“The refugee camps were not easy. I could have died, honestly. »
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
This confession, Jojea Kwizera pronounces it with a frown. The CF Montreal striker had until then kept smiling throughout his interview with The Press, seated near the grounds of the Center Nutrilait. Even when recalling painful memories. But his tone just got more serious.
“It was dangerous,” he recalls. Diseases… If one person fell ill, everyone followed. »
Kwizera was drafted by Montreal in the first round of the MLS SuperDraft last January. A total surprise.
“I was completely in shock, recalls Nicole Cropper, emotion in her voice on the phone. I didn’t think it was possible! »
Nicole is Jojea’s foster mother in Salt Lake City. The one the player considers today as his real mother. We will come back to it.
At the beginning of April, he signed his first professional contract.
Kwizera has so far played very little for his club. We cannot therefore predict what kind of career he will have.
But whatever. The road traveled, from Congo to Montreal via Utah, is an achievement in itself.
“When I take the time to think about it, I realize how much I’ve been through,” says Kwizera, as the sun of a June afternoon begins to dazzle her.
There are so many moments that could have caused me not to be here today. I take advantage of everything. I am pampered.
Jojea Kwizera, CF Montreal striker
Soccer, even in the camps
Jojea Kwizera was born in 1999 in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo. Right on the border with Rwanda. He no longer really has any memories of his hometown: he found himself in refugee camps in Tanzania from the age of “4 or 5 years old”.
Young Jojea, the youngest of the family, and his three sisters quickly lost contact with their biological parents.
“My big sister, Biza, became our mother in the camp. She took care of us. »
They will spend about three or four years in different refugee camps in Tanzania.
Photo taken from the CF Montreal Twitter account
Jojea Kwizera
These living environments that we would like to be temporary are not always so. Inevitably, a form of society is built there. Jojea Kwizera found solace playing soccer with her friends. He also liked to observe the adult leagues that had been created.
“Soccer always made me smile,” says the forward. Despite the difficult circumstances, we could hope for something the next day. It freed my friends and me from worrying about food and other stuff. We fell in love with this game.”
“We will be there no matter what”
Kwizera and her three sisters are finally lucky enough to be welcomed to the United States.
“It was an opportunity for us to have a better life than what we were used to. »
They land in Salt Lake City, Utah. The two oldest being already 18 years old, they can go and live on their own. “But we kept seeing them,” he said.
Jojea and her younger sister, Mado, have taken up residence with a first foster family.
He doesn’t quite remember why, but Mado eventually had to leave this new family nest. Jojea experienced this departure very difficultly.
“His heart was broken,” says Nicole Cropper, mother of his second foster home. He really wanted to follow her. Yes, it was a little turbulent afterwards. »
What’s more, the parents of his first home did not nurture his dream of becoming a professional soccer player. A philosophy at odds with that promoted by Nicole Cropper and her husband, Darin, who will welcome her from 2016.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY NICOLE CROPPER
Left to right, top to bottom: Styve and George Kamungu, Jojea Kwizera, Elie Kamungu, Nicole and Darin Cropper
We were afraid that his dream would run out of steam. It’s such a competitive sport. We kept encouraging him and letting him know that we had his back, that we would be there no matter what.
Nicole Cropper, mother of Jojea Kwizera’s second foster home
The young man is still grateful.
“I consider them my parents now,” confirms Kwizera. I love them. I felt like they understood my passion.
“They instilled in me the belief that I could do whatever I wanted, if I chose to. »
Because through her adaptation to her new life, sport has remained her main source of pleasure, but also of communication. Soccer, for him who did not speak English, became his “language”.
“With soccer, I could express myself. »
“He’s the child of my heart”
To pursue her dream, Jojea Kwizera moved to Price. Two hours drive from Salt Lake City. He played college soccer with Utah State Eastern University for two seasons.
In 2019, he became a member of the Utah Valley Wolverines, a little closer to his adopted city. He studied criminal justice there.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY NICOLE CROPPER
Nicole Cropper and Jojea Kwizera at the time of her last home game with Wolverines
It is from there that Jojea Kwizera will be drafted by CF Montreal in 2022. To imagine the amazement in the Cropper camp, we leave you in the good care of Nicole.
“I was working when he called me by FaceTime, she recalls. He was screaming, he was jumping everywhere! I was trying to figure out what was going on. Was he hurt? He couldn’t stop screaming! He said, “I got drafted! Montreal selected me!” Oh my gosh ! Of all places, Canada? It’s incredible ! He doesn’t need to leave the continent! »
Obviously, she had happily shared feelings.
“He kept telling me he was going to have to leave the country. I was like, ‘I just got you, you can’t leave! You’re mine !” »
She tells all this in a jovial tone.
“He’s the child of my heart,” she underlines, in a still soft voice. It was hard. Suddenly, my boy leaves. »
For the pleasure of playing
Photo Pablo A. Ortiz, The Canadian Press archives
Jojea Kwizera in training
We said it. Not all SuperDraft draftees are destined for a great future.
This season, he wants to “accumulate minutes of play and improve”.
“There is so much to learn,” says Jojea Kwizera. I want to consult everyone and see where it will take me. »
For now, his ambition is very simple: “keep playing”.
“I don’t think I achieved my goals. But I am blessed to still be here, to practice this sport with which I fell in love when I was little.
“This sport has made me so happy. He never ceases to make me happy. »