The Rwandan Genocide
I will not be able to do this event nor the stories of the survivors justice by my writing, but I want to try my best to share it with you.
In 1994 one of the most devastating acts in History happened in the small country of Rwanda. The Tutsi and Hutu tribes had experienced long time tension and violence toward one another, but in 1994 when the country thought they were about to experience peace between the two tribes, the massacre began and there was blood shed throughout the country. Hours after the president of Rwanda’s airplane was shot down, killing the president, the Hutu militia devoured the streets of Rwanda creating roadblocks to separate the Tutsi’s from the Hutu’s and killing those that were not Hutu’s or supporting the Hutu regime. For the next 100 days, the Hutu’s raided homes and streets killing their Tutsi neighbors and friends.
While in Rwanda, nearly every person I passed was affected in some form or fashion by the genocide, but the ones that made the biggest impact were the ones who I saw everyday. The country of Rwanda is a beautiful clean country. It was hard to believe that the same beautiful rolling hills I was looking out at were not too long ago filled with the sounds of gun shots and the loss of life. The government has done everything possible to restore this country to peace, but behind the clean streets, colorful markets, beautiful sunrises, rolling hills, western influence, hospitality, and loss of tribal identification, there are hearts that still ache and grieve the loss of loved ones. The ministry we worked with, called Hope Rwanda, started soon after the genocide to help woman learn how to sew while also sharing Jesus’ word with them. Many of the staff and women coming through the program carry stories of loss and pain that have either affected their parents or affected them directly. I am blessed to have heard two of the staff member’s stories of their experience surviving the genocide. Below, I am going to do my best to share the stories of God’s mercy in the life of my Rwandan brother and sister.
Manuel was from Kigali, Rwanda. His dad was a Hutu and he never knew his mother. Right before the genocide started Manuel had gone to a relative’s house with his sister in the Eastern part of Rwanda. While Manuel was running for his life in a banana plantation for a month, his dad was one of the first killed in Kigali. His dad was a Hutu but did not support the Hutu regime. When the Hutu’s found this out they killed him by burying him and Manuel’s baby sister alive in a mass grave. Manuel remembers being at a family friend’s house where the wife was Tutsi and the husband was Hutu. They thought as Tutsi’s they would be safe there until the Hutu Militia showed up and started chasing them. Manuel said he started running and not knowing how he got there he ended in a bush where he could hide. He could hear the machetes all around him chopping anything they could get close enough to, including people. Manuel spent a month in the banana plantation with his little sister fighting for their lives. They would hide next to the dead bodies that lay on the floor of the plantation and would eat only the bananas from the trees. After a month of this, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) came through this Part of Rwanda, liberating Manuel and his sister from death. After the genocide Manuel lived on the streets and in high school he accepted Christ. A few years later he was told of YWAM (Youth With A Mission), a Christian discipleship program, by one of his friends who did YWAM and had a similar story during the genocide as Manuel did. After high school he went to YWAM and after YWAM he started a non-profit who’s mission was to reach and provide for the street kids. He says that He felt that he could relate to the kids because he had been in a similar situation. Through the non-profit he got in contact with Glenda who works with Hope Rwanda (the ministry we partnered with). He then started helping with the boy’s program that works with men transitioning out of a drug rehab center. Two kids that he helped get off of the streets currently live with him and he helps provide for them while also discipling the boys. I barely have words to describe the way I felt when I was with Manuel. All that I can use to describe Him is Jesus. He is a miracle for Jesus’ name sake, He embodies the Grace of God that saved Him, and He walks and radiates the peace of the Lord to everyone. Genuine, caring, selfless, kind, and peaceful are words that describe Manuel. And to think He embodies all of those fruits, despite and because of all that he has been through, is so inspiring.
As Moni grew up there was fighting between her parents because her mom was a Hutu and her dad was a Tutsi. Since there was often too much fighting, Moni would stay at other family member’s houses, particularly her great uncles. Sadly, she started getting raped by her great uncle and soon after, at the age of 12, her mom died. After feeling hopeless and unloved she moved to Kigali to start working. She began working in the bars, selling her body to make money. And then the genocide started. During the genocide the Hutu’s would enslave women as prostitutes and keep them in prison-like cages. At the same stadium my teammates would go running at every morning, Moni was held captive. The Hutu’s would use her and rape her at the stadium. After the genocide she went through a hard time, doing drugs and continuing to sell her body. At some point during this time, she had two kids, but could not take care of them. In 2007, a ministry whose mission was to minister to these ladies, came to her and shared the story of Jesus with her. She accepted Christ and after a couple of years stopped pursuing sex-trafficking, drugs, and drinking and was able to take care of her kids. Through this ministry she got in contact with Glenda, the founder of Hope Rwanda, and enrolled in the sewing program. Throughout the year she learned a trade, was discipled, and surrounded by a good community. She now continues to visit Hope Rwanda, cooking lunch for the girls in the program. Her story is one of oppression, loneliness, and heartache, but in the midst of the tragedy, I see glimmers of Hope, Grace, and God’s pursuit after The One. If you talk to Moni today, you will not leave the conversation without her mentioning her love for Jesus.
We got to go to the Genocide museum and the liberation museum. The picture above is taken at the Liberation museum, which is also a government building in the center of Kigali. After the genocide they left this wall to remember the shelling that happened during the genocide.
The picture above is of a Banana plantation in Uganda. This could look similar to the banana plantation that Manuel hid in for a month as a young boy.
Machetes were used to slaughter nearly a million people during the genocide.
Learning about the genocide and hearing stories of those who survived this horrific event has forever changed my life. I recommend learning more about events like this in history. It will change your life and make you want to make sure this kind of devastating act of hatred never happens again!
If you are interested in learning more about the Rwandan Genocide you should read Manuel’s friend’s book. The same friend of his that told him about Youth With A Mission (YWAM), wrote a book about his experience during the genocide. I have attached a link below.
https://www.amazon.com/Race-Life-Theo-Makombe/dp/1624191967
Thank you for reading this! Continue praying for this beautiful country and all of the people still affected by the genocide!
with love,
Calli
*The names of the people in these stories have been changed for confidentiality.
