Arnold's Jean Paul Mihigo knows the meaning of freedom

  • Published
  • By Philip Lorenz III
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. --  Jean Paul Mihigo graduated from high school in 1993 and set his sights on college, but first he had to overcome a few obstacles.

Born and raised in Congo-Nil, a town of 20,000 in Rwanda, Africa, Mihigo and his family fled the country when an ongoing civil war spiraled out of control in July 1994.

"More than three million people left the country - most of them left around that time and that's when I left with my family," said Mihigo, a data analysis engineer with Aerospace Testing Alliance's Turbine Engine Testing and Data Analysis branch at Arnold Air Force Base. "All the schools in the whole country were closed. During the war, rebels were shooting civilian people. You couldn't tell who was shooting who - government army against rebels - it was chaos."

He lost an uncle and many friends in the violence which had first engulfed the Rwandan capital of Kigali and later spread throughout the country and finally to towns like Congo-nil. The family's first stop was Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), where they lived in large tents, all part of a sprawling refugee camp.

Death stalked those at the camps first in the form of dysentery and disease, and then in 1997 when the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RFP) actually ruling the country destroyed the camps to force refugees to return back to Rwanda.

"We stayed there for about a year," he recalled. "Then we went to Kenya for two months. We wanted to go to a French-speaking country again, so we could go to school. So, our target was Cameroon."

Mihigo made it to Cameroon and stayed there for two years, always with the goal of going to college. Mihigo had a sister who lived in Austria and since she was in a position to provide more support, he moved there in 1996.

"When I was still in Rwanda, I was thinking - I had not decided, but I was thinking - to go either into law school or engineering or medicine," he said. "I still had different ideas, but once I got outside I focused on what I thought would be easier, faster and enjoyable."

The language barrier was one of the greatest challenges he faced virtually everywhere he went and had to learn a new language.

"In Austria they speak German," he said. "I had to learn it - that was really hard."

It took him a year to learn the basics of the language. He then took pre-college courses in math, biology, chemistry, physics and German to prepare for admission to the university.

"That German test was a tough one," he said.

He attended the university for two weeks when another delay in his education occurred, but this time it was the answer to his prayers.

"I didn't have the papers to stay in Austria," Mihigo explained. "I was not illegal - I had the student visa, but I had to renew it every six months."

Shortly after arriving in Austria, he had entered his name into the U.S.'s Diversity Immigrant Visa program, a congressionally mandated lottery program for acquiring a permanent resident card for the United States.

"They call it Green Card Lottery," he said. "It happens every year in America. They bring about 50,000 people, immigrants into the country."

On June 28, 1998, he first stepped foot on U.S. soil, but one more hurdle remained.

"When I got here I didn't speak English at all," Mihigo said. "I had another sister who lived in Columbia, Missouri, so, I lived there for six months."

He started tackling English and started attending Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering - his ticket to a more stable future.

After graduation, he immediately started searching on the internet for engineering positions with a variety of companies and agencies. He sent his resume to ATA's Human Resource Office and two weeks later he got a call inviting him to come for an interview.

When he came to work at AEDC March 28, 2005, Mihigo knew he finally had found a home and a sense of normalcy, stability.

Three years ago, he met someone special at the wedding of a friend in North Carolina. On Aug. 18, he was married by his brother, Jean Pierre Nsabimana, a Catholic priest in Rwanda, to Albertine.

Mihigo and Albertine, who is also from Rwanda, have a running joke about their determination to improve their English.

"We used to speak only Kinyarwanda, our native language, at home, so we agreed to only speak English at home," he said with a smile. "If either one of us slips into Kinyarwanda, that person has to wash the dishes and not in the dishwasher."

Around 2001, Mihigo was instrumental in helping to form an organization called the Rwandan American Youth Association or RAYA, an outreach program to help young Rwandans network to improve their lives through education and find stability.

"Our objective is to connect with young Rwandans, and we meet every year for a summit," he explained. "During the summit, we invite some speakers to talk about education, invite some of our parents to talk about the history and sometimes we invite professors to talk about education. It's a way to network, to exchange information."

He said RAYA is a work in progress - the summits, which take place annually on July 4, have taken place only in the U.S. so far, but they hope to expand their efforts to Canada and beyond. RAYA has collected money for refugees and collected books for young Rwandans refugees in different countries.

"There is a huge need and we're not yet at the level we want to be," he said.

Mihigo is the seventh of nine siblings, all of whom are well educated or seeking degrees. His mother was an elementary school teacher who now lives in Belgium and his father, now deceased, was a businessman.

He said the support from his family was critical to his succeeding in life. They are still spread out geographically, but very close-knit, staying in touch by different means.

"We communicate often, even with those who are in Europe we talk a lot and email each other," he said.

He said his advice to other Rwandans or other immigrants in America who are aspiring to find their way in life is simple, but he doesn't pretend it will be easy.

"My advice would be to make sure they learn English - for those who don't speak it - because there is nothing you can do here without speaking the language," he said. "Then go to school. America is a land of opportunity, that's what I always say."

Mihigo has found the people he has met in the community and at work friendly and helpful. He has also met other Rwandans in Nashville and elsewhere in the U.S. through his work with RAYA. He considers middle Tennessee his second home.

"Where I am now is a good place to raise my kids," he said. "So, I have made up my mind I'm going to stay in Murfreesboro."

Mihigo's mother, Rosalie Nyirantabaruke, traveled from Belgium to attend her son's wedding.

"She was happy, especially when she came to the wedding," he said. "She is rooting now for new grandchildren."

When he's not busy with work, Mihigo enjoys running, listening to the news and all types of music, including rhythm and blues, country, rap and Zouk, which is from Haiti.