Why we are here
It has become a Bpeace tradition in
Barb, Alix, Susan and Richard visited two sites, Nyamata and Ntarama. They were and remain churches ten miles apart in remote countryside. As places of worship they were thought to be places of refuge and thousands fled to them for safety. Instead the churches became places where over 7500 were slaughtered in a few days.
The experience was hard to take in. The churches, nestled among
We were moved greatly by our guide at Ntarama. He showed us how he survived in the church while people were being killed around him, and babies were being bashed against walls, He escaped while dogs were sniffing out live people, by running into the bush. At age nine, he was the only survivor of his family of 11. He had tears in his eyes as he told his story. He tells his story everyday to those who come. We drove home in silence.
The future is hopeful
But fittingly for this nation so committed to breathing new life, our reflection on the past was turned toward the future with something purely Rwandan and universally familiar ---- a wedding! Susan took us to a wedding of a personal friend of hers. At first it seemed similar to a typical US wedding but we soon realized that the event we were attending was the last of a day full of ceremonies and that the couple was in fact already officially married. The reception we attended took place in a grand hall with over 500 guests. Dancers, a sword ceremony, speeches, a marching band(!), cake and champagne popping were all enjoyed from auditorium-like seats. Speeches were typical wedding fare, and the cake, wedding dress and bridesmaid's dresses could have come straight from the
3 comments:
It takes courage to visit these monuments. Thank you for reminding us why we at Bpeace do this work.
--Toni Maloney
It sounds like you had a quite intense and memorable day. I'm glad it ended on such a joyous note. Keep up the excellent work!
Ooops. That was me. I didnt realize I was signed in as Dan. But, he says hello.
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