Mami, DRC "I decided to be a prostitute. I was just 14"

Mami became a prostitute at the age of 14. Now aged 23, she spoke to IRIN about the events that have shaped her life in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and her dream of becoming a businesswoman and putting her three children through school.

"I was born in Bukavu ... [in South Kivu province], the third-born in a family of nine. I went to school until the fourth form, and then had to stop because we had no money. I was 11 years old when the Interahamwe [Rwandan Hutu militia involved in the 1994 genocide] came to Bukavu. It was at night - my father was asleep in my parents' room with my nine-year-old sister, and the rest of us were in the living room, sleeping. My mother was still awake. The military came in the back door, so we were able to escape out of the front door, but my father and nine-year-old sister didn't manage to escape. My father was also an old man, so it was hard for him to escape. I was so afraid.

"We ran through the night to the border [with] Rwanda. We went through the bush, as it was too dangerous to go through the towns because of the military; we slept outside at the border for two days. After that we returned [to Bukavu]. The military had taken everything - they had just left the dead [bodies] of my father and sister. The military had raped her: neighbours had heard her screaming, 'You are raping me! You are raping me!'

"There was nobody to help me. For three years I sold fruit to make some money, but then I decided to be a prostitute. I told my mother what I was doing and she refused to let me do it; I carried on. We had no food, I couldn't go to school and I had no other means. I went to stay with a friend who was doing the same - she was 19 years old - I stayed with her and she gave me food, but she also took all the money I earned. I was just 14.

"We shared a room, but when she had clients I was sent into the living room with my client. I had to use the floor - on a mat. We used to earn around US $2 to $4 per client. We worked day and night, and received men of all ages. We didn't use condoms - I didn't know about diseases then. I have been to a clinic and tested negative for HIV. I now insist the clients use condoms, unless it is a man I like, and then I don't.

"There was not enough money [to be made] in Bukavu, so I decided - in September 2004 - to leave and visit my uncle in Goma [140 km north of Bukavu]. I wanted to stop this work as a prostitute. I stayed with him, but he didn't care for me and his family chased me away. I wanted to look for money, so that I could stop being a prostitute and have a small business. I didn't want to work as a prostitute, but when I was chased away by my uncle's family I had no choice.

"I sold my clothes and my mobile phone, and rented a room in Goma and started working as a prostitute. Life is good here in Goma because the money is good. In Bukavu I would earn around $3. Here I earn around $5 per client. I get all kinds of clients: civilians, military [Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie - RCD: the 'Congolese Rally for Democracy', a militia based in eastern DRC] and [the UN peacekeeping mission] MONUC. The military [men] come in day clothes - I don't care who it is that comes, for me it is business - MONUC pay good money.

"I have three daughters [aged 7, 6 and 3] - all from clients, so I don't know who the father is ... My children don't know the reality of my work, because when a client comes, I send them out. When they grow older I want to try and stop, as I don't want them to know. I would like them to go to school; I am afraid of this environment - it is not a good one for children. Studying is the first thing in my mind for them.

"I dream of becoming a businesswoman, so I can build a house and don't have to pay $12 per month for rent. If I get money, then I will give up this work ... People are so afraid of diseases - I have been to the clinic once a month for the last three months.

"The day before yesterday I was raped in Goma. I was looking for clients at Cap-Sud [hotel], but hadn't found any and was on my way back home; it was midnight. Seven strong men forced me to the side of the road and raped me. I resisted, but it was not enough. They said, 'We will kill you if you don't accept.' The military then came and they ran away. I have had a pain in my stomach - I don't know what diseases they may have - I went to see a doctor and took medicine. It is getting a bit better now."