20 years later

april 7 1994 began one of the worst genocides this planet has ever experienced.  one million men, women and children died excruciating and humiliating deaths in a few short months while the international community sat by, largely unresponsive.

the complex answers to the questions of 'why' and 'how' are complicated and political and difficult to root out.  the simple answers are hatred, fear, lust, greed, evil

sin

my heart is heavy today as the season of remembering the genocide begins.  i lived in rwanda for nearly three years and witnessed this day, april 7th, several times.  words cannot express the cry of pain and loss that will rise up from rwanda today and in the days following.  

my husband is rwandan

my extended family is rwandan

my daughter is half-rwandan

and my heart is deeply wrapped up in those beautiful hills, thousands of miles away

i have written before about the history of rwanda and what happened during the genocide.  (here is an excellent write up about the actual events)but today i just want to ask you to bare witness to the suffering of a people, a beautiful and resilient people.  this genocide should deeply affect all of humanity and so i ask you to take a few minutes and let it affect you today in the way that it should.  

me with some of my beautiful students.  born into a country with a despicable past and a beautiful future 

 robert and i participating in the yearly walk to remember the genocide.  we walked from a church in city center to the memorial museum with thousands of students.

the land of a thousand hills.

"The body Rwanda was tortured, was assaulted.  

The body succumbed.  But the spirit never did." 

President Paul Kagame