From Death to Life Through Forgiveness
by
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On April 6, 1994, I entered my dorm room after returning from a work-study program at Mudende University in Gisenyi, Rwanda. It was already dark when I heard the news on the radio that the helicopter of our president, Juvenal Habyarimana, had been shot down. the words sank in, I felt as if a large clump of ice was forming at the pit of my stomach. I instantly knew that this would mean trouble for my family and for many others. But nobody could have foreseen that this night would be the beginning of a mass slaughter that lasted for a hundred days and left at least eight hundred thousand dead—men, women, and children alike. Most of my family members were among those who were cut down mercilessly and ripped out of my life. It is difficult to describe the anguish and terror of those days, and if I return to these events in my memory, I only do so to share with you the powerful message that I have derived from all this suffering and pain: through God, we can find the strength not only to endure deprivation, fear, and pain, but also to find freedom and peace through forgiveness.
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About the Book
Evelyne Mukasonga’s memoir is a story of survival and forgiveness. The book describes the author’s happy childhood in Gisenyi, in the home of her parents who were successful business owners and devout Christians. The mixed ethnic background of Evelyne’s parents - her father was Hutu and her mother Tutsi – became a reason for her persecution. The book quickly evolves to a harrowing account of the author’s narrow escapes during the months of slaughter in 1994. The author survives hiding at family friends’ houses, disguising herself to escape certain death and even facing an angry mob of murderers with equanimity. The book does not end there, however, but follows Evelyne to her refuge in Goma, DRC, where she meets her husband and has her first son. What starts as a safe haven for Evelyne quickly turns into another nightmare when the DRC turns into the site of “the first African World War.” Evelyne and her family get caught up in the struggle between President Laurent Kabila’s forces, and rebel militia aiming at ousting the president. As Rwanda supports the Congolese rebels and she is perceived as Rwandese Tutsi, her life and that of her son are again in danger. She has to flee again within Zaire, hiding, starving, overcoming disease and suffering imprisonment in a man’s detention facility with her one-year-old son. Rescued by the UN and resettled in the USA, Evelyne and her husband become peace builders and community activists.
About the Author
Evelyne Mukasonga was born in Rwanda in 1969. During the genocide, 1994, she lost many loved ones, but was able to escape to Zaire, where she met her husband. When Zaire and Rwanda subsequently went to war, Evelyne’s husband, an officer in the Congolese army, was told to kill his Rwandan wife. He refused and joined a rebel group instead. Evelyne was arrested as enemy and jailed for months with her infant son. Assisted by the UN, she and her husband were finally happily reunited in America in 2000. The family has helped other refugees ever since.