Nyamko's Family Reunion

Nyamko Sabuni's father was a political activist for Patrice Lumumba, first prime minister of the former Republic of Congo (later to be called Zaire), who was assassinated in 1961. Mr. Sabuni's political convictions made him many enemies, which had a very serious effect upon Nyamko and the rest of the family, and they were subjected to a good deal of persecution themselves.

Things got so bad that Nyamko, her six siblings and her mother were forced to seek safety in neighboring Burundi, and even had to conceal their family name as a measure of caution while they were there. Back in Zaire, her father was imprisoned many times, and the family had to return there for a short while in order to support him and even to provide him with food and other necessities while in prison.

In 1980, with the help of a friend, Nyamko's father managed to escape from his Zaire prison and flee to Tanzania. The Zaire Intelligence Service soon discovered his whereabouts and attempted to assassinate him while in his hotel. Clearly, as a hunted man, he could no longer remain anywhere in Africa. But her father had the good fortune to be "adopted" by Amnesty International, and he was taken to safety in Sweden-at that time one of the countries most responsive to the crisis in the region.

On the 24th of March, 1981, only a few days before her twelfth birthday, Nyamko, her brothers and sisters, and their mother, were finally reunited with their father. Sweden was enjoying an economic boom, and jobs were relatively easy to find. Within six months, he had started what would turn out to be a lifelong career with the postal service in its international department. Her father also found the family an apartment in the Stockholm suburb of Kungsaengen and, thanks to the Swedish government, he was also able to present his family with official residency papers.

To Nyamko, the greatest birthday present was simply to be with her father again. Nyamko's parents had always encouraged their seven children to study and, believing that "the children could become whatever they wanted", nothing was considered impossible. So, with the formalities settled, Nyamko eagerly started school, immediately taking an interest in athletics, basketball and dance, though as a typical teenager, not so much in politics. Not yet at least.

But not long after completing high school politics did indeed call. In 1991, with the aim of drawing greater attention to Africans' contributions to Swedish society, Nyamko became one of the founders of the African National Association in Sweden, and later, its chairperson. This in turn led her to the Swedish Liberal Party, where four years later she became a member of the board of the Party's Youth Association. Nyamko soon became a full board member of the Liberal Party in Stockholm, as well as a board member on the national level, and even an active member of Stockholm's County Cultural Commission.

In 2002 Nyamko successfully ran for the Swedish national parliament, and she became a member of a number of committees, including Industry, Foreign Trade, Regional Development, and Energy and Natural resources. She is very enthusiastic about her parliamentary duties, and travels all over Sweden meeting people and participating in debates, including ones on national television.

Some years ago Nyamko met and married a man from Dalarna, a region northwest of Stockholm, and today they are the proud parents of twin boys: Christian, and Patrice, named after her father’s political hero Patrice Lumumba. To go from being a terrified victim of the often violent politics of Central Africa, to being a democratically elected contributor to the Swedish political scene is no small feat. Nyamko's journey shows just what little outside help and a lot of determination can do. Asked if her parents, now retired, are proud of her achievement, Nyamko laughs and says "Proud, yes, but it is also what they expected from me!"

In the elections to the Swedish parliament in 2006, the Liberal party got seats in the government and Nyamko Sabuni was appointed Minister for Integration and Gender Equality.

By Kiki Rodriguez, UNHCR Regional Office for the Baltic and Nordic Countries