Rwanda Journal – Day Two (May 15, 2012)

“I don’t think I had ever been in the same room with a murderer before.” These were the words of one of our group tonight during our reflection on the day’s experiences. They were a reference to this morning’s session with two people, Lydia and Silidio – she a survivor of the genocide, and he an “offender.” Offender is the word most often used here, but it feels like such a euphemism. He did more than offend. He murdered. Lots of people.

But Lydia and Silidio each told their stories – stories of growing up in the years before the genocide, the harrowing experience of those incomprehensible 100 days in 1994, and their shattered lives since that time. She told of the brutal deaths of her husband and two young children. And of being raped. And of contracting HIV. He talked about going out and killing, "because my government told me to do it," as he said at one point. But he also took responsibility for the horrendous crimes he had committed. He had murdered people with his own hands. Lots of people. He talked about fleeing into Tanzania after the genocide was stopped, then later being sent back into Rwanda. He knew if he came back he would die, but decided it was better to die in Rwanda, than to die in a strange country.

These two people were on opposite sides of a genocide where Hutus set out to systematically and brutally eliminate all the Tutsis. One million people were hacked and clubbed to death in one hundred days. That’s ten thousand every day. Twenty every minute – for one hundred days – while the world stood by and did nothing.

These two people also told their stories – difficult stories – of forgiveness and reconciliation, of offering forgiveness and of receiving it, victim and perpetrator. We were privileged to be witnesses not only to their stories, but to the transformational work that REACH is doing with people just like them all over the country. They are both now leaders in REACH’s restorative justice program. Lydia works with other survivors as they seek and find healing for the trauma in their lives. Silidio has supervised the building of 41 homes for the survivors – all done by volunteers, including himself.

Our time this evening was filled with moving reflections from every single one of our group, not only about Lydia and Silidio, but also about our visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial, and our admiration of the incredible people here on the staff of REACH who do this work day in and day out, year in and year out. It is an experience that defies words.