OGDEN — Forgiveness surrounds the 20th year commemorating the April 7, 1994 beginning of the 100-day genocide that took place in Rwanda, where more than 1 million Tutsis were brutally tortured, raped and killed by Hutus.
Within those three months, the country became divided, and survivors had to make sense of the genocide, especially after the government released from prison 40,000 people who were responsible for the killings.
This year, following the Angelus April 7, Pope Francis prayed a Hail Mary for the Tutsi victims of the genocide 20 years ago. He encouraged the Rwandan people to "continue with determination and hope the process of reconciliation that has already borne fruit to the human and spiritual rebuilding of the country," and added, "Do not be afraid! Build your society on the rock of the Gospel, in love and harmony, as only in this way can lasting peace be created."
Also commemorating the genocide, the Respect for Life Committee at Saint Joseph Parish in Ogden invited a Rwandan survivor now living in Utah to tell her story on April 6. Parishioners also viewed the documentary As We Forgive.
The documentary’s message is "that we need to be more ecumenical," said Father Ken Vialpando, pastor. "We want justice for those who hurt us, but does justice always mean that our perpetrators must be incarcerated? Can justice be achieved through forgiveness, peace, and reconciliation? This documentary will show how it can."
N., (who asked that her name not be printed with this article) was 13 years old in 1994, when her mother gathered the family in the hallway to tell them they were going to die, N. said. "Being told you are going to die at 13 is really hard to understand. When we asked why, she explained that the president of Rwanda had been killed during the night and the government blamed the Tutsis, who then became the enemy."
The Hutus rose against the Tutsis, who sometimes were killed by neighbors, people they trusted and thought were their friends. "The Tutsis were killed at a rate of 1,000 per day, or six people per minute," said N. "Around 500,000 women were raped; 67 percent of those who survived being raped and tortured were infected with the HIV virus, which was also used as a weapon. The Hutus thought if they infected the Tutsi women with the HIV virus, they would not be able to reproduce any more children, and if they did, they would be infected and die. About 7,000 children were also left orphaned."
Around 100,000 Tutsis were left homeless and had to rebuild their lives, said N. "Each person has his or her own story, but priests and nuns also took part in the genocide by telling where Tutsis were hiding; many were killed inside churches."
N. and her sister hid at a woman’s house and learned from her about God and how to pray. "This woman talked right to God and I couldn’t believe it," said N.
N. has never faced those who killed her brothers, grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins, she said. "I have to meet people on the street every day and I never know who that is going to be. It could be a person who killed a lot of people and I just have to accept what happened. If I face those who killed my family, I believe that somehow I might be able to forgive them which will help me heal and get freedom from what has happened."
One woman in the documentary said, "Those who killed were also creatures of God," said N. "That is true and the fact that I am here today to tell my story, is a miracle."
"Forgiveness is hard, but how can I not forgive what now seems like little things compared to what the Rwandan people have endured," said Sierra Corrales, a freshman at Weber State University who heard N. speak. "I think that my generation has a lot of hate and, whether we are religious or not, we need to know of ways to come together, so please continue speaking."
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