Innocent finds a heart of gold

When 26-year-old Innocent Munyantwali returned to his homeland of Rwanda in 1989, the country was on the brink of a bloody civil war.

Tension was building between the country's main ethnic groups, the Tutsis and the Hutus. For Innocent, it soon became impossible to continue living in Rwanda.

‘When I came back from university overseas, my home country had turned to darkness,’ Innocent said.

‘It was like you couldn't believe. There were road blocks around the country and when the army or militias saw what you looked like, they wouldn't even ask you for identification; they would just kill you.

‘People often say how lucky I was, asking "how did you escape?" and "why didn't they kill you?". I've been lucky.’

Innocent had moved away from his homeland in 1983 to study geology abroad, and returned to a quickly disintegrating situation.

But despite the frightening reality in which Innocent found himself, he fell in love and married his wife, Charlotte, in 1993, and began the relationship that would help him navigate a challenging 10-year journey to Australia.

‘We fled Rwanda in 1994 and moved to Congo, to Zambia, to Mozambique, and then to South Africa, before finally reaching Australia,’ Innocent said.

He expressed the sheer relief he felt when he was granted his humanitarian visa in 2005. Finally he knew he and his wife could live a normal life again.

‘When you live in exile, you are not integrated into the country. You have no ID, no passport... no official documents of any kind,’ Innocent said. ‘You can't get a proper job. We were just surviving.’

Innocent described the hopelessness he felt as his wife's protector but said their love helped them through the long struggle.

‘A man is expected to protect his family but when you don't see a future you become desperate,’ he said.

‘Charlotte's a believer though, and she's very strong – stronger than me – and what we have now... coming from nothing to what we have now, is a miracle.’

Innocent and Charlotte became Australian citizens in 2007 and are finally enjoying the freedoms they were denied for so long.

‘I feel safe in Australia and I can live a normal life like I did in my old country before the war,’ Innocent said.

‘When you've been offered citizenship, you have your dignity, respect and rights as other Australians.’

Innocent has completed an Honours Degree of Bachelor of Science at Adelaide University. He currently works as a geologist for OZ minerals on the Prominent Hill copper mine in South Australia. Charlotte has completed a Bachelor Degree of Commerce (Accounting) at the University of South Australia and worked as an accountant for an accounting firm for 15 months until March 2010. She is currently looking for a permanent position in accountancy.

Return to: Success Stories of Australian Migration