24 Casey Stuart
Narrative Summary
On October 15, 2019 I sat down with Sarrive Rukakiza to interview him about his experience as a refugee. As a child he began his life living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He did not live there long before a civil war broke out. Eventually, where Rukakiza and is family were living was too dangerous, and had to begin his journey to the United States.
Rukakiza only spent a few years as a child in Congo. He was living in a town called Viera. The only recollection he has of his time there was living with his grandpa, his mom’s family, and his dad’s family. He also had small recollections of playing around, but that was it. 
Today, Rukakiza’s parents tell him stories about the things they owned in Congo, and the many friends they had. He says they like to remind him of the people who helped take care and raise them when they were young, and the family members that are still there. However, because of the civil war going on at the time, they were forced to leave.
Rukakiza and his family packed up their belongings and traveled to Tanzania. They traveled by boat, cars and trucks. The extent of their travel was usually by boat. He said they would spend multiple days traveling. Rukakiza said he had no recollection of the dangers that can occur traveling in large groups on boats, but he imagined it was very dangerous. After days of traveling, Rukakiza and his family spent time traveling and staying in many different places for years.
They arrived to Tanzania when Rukakiza was eight years old. The refugee camp in Tanzania was where Rukakiza and his family spent the duration of their time as a refugee. They spent five years in the camp. He said his time in the refugee camp was decent. People were providing for the refugees there, and they had soldiers who were protecting the camp. To find living in the refugee camp, they had to claim property and build their homes. After they had claimed their homes, it was a common rule to respect others property. He shared his living space with his family. He explained that the refugee camp was quite large, and it wasn’t owned by the government, so they weren’t required to provide food for the refugees living there. However, the soldiers would provide them with tools to make their own food. Popular food items they made in the camp was a dish called Fufu. It was also very popular to make rice and beans, and he remembers having tea in the morning. Some of the camps his family moved from had education programs, but it depended on the camp they were at. He said most had educational programs up to junior high. Along with providing for themselves, Rukakiza and his family created friendships and experiences he would never want to change.
He had many families who moved from camp to camp, and lived in Tanzania with him. He created many friendships and was exposed to many different cultures. He explained he learned a lot of different languages in Tanzania because people from all over would come together in the refugee camp. This was something very special to Rukakiza. He enjoys knowing multiple languages thanks to all the different people who were in the refugee camp with him. Another thing that was very special to Rukakiza, was the friendships he made. He still stays in touch with many of the people he met in the camp. One of his friends was resettled in Oregon, and came to visit him last year. There a bunch of people he stays in touch with, and he usually communicates with them through social media and Facebook.
Rukakiza’s resettlement process to the United States took around a year. He remembers seeing a board where they would list the families who had been approved to the United States. He knew he was coming to America for weeks, but it wasn’t until they had the flight plan ready, where he knew what state he was going to. They were resettled to Boise, Idaho. Rukakiza lived in Boise, before moving to Iowa and attending high school. He went to Iowa City High.
Adjusting to the United States was not easy. He had preconceived notions that the United States was amazing, and you could do whatever you want. As a kid he assumed he wouldn’t have to work as hard. As a kid he was used to just working all the time, and thought the United States would be easier. He was surprised when he found that nothing just comes to you. You have to work for it. You have to learn new things. He had not spoken English before moving to America, and had to learn to speak the language. His mom and dad also had to learn English. His dad picked up on it faster than his mom because he had previously known French and had an interest in learning the language. His mom struggled more and learned through her children. He also had to get used to the fact that every kid had a cell phone. Before he moved to the United States he saw a computer once or twice a week, and when arriving here he saw them every day.
He settled into the culture fast. At Iowa City High he played soccer, where he got the attention of a college coach from Mount Mercy. Rukakiza was offered a scholarship to attend Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, IA, to go to school and play soccer. He now is majoring in criminal justice with a dream to become a cop and eventually move into a higher position such as a detective. Rukakiza right now is a US resident, but is not a citizen. He is hoping to be naturalized in the near future because if someone wants to be a cop, they are required to be a US citizen. He says it’s something he is working on in the future.
Rukakiza has never been back to Congo but hopes to at some point. He said it is still not great, but things have gotten a lot better now. His grandparents are still living in Congo right now. Currently, him and his mom have plans to visit Congo this summer. He said eventually, after his mom makes lots of money, and all her kids are successful she wants to permanently return to Congo. However, he doesn’t believe his dad has taken any interest into returning back to Congo.
Rukakiza had a long and complicated journey to the United States. His story, like every refugee’s story is unique. Rukakiza provided me with a lot of new information about his personal experience as a refugee. He found his journey to be decent. Although after arriving to the United States he realized how different it was, and how many more opportunities he had, he found his journey to be decent, and something he wouldn’t want to change. He finds his childhood and the experience as a refugee irreplaceable.
Personal Reflection
On October 15, 2019, I sat down with Sarrive Rukakiza to interview him about his life as a refugee. Interviewing Rukakiza was very compelling to me. I found it very difficult, but extremely informative. I found it exceptionally interesting how Rukakiza found his experience as a refugee decent, how he adjusted to the United States, and how he wishes to return to Congo.
Rukakiza’s interview provided me with great information, but I believe I was underprepared for the interview. The reason I feel this way is because I did not know Rukakiza before my interview with him. Therefore, I did not have any background knowledge about his experience as a refugee. This provided a barrier for me with some of my interview questions. I came into the interview not realizing how old Rukakiza was when he was a refugee. He was a very young child, and only spent a few years living in Congo. Due to this, I couldn’t get the information I was hoping for about his experience living in Congo before he migrated to Tanzania. He was also very young in the refugee camp in Tanzania, so he couldn’t go into detail about all the experiences he had in the camp. However, with Rukakiza was still able to open my mind about his life as a refugee.
The thing I found most compelling about Rukakiza’s experience as a refugee was how accepting he was of it. I asked him about his travels and his time in the refugee camp. From some of the stories we heard in class about the horrors and dangers of living in a refugee camp, but Rukakiza didn’t have any. He said he enjoyed his life in the refugee camp. He felt safe, and protected there. I asked him about the food portions, and their housing situations. I was expecting here about how they had little food supply, and they lived in very small shelters with a great number of people. His response was completely different. He said you provided your own food, and didn’t mention any shortage of food. He also believed everyone had reasonable housing in the camp. He mentioned his childhood was not bad, and wouldn’t want to change it. He got to learn a variety of different languages in the camp because there were people from all over in the camp he had to communicate with. He mentioned this was very special to him. I was very intrigued about this, and thought it spoke greatly about Rukakiza’s character being appreciative of all the experiences he had during his time as a refugee.
Also, he mentioned that he pictured the United States as amazing, and that it would be much easier because he was working all the time as a kid. However, after arriving he realized it wasn’t as easy as he had hoped for. He had to learn this brand-new culture. English was not a language he had originally spoke before coming to the United States so he had to learn how to speak it. However, when I spoke with Rukakiza he was incredibly fluent in his English speaking. Even though he has been in the United States since he was twelve, so it’s been awhile now that he is in college at Mount Mercy University, sometimes people never fully pick up on the language. I was also incredibly impressed that he is on scholarship playing soccer at Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, and hopes to one day become a cop. He is very motivated and driven, and it shows how hard working he is. English wasn’t the only thing he had to learn, he also had to learn about new technology and mentioned he was surprised that almost all kids now have cell phones.
Finally, he had a great interest to return to Congo. He explained that it is still dangerous in Congo, but things have greatly improved. This summer he plans to go with his mom and visit Congo. This is something very valuable to him because his grandparents still live there, and he gets to return to his birth land. This is significant to me because he had little recollection of Congo, and I am excited for him to get to experience where he originated from. He also mentioned that his mom hopes to make enough money, and make sure her kids are successful and then to return permanently to Congo. I find it very interesting how she wants to move back permanently. When we talked about the resettlement process in class, we mentioned how many people don’t want to leave their homes, even with the dangers that are there. His mom wanting to return is a great example of someone who wishes to go back to Congo, because it is her homeland. He also mentioned his grandparents still live in Congo. I find it very compelling how many people want to stay in their homelands even if it means they won’t be as safe as living in other places.
Although I wish I could have had a stronger knowledge of Rukakiza’s background before interviewing him, I found the interview incredibly valuable and enjoyed my time speaking with him. I am glad he could inform me about how he enjoyed his time at the refugee camp in Tanzania, and opened my mind that not every story is a horror story. That he pictured the United States as easy, but then realized nothing just comes to you, and adjusted very well into the United States and its culture. Lastly, that he wishes to return to Congo to visit his homeland, and that his mother wishes to return permanently. Interviewing Rukakiza was very informative, and I ended knowing more about the refugee process than before I began.