Left to Tell

My most recent reading was he novel Left To Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza. The story recalls Immaculee’s experience throughout the Rwandan Holocaust and how she avoided a hard heart towards those who murdered her family. To give some background to the Holocaust, in Rwanda there are 3 main tribes; Tutsis, Hutu, and Twa. As I discovered from reading the book, the Twa are secluded to the jungle, and are not involved in the tribal rivalry; however, the tension between the Tutsis and the Hutu is indescribable. There had been many minor killings between the tribes throughout the years, but it was nothing compared to the genocide of the Tutsis tribe in Rwanda in 1994. Although wars had been spreading for a long period of time, it wasn’t until the President of Rwanda, who frequently arranged peace treaties, was killed that the genocide really began. Immaculee refers to her life in two separate portions, before and after.

Once the killings began, Immaculee’s father forced her to leave home and find refuge in the pastor’s home, since Tutsi women were at a greater risk of being taken advantage of. As the numbers of murderers exponentially grew, the risk of hiding Tutsi women increased, which forced the pastor to hide the 6 Tutsi women that he was helping in a 4x7 foot bathroom that was secluded from the rest of his large house. During her 91 days cramped in the bathroom Immaculee was constantly tormented by thoughts of the devil, that would cause her to have a hardened heart and turn away from her loving God. However, through constant prayer, she was able to overcome these harsh feelings and focus her whole heart on God. Later in her life she realizes that “Being in that bathroom had become a blessing for which I’d be forever thankful…. I’d been born again in the bathroom and was now the loving daughter of God, my Father.”(LTT 107) Even as she was constantly in danger of being discovered and murdered by the Interahamwe, she kept eventually learned to pity these murders and pray for them to find the light as she was able to. The most brilliant example of Immaculee’s truly pure heart is at the end of the war, she is able to visit the prision and sit face-to-face with the man that lead the group that brutally slaughtered her mother and brother. Rather than yelling, seeking for an apology, and even questioning, the only words she said were “I forgive you.” (LTT 204)

As I was reading the novel, I think the think I was most surprised by was how much I didn’t know. I knew that there had been a holocaust in Rwanda, but I was completely blind to the magnitude of it all. In school we would always talk about WWII and the Jewish Holocaust, but I can’t recall a time that I really discussed the Rwandan Holocaust. The thing that frightens me the most by this ignorance is if we aren’t aware of it, how can we do anything to stop it from happening again? As Immaculee states, “The world had seen the same thing happen many times before. After Nazi Germany, all the big, powerful countries swore, “Never again!” But here we were, six harmless females huddled in darkness, marked for execution because we were born Tutsi” (LTT 86) These stories need to be known, or else a few years down the road another group of people will be in the same situation of that of the Jews, or of the Tutsi, with little to no defense just as these people had. Their issues are our issues, and the key to future is understanding the past.

Not to sound cliché, but this book honestly changed my point of view on a lot of things. I don’t know if I could be as strong as Immaculee and be able to survive these trials, but also forgive those who had caused them. However, after hearing stories of individuals who had held grudges, I don’t know if you would have any other option. I would honestly recommend this book to anyone. It is extremely educational of the Rwandan Holocaust, but it also gives great council on how to find God in any situation, and how no matter what, you can always look to your Savior for comfort. Immaculee was "left to tell" her story for a reason, and her story is one that needs to be heard.

Ilibagiza, Immaculée, and Steve Erwin. Left to Tell: Discovering God amidst the Rwandan Holocaust. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, 2006. Print.