Two
days before stepping foot in Rwanda I watched the movie “Hotel Rwanda” which
gives a semi-real life depiction of what it was life was like during the 1994
genocide. If you ask a Rwandan, they would say the movie does not accurately
depict what happened here.
Yes, in 1994 there was genocide in
Rwanda.
Many
of you reading this have never heard about this genocide.
Prepare your heart now.
It
is estimated that 800,000 people died in a matter of 100 days of intense
turmoil.
That’s like 333 people dying every
hour.
There
were two dominant ethnic groups in the country, the Hutu’s taking over 90% and
the Tutsi’s that had a mere 9%. In 1991 there were an estimated 7.7 million
residents in Rwanda.
Early
April 1994, the “Hutu Power” took over the nation and began a mass killing of
the Tutsi people.
They
ravaged through homes going door to door killing their neighbors.
Fathers
of families were given weapons to kill his very own family and then the father
would be killed by the Hutu’s.
Children were taken and beaten against
walls or trees.
Some children were taken captive by
the Hutu’s and forced to kill off their own people.
Tutsi women were raped by men that
knowingly had HIV, just to infect them.
One lady was holding her nine month
old child while a Hutu came and took a machete to it.
No
Tutsi was safe.
For
100 days the Hutu’s watched as they killed off every single Tutsi they saw.
Not only did they kill the Tutsi’s but they also killed any Hutu that came against them.
No
weapon was unused from rocks, machetes, guns, and even pieces of wood.
Following
the 100 days, there was over 2 million refugees throughout the country, many
with no surviving family or neighbors.
Tragedy swept over the nation; a
country that literally reeked of blood.
Tutsi
survivors were few and far between.
Books
and stories have been written of this tragedy.
One
Tutsi lady stayed in the bathroom of a Hutu families home. The door to the
bathroom was covered by a dresser. Food was given to her on occasion because
her host was afraid that the Hutu’s would hear the sound of the dresser moving.
Another
man built trenches where he housed over 17 Tutsi’s. The trenches were dug, had
wood barracks placed over them, then banana leaves, and then he placed soil and
potato plants as to disguise the ground. Food was sent to them in a pale by the
man’s child. They were never found in the trenches and each of them still lives
today.
A lady who worshipped witchcraft held 19 people in a house built for her animals. When the Hutu’s came to her, she used her reputation for being possessed with evil spirits to scare them. They left her alone.
It’s
not a common occurrence to hear people speak about the genocide here.
For one, it is against the law to say
whether you are Tutsi or Hutu. After the genocide, a law was created where you
were no longer allowed to say which side you have come from.
Most
of the stories I have shared with you today come from the Kigali Genocide
Museum that I just visited today.
You
see, it’s April 2013 which means this month is the 19 year reunion of the
genocide.
Last
week in Rwanda was “mourning week.”
A week in this nation set aside in
mourning of what happened 19 years ago.
Stores
are required to close by 2 pm.
Transportation
stops moving after 2 pm.
Church
services are banned from being held throughout the week, which is a big deal
for them as they have church 3-7 times a week. Mainly seven when the “whites”
are here, expect a blog on that soon.
Nobody talks, laughs, or claps.
Walking
around Kigali there was a heavy silence.
People
don’t smile at you when you walk by, not even to us mzungus that normally always
get a smile.
Normally
our ministry schedule is jam packed with sharing at a sewing class in the
morning, door to door after the class, lunch, team time, then a nightly church
service.
Last
week, our entire ministry schedule was wiped away.
We had no ministry outside of the
comfort of our home.
It
was a good break from ministry, but I could feel the spiritual heaviness in the
country.
Meetings
are set up in the different villages and the script is coordinated by the government.
At one of the meetings, members of my squad went to hear the testimonies of the
people. One lady stood up during the meeting and pointed to a man and she said,
“That man killed everyone in my family
and I have forgiven him.”
A
nation in turmoil such a short time ago has truly had to learn what it means to
forgive another person.
As
tragedies are happening in America and are broadcast within seconds on social
media, it literally breaks my heart to here of the genocide here in Rwanda.
The American Government was informed of the tragedy and asked to intervene
to stop the Hutu’s, but all they did was send 50 US soldiers a month after
Rwanda had initially anticipated them.
Nowhere on the news would you have
heard of this genocide.
At
the memorial today they not only recorded the happenings of the Rwanda
genocide, but they also shared of other genocides in the world.
Many
of us have heard of Hitler’s ruling over the Jews, but most of us have never
heard of anything more than that.
Did you know that in the late 70’s
there was a genocide in Cambodia? 25% of their
population was killed off after the Khmer Rouge leader, Pol Pot sought to
remove the western influence and create a solely farming society. I could
probably write three blogs on this genocide alone, but we will leave that for
another day on my other blog. Speaking of my other blog, www.brandincambodia.com is where I
will be posting about my full-time missions work to Cambodia following the
race, be sure to “subscribe” for updates!
Genocide leaves nations in a place of
spiritual disparity.
When
you go to Rwanda or Cambodia you can feel the weight of the people.
You
can tell that there is something that has happened that has torn the nation.
We serve a God of restoration.
He is at work and He is surely alive
in these nations.
