So I was expecting this to be a huge event with hundreds of people, but it was actually small and cozy. Many were invited, but only about 30 people were present. It was really great though, I had a fantastic time and I'm very happy that I went. I met 2 other American volunteers who are staying with Salesian priests in Kigali! One is from Iowa and another from New Jersey. They live in a house with about 150 other boys who are supported by this mission. It was very cool to talk with them and exchange info about what each of us is doing here. The atmosphere at this family gathering was really one of welcome. Everybody comes to greet you, introduce themselves, ask your whereabouts. I felt very at ease. Then the speeches began…ugh. This event was all in French, plus, the speakers were (excuse my bluntness) some of the worst public speakers ever. There were 2 priests, one who gave opening remarks, and one who was supposed to give a "small commentary" (it was 45 minutes long) to give the background of a short film we were going to watch.
Well, both of them spoke extremely slow with barely any animation or enthusiasm in their voices. So I was gone. I tried bringing myself back time and again to really focus, but because the language was more elevated, this being a formal event and all, and in French, and being downright boring, I just couldn't do it. So I kind of daydreamed a lot. The film was cool though. It was the "Recteur Majeur," who is to the Salesians as the Pope is to the Catholic Church, presenting the new theme for the year 2010. It was a nice, modernized video surrounding the theme "Sir, we want to see Jesus," taken from a certain passage of Scripture. It was a bit weird actually to hear talk about evangelization in this modern world with computers and ipods and stuff – in general this video was geared toward Salesian activity in these types of environments. This is exactly what St. Paul's is all about, but I left that world 2 months ago! I felt very distant, and it seems that in Rwanda, the problem of kids and teens filling the "God void" with technology and fashion and creating their own identity really does not exist. But I'm sure the task at hand is just as great here in the developing world as it is in the developed.
After all the speeches was when my real fun began. We proceeded outside to head to the chapel for Mass, taking our jolly sweet time and mingling more with other Salesian family members.
I had a really great time meeting Felicien, who says he was friends with Mary, a volunteer from Chicago who was in Kigali about 4 years ago. Her and I communicated quite a bit before I left and became good e-friends! So he was really excited that I knew her, and was also excited to teach me Kinyarwanda. Actually many people today were teaching me new words. It is really a blessing that I have this love for languages, and that my brain likes them (meaning I'm pretty good at learning them, not to boast or anything, but they come pretty easily to me). So we had a good time teaching and learning in a nice vocabulary exchange.
Then we had a really nice Mass with songs in several languages. I loved it. Although, there were drummers totally off-beat with the singers. If this sounds familiar to you, you're right…this same thing happened at Muhato during our Christmas Masses. So I think it’s a Rwanda thing…weird. Probably they just don't know any better, because there are very few opportunities for music education here. Then we mingled around outside some more, and I had more fun making new friends and learning words from them. Most of the people at this event were basically fluent in English, French, and Kinyarwanda, which was pretty cool because that's a big change from life in dear ol' Gisenyi. I had a great time just chatting with people in a mélange of all these languages. Its funny because for them, they just switch from one to the next without really thinking about it. In any given sentence they might use all three. So that means for me I might hear complete gibberish, and then my mind lights up when I understand a few words, and then it tunes right back out when the complete gibberish comes back. Or sometimes it’s the other way around – I understand everything except a few words. The pleasant conversation continued through lunch, which was a tasty dish of meatballs, pork, bread, and potatoes.
Then the entertainment began. There was a whole afternoon planned of dances, songs, presentations, etc, but we had to leave after the first dance performance.
I was bummed. But we were going all the way back to Gisenyi, a three and a half hour drive, so we had to make sure to get out of there at a decent hour.
And the ride home was delightful, as was the ride there. This country is indescribably, captivatingly beautiful. (insert DSC 01013 and 00826)
And the whole way we listened to/sang to these cassette tapes that Sr. Gisele brought – Italian, French, and Kinyarwanda songs about Mary, and one of English kids' songs. It was just so beautiful, I can't describe it.
After attending Salesian Family Day, I'm very happy to say that I am a part of the Salesian family! It was great to see just how vast this congregation is, and how the structure is very ordered and intricate, and how there is a whole hierarchy of people that make it work. They really do tons of incredible things for young people all over the world.
The greatness of this day continued when we arrived home that night and sat down at dinner. We stayed at the table till 9pm - Sr. Charlotte, Sr. Gisele, Joselyne, and me. They retold stories from the 1994 genocide, during which all of them were kids, around 10 – 12 years old.
An extremely brief background on the genocide: in three months, nearly one million people were killed. A group of Hutu extremists who hated the Tutsis grew huge and influential. They nearly succeeded in achieving their goal of eliminating all Tutsis. Many Hutu were also killed in retaliation which eventually ended the conflict. This was perhaps the most concentrated massacre that has ever occurred in history, even moreso than the holocaust in Nazi Germany. I basically just listened in disbelief, adding what few words my mind could conceive of saying. I was mostly speechless.
First I heard the story of when the president ordered that all Rwandans in Congo be killed. A superior came to evacuate one of our Rwandan Sisters residing in Congo and 2 others. There were "checkpoints" all along the road, and at each of them they were miraculously allowed to pass. One Sister was told to not lift her head up, because the shape of her forehead would give away the fact that she was Rwandan. Another had to bury her nose in a handkerchief for the same reason. The militia at each checkpoint could have ordered all of them to get out of the car, and they could have been killed on the spot if someone would have pointed out their Rwandan features. But Providence brought them safely home.
This seemed really terrifying, but I soon realized that I ain't heard nothin yet…Sr. Charlotte began re-telling her horror story. How can someone witness and survive such inconceivable things, and still be full of joy, love, hope, laughter? When I asked her permission to put her story on my blog, she said "Yes of course!" with no qualms about it. This woman is the person I feel closest to here. We have a very fun time together, and if I have a problem, she would probably be the first person I would talk to about it. And she loves the Lord so much, and loves the children entrusted to her care as a Salesian. How can you "get over" something like this and still have such joy in life? The only answer is God. She held fast to her faith, and Jesus pulled her through. This is a perfect example of how God can ALWAYS make something beautiful out of even the most terrible tragedy. It is also a testimony of how He will be victorious in the end: here we are today, alive and well, living comfortably in a beautiful and peaceful Rwanda, retelling the days when everything was the 180 degree polar opposite. Even though such atrocity occurred, the Lord still has faithful people (and lots of them) here. He is a Healer, that's for sure. I don't even have the right words to say…
Sr. Charlotte was 10 years old, and her sister, Verraine, was 3. They were being "hunted" along with all other Tutsis. She was forced to march I don't even know how many miles, with a bunch of other Tutsi captives. In summary, Sr. Charlotte walked basically across the country during these terrible events. They were led to a big clearing, encircled by Interhamwe, and shot at and hand-grenaded. Those who ran made for easy targets, so ingenius 10-year-old Sr. Charlotte just hit the deck. She was unharmed by bullet or grenade. She had her little sister strapped to her back. Miraculously, she too was unscathed. Those who lived lived, and the Interhamwe moved on. Prior to this, she saw her own mother, father, brother, and probably other family members murdered before her eyes. With the help of a Hutu friend who found her along the way, and claimed that she was her cousin and therefore Hutu, she managed to take refuge in a church with other Hutu refugees. But the soldiers were always reluctant to accept the testimony of this little girl, because Sr. Charlotte apparently has obviously Tutsi physical characteristics. So she and little Verraine went to hide in an abandoned school with her Hutu friend and some others. Soon though, this too was attacked. Everyone fled, but Sr. Charlotte and Verraine hid and stayed there. They never heard from the kind Hutu girl again. She said it was a good thing she stayed behind, because everyone who ran away from this abandoned school was killed; no one escaped. She lived in this school for about a week and a half with her sister, eating raw maize because that was all that was available. It was very quiet during this time of hiding, so after several days she peeked outside. She did not know it, but she was seen by someone.
Fortunately, praise God for this, those who saw this little girl come out of this abandoned building were the Tutsi retaliatory front who eventually ended the fighting. They waited a few days before coming to get them, because they too were risking their own safety, not knowing if there were Interhamwe nearby. When they came to rescue her and Verraine, they sang the Interhamwe song in order to scare the girls into running outside. I have no idea why this seemed like a good tactic…maybe I misunderstood. (this recounting was in French) And Sr. Charlotte said that of course she knew by this point that running = death. They knocked at the door, and said "open up!" She gave her baby sister a little speech, knowing that they must open the door or allow the door to be opened by force. She was a smart girl and just opened it for them. She told Verraine that she should not be afraid. "They might kill us, and if they do, we'll just die like the others. We'll see Mama and Papa and all our family again. So don't be afraid." She could tell that Verraine was scared, because she started gripping more tightly to Sr. Charlotte, so she calmly responded, "What did I just tell you?" Then she opened the door, and the soldiers said "Do not be afraid, you will live." They were visibly moved with pity for them, and asked them all kinds of things – how long have you been here? What have you eaten? Do you know where your family is? These soldiers put Verraine on the back of their bicycle, and Sr. Charlotte walked, and they went back to their camp.
The soldiers took good care of them, gave them food, a bed to sleep on, clean clothes. From here on out they were safe.
Speechless = Me.
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