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For 15 years,

I have witnessed mass atrocities

committed on women's bodies, against women.

I cannot stand idly by.

In conflict zones,

battles take place on women's bodies.

The rapes are extremely brutal,

a veritable weapon of war,

perhaps even a strategy of war,

which is cheap,

but devastatingly effective.

Their wounded bodies,

their broken hearts,

and their destroyed spirits,

needed to be healed,

consoled and restored.

We have hope for the future

of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

We hope that this great country will become a nation

of peace and justice. Thank you.

I was raped.

My parents had sent me to the fields to get manioc.

The men took me by surprise and threw me to the ground.

They undressed me and raped me.

There were two of them.

When the first one finished raping me,

the second one raped me,

then they left.

I don't know what they destroyed,

but here, around the vagina, still hurts very badly.

Is there a wound?

I don't know if it's a wound or Aids.

My chest hurts very badly too,

and my hips hurt the most.

It hurts, I don't feel well.

What if we showed you the people who raped you?

I want them to go away.

Go where?

Or for them to suffer like I did and then die.

From 1996 on,

the Hutu came to take refuge here.

We welcomed them as war refugees.

We gave them food to eat and housed them.

They started abducting us, raping the women

and taking them into the forest with them.

When they snatched us,

they tied us up like slaves.

They spread us out, like Christ on the cross.

They terrorized us.

It went on for eight months.

But one day, during an attack by Congolese soldiers,

we managed to escape.

We were asked how many men had raped us.

We replied that all of them had had their way with us.

This lesion

was certainly caused by the penetration of sharp objects

into the vagina.

We should have operated on her in August,

but she waited. We'll take her this afternoon.

Help me.

I've been in great pain since the operations on my womb.

They are excluded by their community,

by their family.

The husband may have left, and they are handicapped

and all alone, sadly abandoned by everyone.

When they get here, they have such a terrible sadness.

So a smile is the sign that they're coming back to life.

The joy of these patients

is an important feedback for us.

It's a huge boost to carry on our work.

I was working in the fields when the Hutu rebels arrived.

I was stabbed in the genitals.

My internal organs were badly damaged.

I ended up in the operating theatre

and the doctor started to treat me.

He saw that the feces and urine were passing down the same canal.

This is my ninth operation.

"They have damaged you terribly, I've never seen anything like it."

He fights, he touches my urine, my feces.

When I saw that, I felt love again, for myself and for him.

I learned to love myself again

and felt that there was hope.

I see that I still have a future,

I feel a new surge of energy.

I often wonder how this person can get back up,

stand up straight.

I am incredibly impressed.

I think that what they go through

is enough to finish them off once and for all.

But these are courageous women, who revive,

and not only for themselves, but for others too.

Not only do they fight for their rights,

but also for the rights of their children,

the rights of their community, the rights of their peers.

I think the future of this country

lies with these women, who are wonderful.

As you know,

we are transferring files to Panzi hospital,

to Dr. Mukwege.

His work starts with our action.

The war has traumatized us.

"Open the door!"

You're there, in your house,

and they brandish their weapons, they terrorize you.

They tell you to lie down

and they rape you, in front of your children, your husband,

In front of your family.

Then they force your husband to rape you in front of your children.

Sometimes, they order

the children, the sons present in the house,

to rape their mother in front of the other children.

If the son refuses, he is killed on the spot.

There are also women

who have had wooden sticks or bayonets stuck up their vagina.

Others are taken into the bush to become sexual slaves.

And it's not over.

Our own sons of the Congo are starting to rape us too.

It's still going on today.

Our own sons copy them and rape our daughters!

Be quick about it!

Calm down.

No, no! Don't change your target.

A little lower.

- They used all sorts of things to kill them. - Even hammers.

They smashed their heads to a pulp.

This is the sort of weapons they used.

On someone's head! This is blood.

Who could survive that?

Give me that too. - There were machetes and knives.

This too.

See? Who could survive that?

I don't want to stay here anymore.

They hurt me so much.

They killed my father and mother.

I just want to live in peace.

I loved going to school.

I don't know if I'll be brave enough to go back.

My eye hurts badly

and my teeth cause me great pain.

I thank the Lord for meeting me here.

My tears flow,

for a man and some women who were buried alive,

here in Mwenga.

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

I cry for my wife, Zibaruzizawadi

and for the others.

My dear wife, other victims,

I am alone with our children,

in sadness and pain.

The State doesn't help me and now I am old.

I know that you are now before the Lord, our God.

All my sisters were in this ditch, still alive,

along with others already covered with earth.

They could no longer talk.

What was in the ditch?

Water. We fell into water.

They beat me the whole way.

We spent the night next to a house, near here.

Five soldiers were guarding me.

All five of them raped me.

My face was deformed,

my head swollen, my fingers bleeding.

I had some money hidden under my clothes,

but the soldiers who raped me took it all.

I suffered a lot.

I can't bear to look at soldiers anymore, they are so brutal.

We can honestly speak of rape as a tactic of war,

a weapon of mass destruction,

which is the latest

vile, shameful and macabre invention of mankind

to destroy and kill others.

These acts are not motivated by sexual desire,

but rather the wish to destroy,

physically and psychologically,

family, community, a whole people.

This was the time when Kofi Annan was Secretary-General of the UN.

I found myself in the auditorium of the United Nations.

What struck me

was that I could see all the places with names of States,

where representatives should sit.

But where it said Democratic Republic of the Congo,

the chairs were empty! That was a message to me.

I would have liked... It was my dearest wish,

to have the support

of our representative.

But the chair was empty!

Four years later, in 2012, I returned to New York.

I was to make a speech before the United Nations

when I was invited

by the Congolese Health Minister, to the Waldorf Hotel.

I spoke with him, we talked a while.

"I'm telling you not to give your speech tomorrow."

"Just don't give your speech.

”If you do, it's at your own risk." He was categorical, threatening.

If I gave my speech, I don't know what might have happened.

My family is in Bukavu, my children, my wife.

I can take risks for myself,

but not for my children and my wife.

So I cancelled my speech in 2012, I couldn't do it.

Worryingly, when I got back from the UN,

armed men were waiting for me at my home.

When I arrived here,

five men immediately

entered the vehicle, all of them armed.

The one behind me

stuck his gun in my neck.

The man next to me

was armed with an AK47.

The man with his gun to my neck made me get out.

I thought it was all over.

But just when I tried to make a break for the house,

in the time it took for him to fire at me,

poor Joseph appeared from out back

and started to shout.

"They're killing my father!"

The man turned

and fired at Joseph.

Joseph fell there

and I fell there, but I couldn't say what happened next.

Perhaps they thought I was dead too.

There was blood everywhere here. - Who was Jeff?

Jeff was my friend, my watchman.

He was also a friend of my children.

I was very scared

and decided to go into exile in Europe, with my family.

In Europe,

as I wondered what path my career would now take,

I learned that the Congolese women, in the Kivu,

had mobilized to ask me to return.

Some women clubbed together,

farmers who pooled their vegetables

in order to be able to pay for his plane ticket.

He was deeply touched.

And brushing aside all matters of security,

he decided to come back.

I was lucky enough to come back with him.

When we landed with the little plane,

it was chaos, the police had pulled out all the stops.

There were big bodyguards all around with infra-red glasses.

It was a real hullabaloo.

Then there were all the others there to welcome him.

There was as sort of whooping noise...

And we saw thousands of women arriving,

dancing past the barriers as if they didn't exist,

who came right up to Denis.

It was... I've never seen anything like it!

I've never seen such human warmth.

I've never seen such intensity.

On the road from the airport to the hospital,

there were thousands of people.

They emanated huge strength, amazing!

I'm sure they all

"Now we will be able to bring about change,

we humiliated women..."

For Denis, it sent a strong message

that now he was truly safe

and that the women were protecting him.

Together, we say no to sexual violence,

no to the rebellion,

no to those who wish to become ministers and generals

by killing their fellow countrymen.

We, the population, must say no!

When the Rwandans came, after the genocide,

that's when there were many, many rapes,

a big wave of violence, pillaging, etc.

The women needed justice.

They needed access to justice.

That's why we set up

the two legal clinics on this island.

When Dr. Mukwege went into exile,

these women called for his return.

For them, Dr. Mukwege was a savior.

Let's salute the president of our association, Dr. Mukwege!

Dr. Mukwege is our father.

When we heard they had tried to kill him, it hurt us badly.

All the women in Idjwi were sad when he left.

When he came back from exile,

we all went to welcome him at the hospital.

We were so happy.

We took our drums, chose some songs

and brought pineapples as a gift,

to welcome him.

We call him "the Messiah".

He is the savior,

and the savior is the Messiah.

Did the first activities we undertook

work or not? - Yes!

In the old days, women were despised

their rights were not respected.

Women could not express themselves in public.

Today, women are starting to express themselves like the men

and some of their rights have been recognized.

Before, in Idjwi,

no woman could inherit anything from her parents.

But now, thanks to Dr. Mukwege,

because we can go to the legal clinic

and get to court to claim our rights, all without charge,

we are starting to get our rights.

Legally speaking,

we're beginning to see

that even a girl who has been raped here,

has to be treated at Panzi

and there will be a legal follow-up.

The girl's family

will get their rights.

All we ask of you

is to stand firm.

Wherever we go, you show the good example.

I will always remember

that when Dr. Mukwege was in exile,

the initiative to contribute

the proceeds from your pineapples

came from Idjwi.

So this movement started in Idjwi.

These women started to act!

"Take this harvest and sell it

and pay the ticket!"

It all started with you.

That's what enabled the doctor to return.

He's an intelligent man.

He could have stayed in Europe and worked there.

"Because these women are asking for me, I'll go home."

- Hello, Doctor. - Hello.

- How are you? - Fine.

- Hello. - Hello.

- Are you ready? - Let's go.

This escort of Egyptian policemen

makes it possible for me to reach

places where I take huge risks.

Otherwise, I would be a prisoner at the hospital

and that's a life I couldn't bear for long.

I did my thesis in pediatrics,

but when I arrived here the first time,

what struck me was the women who came in

on stretchers.

Most of them were near death.

They came from the high plateaux and surrounding villages.

Quite honestly, I started to question

what it was I really wanted to do.

A few months later, I took the plane to Paris.

Then I went to Angers to study gynecology and obstetrics.

There were 35 gynecologists in the department.

When I thought of so many doctors there and nobody here,

I felt it was not fair to stay in France.

I felt a sense of responsibility.

I could not contemplate going elsewhere.

So my wife went to live in Bukavu with the children,

and I would stay here in Lemera

for two weeks at a stretch. I would leave twice a month

to see my family.

How long have you spent separated from your family like this?

Fifteen years.

It hasn't been easy.

I would climb the hills to get here,

it was very, very tough.

- On foot? - Yes, of course.

Gradually, things changed...

- Why not by car? - Because cars weren't for us.

They were for the Whites? - What do you think?

- You did 30 km on foot? - Absolutely.

It was very tough.

In fact, the first massacre committed

was here at the hospital.

The war practically started here. It was 20 years ago,

at the start of the war.

Congolese rebels and Rwandan soldiers invaded the hospital

and slaughtered the patients in their beds.

Terrified, the survivors dug a common grave,

here where we stand, to bury the corpses.

When someone is able to kill a patient in his bed,

and is not prosecuted for such a crime,

I think it conveys everything we're going through now.

There has never been a legal investigation of the massacres here?

Never!

I think the impunity started here, right here.

Regarding the events of 1996,

I have never had an explanation for why patients were killed in their beds.

I was their doctor.

I was responsible for those patients.

I had promised to protect them.

Unfortunately, I had left Lemera to help another sick person,

and it all happened when I was away.

I still wonder why it happened,

why there was no follow-up.

I find it impossible to fully forget.

When I return there, it's as if

the story of the events unfolds again in my mind.

We, by virtue of the powers invested in us,

name and declare Mr. Denis Mukwege Mukengere

doctor honoris causa of the Catholic University of Louvain.

University constitutes the final rampart

and must remain the place where the younger generation is prepared

to become indignant.

Indignant when certain multinationals,

with the complicity of certain unscrupulous

State and local entities,

enrich themselves while destroying women,

the mainstays of the Congolese economy.

Indignant when a peaceful people is forced to move

and go into exile, leaving their land to armed predators,

who pillage mining resources, by which I refer to coltan.

Indignant when the electronic devices stained with blood,

which we all have in our pockets,

are sold freely

on the European and world markets,

without it really bothering anyone.

The war has gone on so long

mobsters, rebels, soldiers,

are emptying the Congo of its mineral wealth.

I compare the Congo to a jewelry shop without doors, windows or guards.

People come in and take what they want.

I think that

instead of serving us,

and giving us a chance to develop harmoniously,

these riches have been the source

of our misfortune and poverty.

We are classed as one of the poorest countries in the world.

It's incomprehensible.

I was working in the operating room.

I did one operation after another, endlessly,

and in the end I realized

that I was operating on some women for the second or third time.

The biggest shock came when, for the first time, I operated

on a child born at the hospital, as a result of rape,

who had herself been raped at the age of eight.

That's when I came to realize

that I am beginning to treat

children born of rape

and that I don't want to find myself treating the grandchildren.

Something had to be done.

I had to speak out to the world,

tell them what is going on in Kivu,

completely abnormal behavior,

and in Eastern RDC in general.

I couldn't do that from the operating room.

I had to go beyond that, beyond the hospital,

to meet people and tell them,

"Have the courage to stop this evil."

May God be glorified.

Today, many in our country do not have work.

In our country, there are no roads,

there is no food.

Many children cannot pursue an education,

and things happen that break people's hearts.

You know that I have long lived

like a prisoner at the hospital.

"I will take you out of the dust

and sit you down among...

princes!”

Do you know where I live? Do you know what it's like?

The district of Panzi. Do you know it?

There, you cannot keep anything.

There is only dust,

which even gets into your bed.

The dust in Panzi is really bad.

But a month ago, when I was sitting at home,

I got an invitation from Michelle Obama.

"Come here,

we want you to come and share our feast."

I went with my wife

and as we were sitting at the table,

I saw that at this meal, there were only African presidents,

whereas I come from Panzi.

The Bible, is not just a bunch of stories!

God will snatch you from the dust

and sit you among princes and kings.

As I sat among those leaders,

“Who am I to sit here?”

I only found one answer...

I simply thought that I was just a child,

I am a child of Jesus.

I am the son of the King of kings! Praise the Lord!

In 1949,

my father came here.

He held the service under a tree

here in Mahengue, just a few meters from here.

As pastor, he would visit the sick,

talk to them, sit by their beds.

It was as we visited a sick child one day,

that I took my decision

"Dad, you are good at what you do,

but I feel it is incomplete.

When I am sick, you give me medicine,

but you gave none to this child."

He replied that he couldn't give medicine because he was not a doctor.

I had found my path.

"You be the pastor, and pray for the sick,

I want to take care of the medical side."

My mother was a huge help to us.

She forged our character.

She's a strong woman.

It was very important to them

that I be able to get an education

and carry their torch onwards.

When he started his studies,

I prayed to God for him to become a doctor,

to treat people.

When I saw a doctor in a white coat,

I felt I was seeing an angel.

I love you, Mum.

It was the 24th of August,

in 1998,

on St. Barthelemy's Day.

The Christians were here, both children and adults.

Straight away,

the Rwandan soldiers

surrounded the church

and then, armed with axes,

they started killing people.

They killed 139 people right here in the church.

There is still a militia here, in the forest.

We are afraid of the FDLR.

We aren't free, there is no security.

We live from one day to the next, not knowing what tomorrow will bring.

The nuns were killed behind that first door.

They were raped, mutilated.

Their bodies were behind that door. - And the priest?

He was killed in the presbytery.

They used an axe.

We buried him here. - What about the other victims?

We put the other victims in common graves

over there, where you see the flowers and trees.

And here too.

Over that way.

Where the other bushes are.

There's another common grave there for the other remains.

Abbot, explain to us why God allows these atrocities.

God... I am a priest, a religious man.

I don't think God allows these atrocities.

It is Man's bad heart.

Man is becoming more and more animalistic.

Truly...

I don't know if they still have a heart.

How come the people who carried out this massacre

haven't been handed over to justice?

That's the government's job.

We wonder if the government is actively

working on that?

On finding the perpetrators of these crimes?

What government, what army,

names someone who has burned a thousand houses,

burned hundreds of people,

captain or colonel?

To reward him? Because of fear? Why?

It makes you wonder if the government truly exists.

Is there any real justice?

Without justice, there will be no peace.

You kill 1000 people and become a colonel in the Congo.

What sort of logic is that?

Attention!

Present arms!

The governor of the province of South Kivu!

Excellency, the guard of honor of the National Congolese police,

Mwenga District, Chief Superintendent Jean-Marie Daniel Kayuma.

The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda,

the FDLR,

are irreversibly determined

to contribute to the return of peace

in Eastern RDC.

The FDLR have unilaterally committed

to put down their weapons

and lead an exclusively political fight.

Today, the FDLR

83 weapons, including 8 heavy weapons,

and 83 disarmed fighters,

as long as the support and security conditions for them

and all the Rwandan civilian refugees

in the DRC, are guaranteed.

Long live peace in the Great Lakes Region.

This voluntary disarmament operation,

takes place 20 years after the entry

of the Rwandan nationals

into the DRC, formerly Zaire.

We entreat them to encourage others hiding in the bush

to do as they have done today,

and leave the forests and mountains of the DRC.

We will begin our ceremony with the national anthem.

The international community would like our authorization to fight them.

I'm afraid, because when I see the population here,

I can't tell the difference between them and us.

So how would they tell them apart in a war?

We became the world capital of rape because of this war.

I think it's time to say, Basta!

Enough, we're tired. We want peace and development

and put an end to talk of rape and displaced populations.

And leave us to live in peace.

The FDLR, who committed massacres in Kaniola,

in Ninga, in Kalonge,

in Buniakiri.

There are women who were abducted as sexual slaves,

who can identify the men who abducted them

and took them into the forest.

If those people are not accountable, there is no international justice.

If Congolese justice isn't able to do it,

I consider that international justice

must request that those people answer

for these crimes against humanity, or these war crimes,

which they committed while in the Congolese forest.

If this operation doesn't work,

it is to the advantage of all those brutally exploiting the Eastern Congo

because we know that peace and tranquility in Eastern Congo

requires the return of the rule of law.

Rule of law would put a stop to the vultures

who are currently butchering the Congo.

Hello, girls. - Hello.

Please tell me your name, where you are from,

why you are here,

and what you hope to get here.

I came here

because I was rejected, despised.

But I see there are many of us.

We have come here to get help,

to be transformed, because we are despised.

Speak a little more openly. I feel that you are full of emotion.

Shatter the silence. Speak out about how you feel.

When you have been sexually abused,

you have no more self-esteem,

but here, there are many of us here.

When you leave here,

we want you to have a swing to your step.

You know what that means?

It means that you are beautiful, elegant.

They wanted to destroy you. But when you leave here,

they'll see that you are stronger than them.

There were rebels at our place,

boys from the neighborhood who had become rebels.

I passed by these boys. They had been pillaging.

They caught me and raped me.

When I told my mother that I had been raped,

"It happened because you asked for it."

She got angry and threw me out.

Then I was thrown out of school.

I had a child, who is now two years old.

Don't cry, sister.

It will be alright.

Thank you.

I lived with my mother.

When my mother died,

there was no one left to protect me.

I wasn't wanted at home anymore.

When I asked my father for something, he refused.

He threw me out of the house. The neighbors took me in.

I spent all my days crying.

It's over now.

Don't worry.

We love you.

Even if others hate you, we love you.

Let's sing something.

Come on, let's stand up.

Copy what I do.

You think I'm crazy, don't you?

No!

- Am I out of my mind? - No!

Why don't you do as I do?

Copy me, do it after me.

There is hurt, deep inside you,

that you do not accept.

If you stay here,

we will give you back your humanity

and draw out this hurt that is blocking you,

so you can start a new life.

What is it? What's wrong?

Your head is hurting? How come?

I remembered what happened.

You remembered?

You remembered what happened. How long ago?

I have lost many things.

Five years ago.

But you have never forgotten.

That's precisely why you are here.

We will help you forget.

We will support you.

I'm not sure that what you say is right.

Why would you not get back what you have lost?

Do you think that when a person has had a problem,

they will never get back what they have lost?

Do you believe that? - Yes.

It's not true!

Life can take a bad turn,

and when you're on the ground,

you think you'll never again have that which you've lost.

But life...

What have you lost?

A lot?

My reputation.

- Your reputation? - Yes.

- What else? - My education.

My virginity. - Yes.

What else?

Girls, do you think she will never retrieve

the things she's just talked about?

She can.

Sisters, you didn't want what happened to you.

To think that virginity

is the most important thing in life,

let me tell you, that is not true.

The true virginity is that which you have...

in your heart.

Isn't that true?

Do you believe me? - Yes.

To cry is not shameful.

It is the pain, the suffering inside.

If you feel anger that makes you cry,

you must cry.

If you must speak, speak.

If you want to shout, shout.

At some point, you will feel unburdened,

and that all that suffering will come out.

During your stay here,

take advantage of this time to discover

that you are a complete woman, whole.

And if you have been raped,

nothing has been taken away from your femininity.

Let the tears

that you shed now be your last!

I could not read or write.

I learned to read A, E, I, O, U.

I'm starting to feel loved.

I am preparing for my future life. After my secondary education,

I will study medicine

so that I too can take care of women

who have suffered like I have.

I cannot abandon these women,

for I have had the same operations.

If I had been neglected,

I would not be what I am today.

I met Jeanne here.

She welcomed me as if I was her little sister.

I sensed that we would get on.

We did our shopping together.

We share a single pot of beauty lotion.

Even though she's light-skinned and I'm dark!

I wanted to be her friend because she supported me,

taught me to move forward.

We shared all the suffering.

We said that we could not leave

because we no longer have a home, or a family.

Alphonsine has no more parents, her relatives are all dead.

We have nowhere to go.

We will stay here

until the end of all our operations.

Could I one day be a housewife?

I will never again be able to be penetrated by a man

and have a child.

But the doctor practiced

all of his skills on me, he gave them to me.

How can I not love him?

And I didn't even pay a single Congolese franc.

Toilet...

Kitchen...

When I was in hospital and we were taught

how to weave baskets, sew, make carpets,

little by little, I saved money. It was a big help to me.

I managed to save 300 dollars.

I showed it to Dr. Mukwege.

"I now have a small sum of money.

I'd like to have a little plot of land.”

- "Really?" - "Yes, really."

So the doctor gave me a little extra money.

Now I have to put in doors, paint the house, plaster the walls,

and perhaps get electricity put in,

so I feel good,

like in Dr. Mukwege's office,

like in the City of Joy, where it's really nice.

That's my project.

Today, my father is Dr. Mukwege,

because he's the one who repaired my life.

He saved my life

and made me the way I am today.

I saw that I was a human being like any other,

and that despite these problems, it wasn't the end of the world.

As long as you're alive, you can still do lots of things

here on earth.

- Who opened the door? - I don't know.

- Afterwards, you went back inside alone? - Yes.

Did you tell Dad? Was Mummy there?

- No. - Mummy wasn't there?

Don't you have a mummy? - Yes...

You have a mummy?

Mummy wasn't there at night? - Mummy? No...

- She wasn't there? - No.

Poor thing.

This is what she told me.

When she was abducted, it was night-time, she was sleeping.

Someone suddenly seized her from her bed.

They're alone in the family, their mother is not at home.

The father was already asleep, in another room.

That's how they took her.

I asked her if she'd seen him. She said it was too dark.

She didn't know where he took her.

"I was in great pain. It was a man."

We'll take care of you, OK?

We must put a stop to these witch doctors.

That's the first thing.

They're the ones

"If you sleep with a little girl, see the breasts of a virgin,

you will be rich!"

We must get to all the witch doctors.

We know who they are.

Here we can see

a wound resulting from the rape.

There is a tear in the recto-vaginal septum.

There's no separation between the anus and the vagina?

We can't even get in there. - But how will you reconstruct that?

I can reconstruct it, but the challenge

is to make the vagina permeable.

You've never seen this before? It's not an isolated case.

There are four other little girls waiting

for the same type of operation. - In fact, this is the 13th case.

There have been 3 deaths, including a child of 9 months,

a 2-year old and a 4-year old.

Last year.

- And now, this is...? - The 13th case.

The mother believes that her daughter was raped

in order to steal her uterus.

"Did they do this for no reason?"

She doesn't believe it is a sexual act,

she thinks there must be

some sort of financial incentive, or organ trafficking, etc.

She imagines that because this act is incomprehensible.

How could anyone do something like this?

This girl's mother

believes they have taken an organ because she doesn't understand

how anyone can do something so atrocious to her kid?

How will she go about lodging a complaint?

I don't understand how these women

can cope with all the procedures involved in filing a complaint.

Have you seen what it entails?

What I think

is that the men must face their responsibilities.

They won't be killed, but...

Problem solved!

You say that because you're angry.

No. I think that this little girl,

with this fibrosis, at the age of 20, won't be able to have sex.

Her life has been ruined. - You're right.

We don't know how many little girls

this man will destroy before he's caught.

Nothing will change

if there is no popular mobilization.

- What is that? - That's what I was wondering.

What are those spots? That's what I wonder.

Not just one or two, lots of them.

And why do they appear like that?

So it perforated and entered the belly?

Yes, that's exactly right.

I think that those must be lesions.

It's unimaginable.

You know what this means?

It means... Well, one hypothesis,

is that they penetrated her,

there was feces, because they split the septum,

and that they then started over again.

They had feces on their penis,

and put it back inside her.

Poor girl!

Dear friends,

if we stop suffering for others,

we stop being human as well.

I think that for this little girl, all men should mobilize.

It's all we can do. - We all agree.

Me too. What should we do now?

This won't do, it just won't do.

It won't do.

It's insane, completely insane.

Kalehe District Court

Weapons at the ready!

At ease!

Private Bazire, Jean-Claude,

charged with rape. - Bazire Jean-Claude.

Present, Commander.

...alias Tango Tango.

Present.

Charged with rape.

...Daniel. - Present.

Charged with rape.

At ease. Remove your beret.

Isolate the victim to protect her and make her feel safe.

You people in uniform must not traumatize the little girl.

I feel that when a minor appears here...

I'm the oldest 'papa' here, in my uniform,

with my glasses, see...?

She was abused by a man in uniform

and now she sees people who look just like him.

It's stressful.

Pay attention, we'll remind him why the first judge convicted him.

"The children are used to coming to my place for goodies.

They call me the "good one".

The "good guy", you gave them goodies. You took them to your house

to give them sweets.

Some of them stated that they found you

with the girl, completely naked, in your room.

They said they heard the girl's cries.

You admitted to asking for forgiveness,

confessing that you had been tempted by Satan.

Do you admit this?

In the name of God, I didn't do it!

He swears before God that he didn't do this.

You stand here before men.

Before God and man, when one asks forgiveness,

one asks God's forgiveness and that of men.

But I did not commit this act.

He did nothing but he asks before God

and the people of God that we may leave.

As the victim is in the corridor and is following the debate,

may she give her reaction to the court?

The victim has followed and is truly at ease?

We greet the victim.

How do you feel? - I feel good.

Does she remember the day when someone hurt her body?

Does she remember? - Yes.

How did it happen?

I was playing with my friends.

He told me to go and buy myself some sweeties.

He took me back to his house, he undressed me in the living room,

and made me go upstairs.

When we got to his room, he got undressed

and put his penis in my mouth.

Speaking in front

"He put his penis in my mouth."

"He put his "dendeo" - I don't know if it's masculine or feminine -

in my mouth."

Yet they say the child was shouting out.

If the child was shouting, where was the penis?

In her mouth? How did she shout? Through her ears?

How did she make herself heard?

Her voice was hard to hear through the megaphone just now!

Are we already called into the good?

No, expressions that rhyme

should not lead us astray. "Good guy, goodies..."

If we were talking about fritters, perhaps things would be different.

Come back.

Your final word?

I thank you

and place my fate in the hands of God.

Let us hope the Almighty will be present.

In 1998, with the DRC war,

many more crimes were committed in the Congo.

Atrocious crimes!

Very often, when the sentences are handed down,

it is ordinary citizens or lowly soldiers who are convicted.

It's difficult to catch the officers, the big fish.

We want justice to be done.

For there to be no more impunity, justice must be done.

All those who have committed crimes over the past 20 years must be tried!

- Zainda Monkuru. - Colonel!

Come to the bar.

At ease. Remove your beret.

The court confirms the crime of rape for the accused

and sentences him to 7 years in prison.

Court police, you may take the offender.

The court calls case LPA0232.

The court condemns him to the strongest penal sentence

for attempted rape with violence.

The court confirms his detention.

Court police, you may take the offender.

The accused deserve their sentences,

prison is there to re-educate them.

At the end of this hearing, each of them must have learned

about rape and sexual violence,

and what happens to those who commit them.

The victims have understood that justice has prevailed.

Thank you and goodbye.

Weapons at the ready!

At ease. - Thank you.

What have we done to be judged here?

They make us come here over and over and then convict us.

Why are we treated like animals?

You must continue to act in a disciplined manner.

You aren't my chief. Don't talk to me like that!

Calm down, we'll be leaving soon.

We don't give a damn about this conviction!

Those who rape are our dads,

they are our brothers, policemen, soldiers.

You men make us suffer.

You make us suffer!

You inflict suffering on women and your own children.

I don't know what sort of future you want.

The children are our future!

When you rape children of 3, children of 2 months,

do you have no mercy?

Do you have no mercy?

Today, we can speak of massacre.

It is no longer rape, it is the massacre of our children.

If the men of Kavumu

don't mobilize to combat these rapes,

dearly beloved men,

you will feel the solidarity of women.

The day they refuse to let you in their bed,

you will feel the anger

of the women of Kavumu!

Thank you.

You must denounce.

You must come and complain.

If you don't lodge a complaint,

it is difficult for me press charges.

When the charges are against an unknown person,

it makes the investigation much more difficult.

The woman's declaration to the police is not enough.

That's how the law works.

What discourages us is that when we denounce,

we are considered more of a criminal than he who committed the rape.

The prosecutor says that no one denounces.

How can we denounce

to this man who is nicknamed "Mr. 100 dollars"?

We must try to understand one another.

There's no point in clapping,

because when I get arrested, you will all flee.

You don't dare to denounce, because if you do,

it is you who are arrested,

while the perpetrator is set free.

Dr. Mukwege, forgive us,

for we are no longer afraid of having our head cut off.

But those who made an attempt on your life,

have they been arrested?

Whatever crime you commit in this country,

if you hand over 100 dollars, you are set free.

I will end here, for I know that tomorrow I will be arrested.

Despite my anger and sadness, I address the women.

We must mobilize!

God will help us catch all the savages

who commit these crimes.

When we get our hands on them,

we will not take them to the police.

We will mutilate them ourselves!

We will make them endure what they did to our children!

You must not confuse holding a public discussion

and bringing someone before the bar.

You say the police do nothing,

the army does nothing, the prosecutor does nothing,

the State does nothing,

the group chief does nothing.

that you do nothing either!

Some here claim that the police do nothing.

Yes, it may be that the police do nothing.

"The prosecutor does nothing."

Yes, it may be that the prosecutor does nothing

because when you bring someone before the prosecutor,

you want justice to be rendered immediately.

Where are the men of Kavumu?

Where is the community?

We wonder where the Congolese men are.

For many years,

our mothers have been raped,

our sisters have been raped,

but where were we, the men?

When it happened, where were we?

Those who committed these acts have noted the men's silence.

Now they rape children under the age of five.

We doctors are in tears as we operate on these children.

Two weeks ago,

I even operated on a baby of two months.

Most of these little girls will never become women.

Each one of us has the responsibility

to protect the community.

I honestly believe that if we men of Kavumu

stand together

"From now on,

this won't happen again", it will stop!

We will continue to denounce

and I'm sure it will stop.

Thank you.

Where are the men?

Are the men present?

May the men rise and make the V sign,

which is the sign of the V-men. - Victory!

May they rise and make the victory sign.

Victory!

Last week,

over 50 people were massacred with machetes.

In just one and a half months,

200 people have been savagely murdered.

The bellies of pregnant women are ripped open

and their babies are mutilated.

Like any human being, I long not to have to evoke

these odious crimes to which my fellow beings fall victim.

We have taken the time and the energy

to repair the consequences of the violence.

It is time to deal with the causes!

How can I remain silent when, for over 15 years,

we see things that even we surgeons

cannot get used to seeing?

How can I remain silent,

when we know that these crimes against humanity

are planned with a lowly economic motive?

I identify every woman raped

with my wife,

I identify every mother raped with my own mother,

and every child raped with my own children.

How can we remain silent?

Fellow countrymen,

the Sakharov Prize that we receive from the European Parliament

is yours

and it is the symbol of the freedom of thought,

a right that we have had withdrawn from us,

a right which, after the terror and oppression,

we sometimes seem to have given up on.

In the rest of the world, people would rise in indignation.

But in the Congolese society that is losing its bearings,

mass atrocities are reported in the news

like simple news items.

The law of the warlords dominates

in the absence of the rule of law.

Our country is sick.

But together, with our friends around the world,

we can and we will, cure it.

Thank you.

When I was doctor in Lemera, every fortnight,

I travelled this road, to visit my family.

I would often stand here for 30 minutes,

sitting on this stone.

I would look at the horizon

and simply admire the beauty of nature.

This place is the meeting

Rwanda, Burundi and the Congo.

I felt it was such a waste.

It is clear that these populations

need leaders who understand that the only solution

is to tolerate one another, live together.

I think it's a place where people could

finally re-create themselves,

in nature, with these mountains and hills

that are so beautiful.

We can see the Ruzizi River

and further off, the plains of the Ruzizi River.

Will we ever be able to live in peace

in this vast, rich land?

A magnificent land.