“Peace is not something that other people will do for us. It is our business. Peace is in us; it is in our families; it is in our community; and that is how we build peace.”
This is the key message from Marie Louise Baricako, a Burundian citizen, living in exile in Rwanda since the 2015 Burundi crisis. She is the chairperson of the Mouvement Inamahoro – Burundi Women and Girls for Peace and Security. Her journey as a human rights defender (HRD) and advocate for women’s issues started in the 1990s, when she was involved with initiatives such as Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS), which helped push for Burundian women’s participation in the 1997/8 Arusha negotiations. Women insisted on their inclusion in the negotiations and were eventually accepted as observers in the process which concluded in a peace agreement in the year 2000. Marie Louise is also a founding member of the African Women in Conflict Prevention and Mediation (FemWise-Africa) and has also engaged in the African Women Leaders Network.
Marie Louise has faced many challenges over the years because of her human rights work.
“Most of the time, when we are defending human rights, or women’s rights, governments tend to consider us as enemies. I am in exile today because of my opinion, because of the way I see things and daring to speak out. Whenever you are talking about human rights violations, somehow it seems as if you are pointing fingers at one leader or another. If our leaders could understand, rather, that we are helping them to notice what is not right, and what is not going well, so that they can correct it, that would be a very good position. But unfortunately, the moment we talk about human rights violations, we are becoming the enemies of the state, as it is for me and many others today.”
The challenges are bad, but challenges are also good because they give us determination to continue, to keep going. All HRDs are facing opposition, misunderstanding, because the leaders think we are combating them as individuals. But we are not fighting against individuals; we are not fighting against one party or another party. We are fighting against a system that we feel is not the right system we need for our country or for our continent to be peaceful and to prosper and develop. So, our task as HRDs is to stand up and keep moving; and keep denouncing; and keep speaking out; even though we know that those in power are not happy to hear our discourse.”
Marie Louise was introduced and connected to DefendDefenders through Mouvement Inamahoro’s partner organisations in 2018.
“DefendDefenders came to visit us in Rwanda. We met and had a long discussion with three of their senior staff. They took time to listen to me, telling them what we are doing, our needs, and our ideas on what we can do together. After our long discussion, my first impression was that these are the right people to go with; this is a partner we can really build something very strong with.”
Since 2019, DefendDefenders has been partnering with Mouvement Inamahoro. Marie Louise acknowledges how the partnership connects them to a larger network of HRDs and civil society organisations from the region, helping to amplify the Burundian HRDs’ advocacy efforts.
“All the leaders are silent, so in the end, we believe the solution will come from these connections we are building through DefendDefenders. We are connecting with civil society, and with the media in neighbouring countries. Maybe one day, we can also connect with parliaments, maybe that can help us. There are challenges in our region, and on our continent, but I look at DefendDefenders as an avenue that can help us reach where we have not yet reached. DefendDefenders has opened doors for us to go to the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR), and to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). It’s a very important opportunity, which ensures that our voice is being heard.”
“I want to congratulate DefendDefenders for 20 years of doing a great job on the continent; helping HRDs on the continent to build up, to stand, to feel that they are not forgotten, neglected, or alone, especially when they are in very difficult situations. Many of us have benefited personally and collectively from their support. So, I want to encourage them to continue, to keep it up; because that is what Africa needs to get out of this situation of being poor and being outside the political and social order of the world. We are still seen as living in disorder; with lack of rule of law, lack of human rights, lack of good governance, lack of leadership. All these are things which we are being called to intervene in, as civil society organisations and HRDs. With the support of organisations and partners such as DefendDefenders, we can finally be considered as a continent of people who are united. I really want to thank DefendDefenders for all they have been doing for us on the continent and encourage them to continue the good work. We support them. We are behind them. We are with them.”