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Cameroon: Refugees Recount Ugly Tales of Torture
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The Post (Buea)
4 July 2008
Posted to the web 4 July 2008
Kini Nsom
"Five military men beat me severely on my buttocks and soles. They then took turns in raping me.
I went unconscious for four hours during which I gave birth to a premature baby."
This testimony by a Rwandan refugee sparked consternation among onlookers at the Nobert Kenne Peace Memorial House in Yaounde on June 26.
Stakeholders including many refugees had gathered to commemorate the International Day of Support to Victims of Torture.A Yaounde-based NGO, Trauma Centre Cameroon, organised the event. It was at this occasion that the young female refugee narrated her ordeal.
The lady, who opted for anonymity for security reasons, said her gory ordeal in the Rwandan Genocide in 1992 has continued to haunt her.Another victim from the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, stunned the audience with another gory tale of torture.
He said he was arrested and terribly tortured by soldiers loyal to the then DRC President, Joseph-Desire Kabila.HE said the soldiers accused him of being loyal to former President Mobutu's regime.
"While in jail, one soldier took an iron rod, pushed it into my anus and yanked it off in a violent manner," the refugee who introduced himself simply as A.B.E, narrated in sobs.
He said he still suffers from haemorrhage due to that torture.
While presenting the UN statement at the occasion, the President of the Trauma Centre, Peter Essoka, regretted that women fall victim to torture in different ways."Women deprived of their liberty are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence, which often carries with it a strong stigma exacerbating the suffering stemming from the violence," he said.
He said, "on this International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, we again pay tribute to all governments, civil society organisations, national human rights and individuals engaged in activities aimed at preventing torture."
Speaking earlier, the Deputy Director of the Trauma Centre, Ngabmen, condemned torture. He described it as a cruel, inhuman and degrading act that inflicts physical and psychological suffering on its victims.
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He said the Trauma Centre Cameroon not only fights against torture, but also rehabilitates its victims by taking care of their socio-medical and judicial needs.This year's theme of the International Day of the Support to Victims of Torture was "Together, Let's Eliminate Torture."
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