This article was written by Gisele Nsabiyunva.
My name is Gisele Nsabiyunva, I am a Burundian American former refugee, resettled in the United States since September 2006. I was born in Rwanda, a country in the great lakes region of East Africa. My parents moved to Rwanda from their home country of Burundi as a result of the ethnic killings of 1972.
Due to many civil wars in the region beginning in 1993, my family and I became refugees moving from one country to the next in search for safety and security. We lived in multiple refugee camps in the Democratic Republic of Congo for 9 years, then Zambia and Namibia. We travelled to different countries mostly on foot. Sleeping on the streets and not knowing where the next meal would come from were normal to my young self for more than a decade.
My father passed away in 2002 for lack of medical care. Having left her home country of Burundi at an early age, my mother had no place to call home. While living in a refugee camp in Namibia, my mother decided to request resettlement in the United States.
The process was long and arduous, but in September of 2006, my mother, brother and I were resettled in Austin, Texas. During the first few months, our resettlement agency helped us get the basic needs and then entry level jobs. We struggled to learn the English language and the American culture. Most of the time we felt inadequate and out of place, but through the help of many volunteers and organizations and churches, we slowly began to make Austin our new home.
My brother and I decided early on that our first priority was to get an education, while my mother worked full time. We knew we needed to work while learning but our focus was on our future careers.
I was 19 when I got here and with the help of my case manager at Caritas of Austin, I obtained my GED certificate within 4 months. I started working in house- keeping at a hotel, then went on to get a nursing aide certificate and switched to working in nursing homes. At the same time, I started in nursing school at Austin Community College in 2007. When I got my associate’s degree in 2010, I went on to the University of Texas at Arlington and got a Bachelor’s degree in nursing. Today, I work in the Emergency room at Dell Seton Medical Center, formerly known as Brackenridge. I have been there for 9 years.
Coming to the US changed the trajectory of our lives forever. My bother also has a bachelor’s degree in nursing and is working on a master’s degree.
I have been married for 8 years to a wonderful man who also came to the US through the refugee process. We have two beautiful girls. My husband is a nurse as well, and we alternate shifts in order to be home with the girls. Abigail (6 years old) is very compassionate and wants to be a pediatrician when she grows up. Alicia (3 years old) is full of energy and definitely keeps me on my toes.
We have been seeing corona patients at the hospital. This pandemic does not discriminate for race, skin color, country of origin, or socioeconomic status. Therefore, it is an opportunity for all of us as citizens of this great country, to unite and realize that we have more in common than we think. As a nurse who wakes up knowing that in my line of work, I will treat everyone equally, without regard to their skin color, origin or any detail beyond being human and needing the help that my team and I can provide.
As we navigate through this pandemic, I am afraid of what is to come. If we as a nation do not comply with medial experts’ advice of social distancing, I am afraid that I and others in my line of work, could potentially be exposed to the corona virus and possibly pass it on to our families. I am equally afraid of walking away. Walking away from the very person who needs me now more than ever, is unthinkable. We could get more patients than the hospitals are capable of handling. More patients than the medical equipment that we have can handle. I am afraid to be unable to help the patient that needs my help. That is my greatest fear.
Growing up as a refugee has taught me the resilience needed for a human being to survive in very extreme circumstances. I consider myself a tough human being because of the many experiences that I have lived through. Nevertheless, these experiences made me more tender -hearted towards other people. Serving the sick and vulnerable is my passion. Bringing hope to the hopeless is my calling. I take this responsibility as a privilege. It is a blessing to be able to live in a peaceful country that allows me the opportunity to pursue my dreams. Today, during this pandemic, I am one of the ER nurses coming face to face with an extremely deadly disease, but this moral and professional duty is worth risking death. At the end, I am grateful for the kind of life where I have such a duty. It is definitely a life worth living.
