Borders between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda are among the busiest in the world in terms of informal cross-border trade. It is reported that about 50,000 people cross the Petite Barrière border post between Rubavu and Goma to trade foodstuff and basic services on a daily basis. Between November and December 2020, Initiatives for Peace and Human Rights (iPeace) and Pro-Femmes Twese Hamwe (PFTH) identified about 6,500 women who permanently rely on informal cross-border trade through Bukavu/Rusizi, Goma/Rubavu and Kamanyola/Bugarama border posts as their main source of income. All of these women have been involved in informal cross-border trade for 2 years at least with a capital of less than 50$. Every day, when they cross the border on both directions to buy or sell goods, these women face various challenges including payment of non-gazetted taxes, sexual and gender-based violence, harassment, arbitrary arrests, confiscation of their goods, etc.
This was the case of Marie-Rose Mukambakuriyemo and Adela Nyirasinayobye, two Rwandan women selected by their cooperative “Indashikirwa” to sell their members’ chickens in one of Bukavu’s markets. They crossed the Ruzizi-1 border on 18 December 2020 with 46 chickens worth about 460$. When they arrived at the market, Mr. Takis – a representative of a Bukavu-based association of poultry sellers – denied them from entering the market and confiscated all their chickens. He alleged that, as foreigners, Rwandan women are not allowed to do retail business in DRC. They are supposed to sell in gross to their Congolese counterparts who are allowed to retail in local markets.

​Fortunately, Marie-Rose and Adela had just attended a workshop organized by Pro-Femmes for leaders of women informal cross-border traders’ cooperatives a couple of days before. During the workshop, Adela and other women were informed about the Legal Aid Clinics set up in the framework of ‘Empowering Women in Informal Cross-Border Trade in the Great Lakes Region’ (EWICBT) Project on both sides of the DRC/Rwanda border to provide free and quick support to women cross-border traders who are victims illegal and unfair treatments during their business. So, they immediately contacted Pro-Femmes to complain about what had happened.  Without delay, Pro-Femmes referred them to iPeace’s legal aid team positioned a few meters from the Ruzizi-1 border post. After listening and ascertaining the soundness of the claim of Marie Rose and Adela, iPeace legal officer invited Mr. Takis to tell his version of the story. After long discussions and involvement of a Congolese border official, Mr. Takis was requested to return all the 46 chickens to Marie-Rose and Adela. He was also reminded that his status as the president of a local association does not give him power to deny access to the market to other people nor to confiscate their goods. In case of any claim or concern, he should refer to competent authorities.

“Almost every day when we cross to DRC, we expect to face some kind of harassment either from local authorities, police, border officials or our fellow traders. Since COVID-19 outbreak, the confiscation of goods by the heads various associations has become frequent. As foreigners, we don’t know where to take our claim, and some of us do not even speak Kiswahili. That is why we end up paying a lot of money to get through. I am happy that this time I was able to recover all my goods swiftly and without paying a single dollar”, said Marie Rose after she sold her returned chickens. “I would like to thank iPeace and Pro-Femmes for establishing their offices next to the border. The fact that some of their staff in DRC understand Kinyarwanda made it easier for me to clearly explain the issue. I have been crossing the border for many years, it is the first time I am able to talk to an official without being humiliated. Usually when you take the risk to complain to Congolese authorities, it takes long before your case is solved and you must pay a lot of money – sometimes above the value of the disputed goods – before your claim is settled. For that reason, most of us give up on our confiscated goods to return home. Now that I know there are people to help us quickly and for free, I feel like my confidence in pursuing my business has increased.”, added Adela. In the DRC, the multiplicity of services at border posts blurs the system and puts women cross-border traders at the mercy of shady people, including public servants.

Marie-Rose and Adela are among the 11,679 women in informal cross-border trade and their husbands who are direct beneficiaries of the EWICBT project funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in order to improve safety, security and enabling environment for cross-border trade while increasing income and social economic welfare of women who do informal cross-border trade between DRC and Rwanda. The comparative advantage of this project consists in the simultaneous implementation of identical activities on both sides of the RDC/Rwanda borders, which allows women from each of the two countries to be equally protected when they cross the border to conduct their trade activities. This project’s activities are implemented by Pro-Femmes in Rwanda and iPeace in DRC through 30 June 2022.

Life these past few weeks looks very different than it did a month ago. Instead of attending human rights trainings and falling asleep under mosquito nets, I am spending my hours in class and, well…sleeping less.

However, fortunately, some things stay the same. I am delighted and honored to be able to continue working with both Initiatives for Peace and Human Rights (IPHR) and LiCoProMa throughout this next year!

Over the past few months, I’ve mentioned a great deal about the organization and work of IPHR, but I have not done this for LiCoProMa.

Below is a brief overview of LiCoProMa, the challenges it faces, and one of the driving members of the organization– Francis Mbembe.

About LiCoProMa

LiCoProMa stands for Ligue Congolaise pour la Promotion des Droits des Personnes Vulnerables et/ou Marginalisées (in English: Congolese League for the Promotion of Rights of Vulnerable and Marginalized Persons) and is a non-profit organization that runs solely on volunteer donations. Founded in 1998, during the Second Congo War, LiCoProMa was originally created to provide relief to the massive human rights violations occurring in Kisangani (northeastern DRC) at that time.

Since 1998, LiCoProMa has moved and evolved. Today, LiCoProMa is based out of Goma, DRC, and works to serve the following communities in the following ways*:

• Albinos - providing education on albinism to primary, secondary, and university students in Kisangani in a manner that fosters greater acceptance and societal inclusion of albinos.

• Pygmies – providing basic education desperately needed by this community.  At present, pygmies in DRC belong to a rural-based community that is often neglected, isolated, and bereft of the social resources offered to the greater society.
• Individuals with HIV/AIDS – providing education on personal care and access to needed medication.
• Young mothers – providing mothers with the career and maternal education they need to help themselves and their children grow into successful citizens.

Despite LiCoProMa’s fervent work and valiant efforts, it faces many challenges when trying to accomplish these goals.

Challenges/Needs

LiCoProMa’s #1 need – money. This is probably no surprise to anyone in the NGO world who knows how valuable and difficult money is to come by. LiCoProMa needs money to supplement the travel costs of health care workers and lawyers, to complete a guarded compound where LGBTI members can safely seek shelter, to supplement the volunteer time of lead staff members, and to pay for the healthcare supplies necessary for offering routine health checks.

However, while acknowledging this  predominant need, LiCoProMa also realizes the importance of self-sufficiency and innovation. Thus, the members of LiCoProMa continue to seek alternative solutions to their financial shortcomings. For example, LiCoProMa has recently collaborated with a lawyer and a doctor in Goma who are willing to offer their services for free on a very restricted schedule. While these services are limited, they are nevertheless a great contribution towards realizing LiCoProMa’s mission: “Pour que cesse la discrimination” (in English: “To end discrimination”).

In addition to financial challenges, LiCoProMa also faces community challenges – most of which stem from the community’s hostility toward LiCoProMa’s work with LGBTI members.

A few months ago, LiCoProMa’s office was burned down because of their association with the LGBTI community. Furthermore, LiCoProMa recently conducted an anonymous, randomized survey on how members of the Goma community respond to LGBTI members. The result: approximately 85% of the 1000 people surveyed expressed hostility towards the LGBTI community.

Clear examples of this hostility include LiCoProMa’s LGBTI members being frequently chased and/or attacked because of their identity.  In fact, sadly, after my visit to Goma in July, Carine (pictured below) was attacked for hosting a discussion with LGBTI members and white people (e.g. – me) in her restaurant.

While LiCoProMa realizes that the long term solution to this discrimination requires internal organization, self-agency, determination, and patience, they also believe an appropriate short term response is to provide a safe, guarded, compound for LGBTI members to retreat to, as needed.

Francis

One of the leading-, and founding-, members of LiCoProMa is Francis Mbembe.***

In addition to being the Principal Coordinator of LiCoProMa, Francis is also one of the most determined, jovial,  humanitarian individuals I have ever met.
In 1998, at the cusp of the Second Congo War and the human tragedy that accompanied it, Francis enrolled in school to study Human Rights. During this time, Francis learned the following:

• Every person has human rights – including the right to have their human rights respected.
• Sometimes, people need information on how to protect their human rights.

Over the past 14 years, Francis has devoted himself tirelessly to the work of LiCoProMa. In addition to managing the responsibilities that come with raising a family and maintaining a job, Francis donates all the time he can to support the marginalized and vulnerable in Goma. It’s his passion — and something one quickly picks up on within minutes of meeting him.

Francis’ consistent concern and care for others are inspiring, as is his proclivity toward action. For example, just a few weeks ago, after visiting an IDP camp in Kanyaruchinya, Francis went back to that camp to pass out as much rice and pens as he was personally able to afford.
Francis believes that a slow, persistent, paced fight leads to eventual success…and Francis is fighting.

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* This is a very brief overview. If you would like more information on any one of these communities and the services LiCoProMa is working to provide, please email me at mminter@advocacynet.org

**At present, many LGBTI members are discriminated against in all life capacities and see prostitution as the only possible career path to putting food on the table. However, prostitution has severe and negative consequences that require many who identify as L,G,B,T, or I to risk their lives daily in order to live one more day.

***LiCoProMa is organized into branches, with one person coordinating any given sector. For example,  LiCoProMa’s Nadia Kanyankore  is the Coordinator for the LGBTI sector, Dr. Matthieu Bokota is the Coordinator for the Albino sector, etc. Francis is the Principal Coordinator that oversees the work of all LiCoProMa sectors.