The
following day, we visited the mayor of Gisenyi who expressed support for our
work. Then, we toured two genocide memorials nearby. The memorials were small
plots marking mass graves of more than 4,000 people who were killed in the planned
slaughter in 1994. The second memorial had
a staff person on hand to show us around and answer questions. She was a
slender African woman, middle-aged with noticeable scars on her hand and arm.
The scars were from defensive wounds incurred during the slaughter of people
with machetes and other implements in a few days in April 1994. In a reverent, yet matter of fact way she
showed us coffins filled with bones from some of those who had died there.
After some
discussion, she asked if there were any more questions. At first, I could think
of nothing. I suppose I was stunned into silence by what I had just seen. Then
I decided to ask what she thought of
our project on forgiving genocide. Did she think it would be appropriate here
in her community? Without hesitation,
her answer was: "Yes, we need that here." I then promised to work to bring the
program to her community right away. As we prepared to leave, Pastor Augustin
and I found we shared the same feeling: if we had seen the memorial without
being part of an effort to bring healing to survivors, we would have been
ashamed.
As I write this in my guest house in Burundi, I look forward to coming home to the Charlottesville, Virginia in a few days. I miss my fiancà �e, Carol, my dog Pearl, my friends and family, Bama football, reliable electricity, and roads without holes. I also look forward to returning to Rwanda by the end of the year to continue my unlikely alliance with Rwandans interested in forgiving genocide.
Contact: Jim Mustin, Email address removed">Email address removed, 2706 Eton Rd, Charlottesville, VA 22903
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