Born in 29.07.1979 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Ex-Zaire) in Africa.
Rais Boneza now lives in Norway where he works as a peace researcher and practitioner. He is also a poet who besides writing his own poetry work to promote artistic expressions as a means to deal with conflicts and maintaining mental well-being and spiritual growth after surviving war. Although Boneza may sometimes at least have wished to forget his experiences of war in the conflict ridden Great Lake region, he has never forgotten about both the richness and misery of Africa. He has lived in the east and in the west of the D. R. Congo, in Rwanda, in Burundi, and Uganda. He has learned seven African languages as well as the European imperialistic languages and has got first-hand knowledge of the cultures of various tribes and the main ethnic groups in the region. This background, combined with his sensitive artistic mind and his scholarly background including his collaboration with one of the founders of peace research Johan Galtung, has equipped his analytical faculties with unique instruments to extend the project that Galtung has developed since the mid 90', to the African continent…
Vegar Fjordanger, Building Peaces/ NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology)
Rais, I am amazed at the sweep of your essay and the depth of your scholarship. I could be wrong, but I believe the African worldview is exactly needed today to inform Western cultures about deeper meanings of freedom and democracy, and to rid us of our ridiculous polarization into pro Bush vs. Pro Annan - neither of whom offer anything like a comprehensive framework for enduring peace!
Dr. Bruce Cook, Cook communication (USA)
