UofL’s Survivors of Torture Recovery Center helps heal refugees’ scars

By Mackenzie Burke -
Some of Louisville's newest residents came to the U.S. carrying unimaginable scars from their war-torn countries. UofL's Survivors of Torture Recovery Center is helping them with their emotional needs as well as assimilation to American culture.
Some of Louisville's newest residents came to the U.S. carrying unimaginable scars from their war-torn countries. UofL's Survivors of Torture Recovery Center is helping them with their emotional needs as well as assimilation to American culture.

Five years ago, Louisville refugees Ramazani Munyarugero and Emmanuel Monyarabuga fled their war-torn country to escape the torture and fear their families had suffered as far back as 1996. Now, the farmers from the Democratic Republic of Congo have settled in Louisville and they’re getting help from UofL’s Survivors of Torture Recovery Center. 

Munyarugero says he was once tied to a tree, beaten and left for dead by troops from neighboring Rwanda who proceeded to steal his cows. Monyarabuga says he was also beaten and his house destroyed before fleeing the country.  

The center’s director, Bibhuti Sar, explains that the primary goal is to help refugees like Munyarugero and Monyarabuga “deal with their numerous problems and issues that come with being tortured.” 

Through the center’s guidance, both Monyarabuga and Munyarugero are healing and adjusting to their new lives in the U.S. Monyarabuga says, “I’m really grateful because now I can sleep.”

Find out more about their story below.

Source: UofL’s Survivors of Torture Recovery Center helps heal refugees’ scars (UofL News, Nov. 15, 2017)