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...
. After rescuing 25 children from a
massacre A massacre is an event of killing people who are not engaged in hostilities or are defenseless. It is generally used to describe a targeted killing of civilians Glossary of French words and expressions in English#En masse, en masse by an armed ...
, she was forced to witness the conflicts between the
Hutu The Hutu (), also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic group native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda where they form one of the principal ethnic groups alongside the Tutsi and the Great L ...
and
Tutsi The Tutsi ( ), also called Watusi, Watutsi or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu languages, Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi ( ...
in her country in 1993. She established Maison Shalom, a shelter that provided access to healthcare, education, and culture to over 20,000 orphan children in need. Because she protested against a third term for President
Pierre Nkurunziza Pierre Nkurunziza (18 December 1964 – 8 June 2020) was a Burundian politician who served as the ninth president of Burundi for almost 15 years from August 2005 until his death in June 2020. A member of the Hutu, Hutu ethnic group, Nkurunziza ...
, she lives in
exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...
. During the 26 years that it operated in Burundi, Maison Shalom grew into a large network of schools, hospitals, and healthcare services across the country. Its purpose was to improve the lives of Burundi's children, through integrated and sustainable development with the ultimate aim of fostering lasting peace in the country. However, in 2015 Barankitse was forced to flee her country, and Maison Shalom plunged into a political crisis. Far from surrendering, Barankitse shifted her focus and decided to dedicate all of her energy to helping more than 90,000 Burundian refugees in
Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...
. In 2017, she opened the Community Center Oasis of Peace in
Kigali Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali is a relativ ...
to help schoolchildren, offer psychological and social support to torture and rape victims, and implement sustainable development activities in areas such as health, education, vocational training, culture, and income-generation. She stated that her vision is to instill dignity in refugees to keep their dreams alive: "Evil never has the last word – Love always wins." Barabkitse has received numerous awards, including the Juan Maria Bandres Prize for Asylum Rights, and the French Government's Human Rights Prize (both 1998), the World Children's Prize (2003), the
Four Freedoms Award The Four Freedoms Award is an annual award presented to "those men and women whose achievements have demonstrated a commitment to those principles which US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt proclaimed in his ''Four Freedoms speech'' to the Un ...
(Freedom From Want), the Voices of Courage Award of the Women's Commission for Women and Refugee Children (both 2004), the
Nansen Refugee Award The Nansen Refugee Award is a medal issued annually by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to an individual, group, or organization in recognition of outstanding service to the cause of refugees, displaced, or stateless pe ...
(2005), the Opus Prize (2008), the
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
Prize (both 2008), the Prize for Conflict Prevention (2011), and the
Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity The US $1,000,000 Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity is a global humanitarian award recognizing individuals for humanitarian work. It is awarded on behalf of the survivors of the Armenian genocide. The Aurora Prize ceremonies have taken place si ...
(2016).


Biography

Marguerite "Maggie" Barankitse was born in 1957 in Ruyigi, East-Burundi, one of the poorest regions of the country. Of Tutsi heritage, she was a teacher at a local
secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...
but was fired because of her protests against discrimination between the Hutu and Tutsi in the field. She then went to work as a
secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...
for the Catholic bishop in Ruyigi. Despite mounting tensions, Barankitse put her dream of ethnic harmony into practice by adopting seven children: four Hutus and three Tutsis. As violence escalated between the two tribes following the assassination of the first democratically elected president of Burundi, a group of armed Tutsis descended on Ruyigi on October 23, 1993, to kill the Hutu families who were hiding in the Bishop's manor. Barankitse had managed to hide many of the children but was caught by the fighters. They beat and humiliated her and forced her to watch the killing of 72 Hutus, but she refused to tell them where the children were hidden. Ultimately, she was spared only because of her Tutsi heritage. After the ordeal, Barankitse gathered her adopted children and the surviving orphans and hid them in a nearby school. As more and more children sought shelter with her, she decided to create a small
nongovernmental organisation A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...
: Maison Shalom, the House of Peace. Her house was open to children of all ethnic origins: Tutsi, Hutu, and
Twa The Twa, often referred to as Batwa or Mutwa (singular), are indigenous hunter-gatherer peoples of the Great Lakes Region in Central Africa, recognized as some of the earliest inhabitants of the area. Historically and academically, the term †...
. She calls them "My Hutsitwa children", and they call her ''Oma'' (or "grandmother" in German). In the following years, Maison Shalom in Ruyigi was one of the few places in Burundi where Hutus and Tutsis cohabited in harmony. Since the events of 1993, over 20,000 children and youth have benefited from Maison Shalom. Before the current crisis in Burundi, the organisation employed more than 270 people, including nurses,
psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...
s, and educators who implemented special projects for the children. In April 2016, Barankitse spoke out against the third term of President Pierre Nkurunziza and joined the youth demonstrations denouncing him. As a result, she was obliged to hide for a month in an embassy in
Bujumbura Bujumbura (; ), formerly Usumbura, is the economic capital, largest city and main port of Burundi. It ships most of the country's chief export, coffee, as well as cotton and tin ore. Bujumbura was formerly the country's political capital. In la ...
. Eventually, she had to flee; the government had her name on a death list. Barankitse found herself a refugee.


Maison Shalom in Burundi

In the autumn of 1993, after the
assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...
of
Melchior Ndadaye Melchior Ndadaye (28 March 1953 – 21 October 1993) was a Burundian banker and politician who became the first democratically elected and first Hutu president of Burundi after winning the landmark 1993 Burundian presidential election, 1993 electi ...
, the first democratically elected president of Burundi (a Hutu), the
Burundian civil war The Burundian Civil War was a civil war in Burundi lasting from 1993 to 2005. The civil war was the result of longstanding ethnic divisions between the Hutu and the Tutsi ethnic groups. The conflict began following the first multi-party electi ...
began with massacres taking place throughout the country. In the province of Ruyigi, disaster struck on 24 October. To exact vengeance for the killing of members of their ethnic group, the Tutsi hunted the town's Hutus, who were hiding in diocese buildings. Barankitse, a Tutsi, was also there, and she tried to reason with the group of Tutsi not to use violence. However, her efforts were in vain: They decided to tie her to a chair and forced her to watch the killing of 72 of her friends. A few hours after the massacre, the children of the victims started to come out of their hiding places. That day, Barankitse says, she realized that her mission would be to fight the violence ravaging her country by giving those children, and the 20,000 who would follow, an alternative to hate. Amid the prevailing disaster, the news spread rapidly about the "crazy woman of Ruyigi" who dared to take in all of the orphans who came to her, never refusing anyone. Twa, Hutu, Tutsi: Barankitse made no distinction. Barankitse initially gathered the 25 orphaned children of the Ruyigi massacre. With the help of European and Burundian friends, she organized a network that provided care for a growing number of children. In May 1994, the Roman Catholic bishop of Ruyigi, Bishop Joseph Nduhirubusa agreed to transform a former school into a children's shelter called 'Maison Shalom'. It was named so named by the children, in memory of a song heard on the radio at the time, and because the word "peace" in Kirundi had been instrumentalized and defiled by the slaughterers on both sides of the conflict. Maison Shalom's focus was predominantly children, including
child soldier Children in the military, including state armed forces, non-state armed groups, and other military organizations, may be trained for combat, assigned to support roles, such as cooks, porters/couriers, or messengers, or used for tactical adv ...
s, orphans, mutilated children, and minors in prison. However, its services were available to the entire community, having an impact not only on the lives of orphans but also the entire region that could access to its services. Maison Shalom's activities soon also expanded to other cities such as Butezi and Gizuru, where Barankitse opened other children's shelters. Over the years, what was merely a shelter seeking to protect orphans from both sides after the civil war, grew into an entire village, and included a bank, a crèche, the REMA Hospital, a hotel, a shop, a resource centre for learning sewing and computing, a mechanic training school, a swimming pool, and even a cinema. Many of the activities were income-generating initiatives run by the youth themselves, such as the
guesthouse A guest house (or guesthouse, also rest house) is a kind of lodging. In some parts of the world (such as the Caribbean), a guest house is a type of inexpensive hotel-like lodging. In others, it is a private home that has been converted for the e ...
, the cinema, the car workshop, and the like. When they became independent, the young people supported by Maison Shalom received a small house and a plot of land. In 2004 an estimated 20,000 children had benefited from Barankitse's help, either directly or indirectly. By 2015, over 300 houses for children and youth aged between 4 and 20 had been built. The NGO also helped internally displaced persons and returning Burundian refugees to reintegrate in Ruyigi and to find their missing relatives. Barankitse was also on the frontline in the battle against
HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
, setting up counselling projects to promote HIV/AIDS prevention. She and her staff cared for over 100 HIV-infected children who had been abandoned or orphaned. Barankitse also started an initiative to help imprisoned youth. Some children were born in prison, and she worked to find them a better life, through education and a home outside prison. Her team continued to promote agriculture and established a
microfinance Microfinance consists of financial services targeting individuals and small businesses (SMEs) who lack access to conventional banking and related services. Microfinance includes microcredit, the provision of small loans to poor clients; saving ...
project to enable the parents to develop small businesses. In 2015, however, everything fell apart. The Burundian government started suppressing protests against President Nkurunziza. Thousands of Burundians started fleeing to Rwanda,
Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
,
Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...
or the DRC. Barankitse protested, cared for the wounded young, and fed those who were in prison. But in June 2015, Barankitse was herself forced to flee. In Burundi, there is a price on her head.


Maison Shalom Rwanda and the Community Center Oasis of Peace

Barankitse refused to spend her days in Europe comfortably and decided to dedicate her energy to help more than 90,000 Burundian refugees in Rwanda. She started with her expertise: education. She fought for education for children and university students in refugee camps. She put 126 children in
preschool A preschool (sometimes spelled as pre school or pre-school), also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, play school, is an school, educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they ...
, 160 in secondary school, and obtained 353 scholarships for university-level refugee students to join Rwandan universities, and 10 scholarships for the best students to study in universities abroad. In May 2017, Barankitse opened the Community Center Oasis of Peace for schoolchildren, offer psychological and social support to victims of torture and rape, and to implement activities of sustainable development in areas such as health, education, vocational training, culture, and income-generation. The Center offers a variety of courses including in English language, culinary arts, tailoring, embroidery, and painting. It also has a restaurant and is cyber-equipped with computers with internet connections for research and basic computer training. Approximately 200 people come every day to the Centre and benefit from the various services offered by Maison Shalom. Maison Shalom seeks to help refugees and especially young people in exile to live in dignity, to use the period of exile for empowerment and forgiveness for those who forced them to flee their homeland.


Mahama Elite Center at Mahama Refugee Camp

Since 2015, more than 430,000 Burundians have been forced to flee and to seek refuge in neighbouring countries such as Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda. Among them, more than 90,000 are in Rwanda, of which 58,000 live in Mahama Refugee Camp. This camp is considered to be a model case of refugee management in the East African Region. To support the refugees living there, Maison Shalom opened the Mahama Elite Center on 22 June 2018. This training center was poised to offer vocational training and employment to Burundian refugees in the camp. The project will enable young people to improve their living conditions but also to strengthen their entrepreneurship skills.


Awards and honours

Graffiti of Marguerite Barankitse in Burgos, Spain, 170px The scope of her action, as well as the fact that she protects all children without consideration of their origin,
Tutsi The Tutsi ( ), also called Watusi, Watutsi or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu languages, Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi ( ...
or
Hutu The Hutu (), also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic group native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda where they form one of the principal ethnic groups alongside the Tutsi and the Great L ...
, brought Maggy praise from all corners of the world: * 1998 : Prize of human rights, awarded by French government. – Liberté – Égalité – Fraternité * 2000 : North-South Prize from the
Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...
* 2000 : courage trophy awarded by the monthly Africa International. * 2003 :
World's Children's Prize for the Rights of the Child The World’s Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child was founded in 2000 and is run by the World's Children's Prize Foundation (WCPF), based in Mariefred, Sweden. The WCPF is a non-profit organisation, independent of all political and r ...
* 2004 : Voices of Courage Award of the Women's Commission for Women and Refugee Children * 2004 :
Nansen Refugee Award The Nansen Refugee Award is a medal issued annually by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to an individual, group, or organization in recognition of outstanding service to the cause of refugees, displaced, or stateless pe ...
* 2008 : Opus Prize * 2008 : UNESCO Prize * In June 2009,
Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg Maria Teresa (born MarĂ­a Teresa Mestre y Batista; 22 March 1956) is Grand Duchess of Luxembourg as the wife of Grand Duke Henri, who acceded to the throne in 2000. Early life and education Maria Teresa Mestre was born on 22 March 1956 in ...
, UNICEF Eminent Advocate for Children, visited Maison Shalom during a tour of Burundi. In October 2011, the Grand Duchess welcomed Marguerite Barankitse to Luxembourg to open a photographic exhibition in support of Maison Shalom. * On November 24, 2011, Barankitse received the Prize for Conflict Prevention from the hands of Kofi Annan. The Conflict Prevention Prize is awarded every year by the
Fondation Chirac The Fondation Chirac was launched by former French President Jacques Chirac, after having served two terms in office between 1995 and 2007. Since 2008, this foundation strives for peace through five advocacy programmes: * conflict prevention * ...
, launched in 2008 by former French president
Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...
. *In 2011 Barankitse received the journalistic prize ''Golden Doves for Peace'' issued by the Italian Research Institute Archivio Disarmo. * On April 24, 2016, Marguerite was awarded the $1.1 million
Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity The US $1,000,000 Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity is a global humanitarian award recognizing individuals for humanitarian work. It is awarded on behalf of the survivors of the Armenian genocide. The Aurora Prize ceremonies have taken place si ...
, an award given to humanitarians in memory of the
Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...
.


Honorary degrees


2017 Degree of Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) of Rhodes University
Eastern Cape, South Africa
2013 Emory University, Honorary Doctor's Degree
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
2013 Duke University, Honorary Doctor's Degree
Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...
, USA, alongside
Melinda Gates Melinda French Gates (born Melinda Ann French; August 15, 1964) is an American philanthropist. Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, she was educated at Ursuline Academy of Dallas, Duke University, and Duke's Fuqua School of Business. Shortly afte ...
* 2012
Université de Lille The University of Lille (, abbreviated as ULille, UDL or univ-lille) is a French public research university based in Lille, Hauts-de-France. It has its origins in the University of Douai (1559), and resulted from the merger of three universities ...
, France, Honorary Doctor's Degree * 2011 Doctor Honoris Causa, Université Catholique de Lille, France
2004 Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Louvain
Louvain-la-Neuve Louvain-la-Neuve (; French for "New Leuven"; ) is a planned town in the municipality of Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Wallonia, Belgium, situated 30 km southeast of Brussels, in the province of Walloon Brabant. The town was built to house th ...
,
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...


Books about Maggy and Maison Shalom


La haine n'aura pas le dernier mot, in French by Christel Martin
Editions Michel Albin 2005
Madre di diecimila figli, Edition Piemme Bestseller 2010
translated into Italian from the French, La haine n'aura pas le dernier mot by Christel Martin
Hummingbird, Why Am I Here? Maggy's Children, by Judith Debetencourt Hoskins
in English, 2012


References


External links


Official Web-site of Maison Shalom (in French)Video on Marguerite Barankitse's action, Fondation Chirac's websiteCommunity Center Oasis of PeaceBarankitse and the Aurora PrizeBarankitse and the Opus Prize
Burundian human rights activists Burundian women activists Living people 1957 births People from Ruyigi Province African women in war People of the Burundian Civil War Women in 21st-century warfare Nansen Refugee Award laureates {{portal, Burundi, Africa