Pélagie: I decided to come back. I came and stayed at Musaga. By then my daughter-in-law was dead. Only my uncles were there. I stayed with them. I met Yvonne again in the Association. She helped me once more. She is like a parent to me. She persuaded the Association to assist in rehabilitating my home. They built a house for me. They put on doors. I am very grateful.

Yvonne: We told the women in the Habaniki Association: "A woman does not belong to any ethnic group. All these problems just hurt us. Let's work together to bring back peace!" We rebuilt the houses destroyed during the crisis in Gatumba for both the Hutu and the Tutsi. When the Women Peace Centre learned about us, they invited us to talk to women in Ngozi. We told them that among women, there are neither Hutu nor Tutsi, "We all are Barundi." We did the same in Ntega and Marangara.

After some years, in 2002 if I am not mistaken, we went in Tanzania. We went to five refuges camps. We talked to the Hutu as it is mainly the Hutu who exiled in Tanzania. Even the President* was still fighting from there. We talked to them and some of them decided to come back. There are five families in our Association that were repatriated from those camps. Now I feel happy when I am together with the persons I saved. Now they call me 'mum'. The children call me 'grandma'. Now we share everything.

Q: What made you save those persons?
Yvonne: First of all I can say that it is God who helped me. I do not have power to do such a great thing. It is God that worked within me as that period was very hard.

When I was growing up I was not aware of the existance of Hutu and Tutsi. I saved them because I believe that a woman do not belong to any ethnic group.

*- Current President Pierre Nkurunziza was then still leading a rebel group, Forces pour la Defense de la Democratie [FDD].

Interview by Maziar Bahari
Translated by Tatien Nkeshimana
Edited by David Shem-Tov