On this year’s Global Day of Parents, I still long to be with my children
In a country that claims to be a champion of families, I remain separated from my children due to my political activism.
![Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza poses for a photo with her husband and three children at the Amsterdam Schiphol airport in the Netherlands before getting on the plane to Kigali in January, 2010. This was the last time she was together with her entire family. [Photo courtesy of Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/victoire-1717165576.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Refugees, exiles, and opposition groups hold the key to lasting peace and regional stability.

In a country that claims to be a champion of families, I remain separated from my children due to my political activism.
![Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza poses for a photo with her husband and three children at the Amsterdam Schiphol airport in the Netherlands before getting on the plane to Kigali in January, 2010. This was the last time she was together with her entire family. [Photo courtesy of Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/victoire-1717165576.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Before welcoming those seeking refuge in the UK, Rwanda should tackle the issues that lead its own citizens to flee.

On this Right to Truth Day, I want justice for all those who lost their lives while fighting for a democratic Rwanda.

Lasting peace can stop deforestation of the world’s second-largest rainforest.

The repressive system Rwanda’s governance model has morphed into can no longer address its people’s aspirations.

Despite what the UK and Rwandan governments say, my country is in no position to absorb tens of thousands of refugees.

I spent eight years in prison, five of which were in solitary confinement, and my ordeal is still far from over.

The conflicts in the Great Lakes region cannot be fully resolved until Rwanda addresses its internal political problems.
