Speech of Pastor Bulambo Lembelembe Josué given during the Rafto Prize ceremony at the National Venue of Theatre on Sunday evening, 2 November.

The Rafto Foundation has decided to award my modest person with the Rafto Prize of 2008. It is a great honor and an exceptional privilege for me to be registered on a historical Prize list of men and women who have, at one time or another, affected the course of humanity by their actions.
So you can understand my emotion when I rise in front of this majestic gathering composed of imminent personalities coming from all over the world, to commemorate, with solemnity, this imposing manifestation.
Thus on behalf of my dear wife who accompanies me, and of all my family, we would like to give the Rafto Foundation our sincere thanks and our deep gratitude for your appreciation and congratulations expressed by this Prize given to me.
By receiving the Rafto Prize, our pious thoughts goes to all those “voiceless”, to all victims of intolerance and human cruelty, to all women and girls who are violated each day, and to all the families which due to wars and conflicts are errant, as if they were the damned of the earth. In the hardest times of our fight for peace and reconciliation, we did not believe that people in the world observed us. We believed our work passed unnoticed, and yet you followed our actions carefully.
We can deduce from this that you also heard the cries of suffering and distress from thousands of men and women from the Democratic Republic of Congo who wrongly believed that the other nations of the world did not have solidarity with them.
Blessed are the Peacemakers, they will be called Sons of God.
 
The contribution of the Government of Norway to create peace, reconciliation and democracy in our country, the Democratic republic of Congo, and in all the Great Lakes area States deserves to be underlined as an expression of solidarity of the Norwegian people towards the Congolese people and those of the countries of the area. We would like to solemnly thank the Government of Norway for all the continuous efforts it makes for the creation of peace and reconciliation.
The part played by Churches and other Partners of Norway also deserves to be underlined. According to their role, we want to thank them for their support to churches of our country, particularly the 5th CELPA and the Church of Christ in Congo/South-Kivu, the External Mission of the Churches of Norway (PYM) and the Center for the International Communication (SIK). Thanks to their partnership, we are courageous when facing the many challenges our country and our people are confronted with.
Blessed are the peace makers, they will see God.
Today, we dedicate the Rafto Prize to the thousands of deaths, to all those who lost their lives because of the intolerance and the conflicts which devastated the Democratic republic of Congo and the Countries of the Great Lakes Area.
 
In their memory, we would like to ask you to rise and share one minute of silence. In front of this majestic gathering we solemnly reiterate our engagement and our firm determination to continue our combat for the defense and respect of human rights for our poor and peaceful population, daily victims of plundering and poverty.
It’s only from this point of view that we will give a signification to this prize and honor the memory of its initiator and all those “voiceless”.
We would like to give a big thank you to everybody, and we wish to be able to continue our work in dignity and respect of Man, to defend and safeguard the fundamental values of Man created in the image of GOD.
Long live the RAFTO Foundation
Long live the Democratic republic of Congo
Long live Norway
God bless us all
We thank you
Bergen November 2, 2008
Reverend Pasteur Bulambo Lembelembe Josué