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Rwanda
The 1994 mayhem claimed over one million innocent Rwandans and left severe scars on many families in the Rwandan society. These resulted from a hundred days of genocide in Rwanda where thousands of men – young men – were butchered; and young girls and mothers raped and defiled, causing them to have unwanted pregnancies and HIV/AIDS. It is sad to mention that the majority of these surviving victims of rape contracted HIV/AIDS and they are now struggling with the disease, absolute poverty and hardship to raise and educate their children. As a result of this massive raping, HIV/AIDS became rampant in Rwandan society. Many have died due to the virus while many others were traumatised as a result of forced sex. Also, the victims of rape gave birth to the unexpected children which put the young mothers at risk and tension, since they could not support their families financially. The whole society was left in a state of quagmire, resulting in young children becoming heads of families.
The atrocities left families and some homesteads in ruins. Vivid examples can be traced in places like Gasabo, Bugesera and Gikongoro, where over 2,500 children were left homeless and parentless. The children act as heads of families and are, moreover, under the scourge of poverty. This has therefore left many families in despair with no hope. The young children still nurse in the effects of genocide and poverty.
To add to this, the genocide left the society in a traumatic state because ten thousands of Rwandans were traumatised due to severe killings and the torture they experienced during a hundred days of genocide.
Moreover, the atrocities left the society in shambles because many Rwandan families and properties were destroyed and churches, schools and pit latrines became dumping places for dead bodies killed in cold blood. Rwanda was left in a sorry state. Other people were left crippled, cut by the use of pangas, and they are living in a desperate situation.
All this severely affected Rwandan families in all spheres. Also, the 1994 atrocities were followed by years of insurgency and insecurity across the country. To date, security has significantly improved but genocide survivors’ lives are still under threat, with reports indicating that they continue to die mysteriously; even in broad daylight they are intimidated and made to commit suicide or flee their homes by the killers who want to make the evidence against them disappear. Worse still, many of these orphans live in a desperate and absolute poverty, lacking education, shelter and medication. It is now estimated that currently the genocide-related orphans whose parents were killed during the genocide, those whose parents died of genocide-related AIDS, and those whose parents committed genocide and died in exile, amount to about 1.2 million.
With regard to my own story, in my family we lost 104 men, women, young men and young girls. These are uncles, aunts, cousins. Men and young men were slaughtered and thrown into pit latrines. The women and girls were raped and then pierced by sticks in public and then later left for dogs to eat. When this happened, I was not in Rwanda. But all this was revealed by the few surviving children and the repenting killers. My mother and sisters are very stressed and traumatised by this situation. It took me three full years of prayers and regular fasting to do away with this grief. It took me five years to be able to forgive those who killed and raped my relatives. Christian faith was very instrumental in my healing and in the forgiveness.
As a result of forgiveness, God has put in my heart the vision to care for the orphans and to preach a message of forgiveness to suspect killers in prison and to the survivors.
I call upon the world to support the reconciliation in Rwanda and the orphans t0 give them hope for a better future.
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