May it never happen again
What you need to know:
Lessons from Rwanda. 20 years later, the Rwandans still say: never again, but have other people in the world learnt from this tragic experience?
In 1993, a blend of fate, destiny and choice led our path to the African continent and the Pearl of Africa, Uganda, became home. The first few months were spent getting revived under the African sun, thawing after freezing in the European weather for many years.
Searching to rent a place for starting our business, we were accompanied by many real estate agents. One of these agents came across as a very gentle, kind and genuine man. One day, my husband told him how we appreciated the warmth and gentleness with which we were received in Uganda; his response to this statement is still resonating in my mind.
He said: “Here in Africa we can look very calm but if time comes we can turn into roaring lions, and you will be surprised at the outcome. “
By April 1994, we had settled a little bit, made a few friends, learnt how to navigate in and around Kampala City and managed to find a few good restaurants. Those days the Lions Bar in Sheraton Hotel had a tasty buffet, but our favourite restaurant was the Great wall Chinese Restaurant. A very dear friend, who has since passed on, introduced us to this place. Together we sat to have our favourite dish, the sweet and sour deep fried whole tilapia fish.
I’m not sure when it was that we had our last meal there, but something very bad was just about to happen, and I remember that we did not eat that fish, for a very long time.
Rwanda unrest
Suddenly the sad news of unrest in Rwanda started trickling in. Then this turned into a flood of bad news and just a few weeks later, Uganda was receiving through its lake, bodies of victims, men, women and children slaughtered and mutilated as a result of the Rwandan genocide. No one ate fish from the lake for a long time. To me, this was a crash course on understanding the meaning of ethnic clashes in this part of the world.
People outside Africa were watching with horror what was going on. For us it was just next door. I had never had such an experience so close to me and the worst part was to be totally helpless in front of such a tragedy.
Poor girl
Some years later, I met a young Rwandan girl who lived through this hell, her story like many others was heart breaking. I heard a tale of a little child who ran away in fear to the bush holding with both hands her injured neck that was still bleeding. It was this injury inflicted upon her with a machete that saved her life. The aggressors seeing the blood gushing from her neck left her for dead.
Once she gained consciousness, she had to deal with seeing her whole family in a blood bath and fearing the return of the attackers, she hurried to a nearby bush and hid there for many hours.
Unbelievable
Her story was like a horror movie, and because we were always told not to believe suchmovies. I thought it was made up, but every time I looked at the deep scar on her delicate neck, I had to accept the fact that what the real estate agent told us was somehow true, not just for Africa but for humankind in general. Sometimes some tend to lose their humanity and turn into beasts. How I wish the agent’s words had remained a theory!
A few weeks later, I got to see the beautiful girl perform a traditional Rwandan dance. It was her flying to freedom, to a new life. May it remain this way for her and the rest of the world.
