This story has deeply touched me over the first 80 pages. Immaculee Ilibagiza, was born in Mataba, Rwanda which she originally knew as "paradise". It was not said her date of birth, but I know she was born in 1970. She has three brothers, Aimable Ntukanyagwe the most serious individual of the family. Then there was Damascene John Murhiwa, the lovable, generous, funny boy that constantly put a smile on everybody's face. Lastly, there was the baby of the family, John Marie Vianney Kazaneza. He was also lovable and pesky at times. You are probably wondering why every family member has a different last name. Well in Rwanda and most other African countries, the children are giving a surname that describes what the parents felt the moment they laid eyes on their child at birth. She grew up with very religious Roman Catholic parents, Marie Rose and Leonard. As a child, discrimination was not a matter she knew about. Her parents never discussed their own country's history with their four kids, as long as you were a person with a good character, race did not matter. She was taught to love everybody, and treat your elders with respect. Little did she know, the citizens of Rwanda were categorized in three different tribes, Hutus, Tutsis and the Twas. The majority of the country were Hutus, a minority of them were Tutsis and little as 1% were Twas, meaning pygmies. The Hutus were known to be short, have big noses and darker skin. The Tutsis were known to be taller, have narrower noses and lighter skin. One day, on her first day of 4th grade, her teacher yelled for all Hutus to stand up, preceeding with the Tutsis, and following with the Twas. Mr. Buhoro soon approached the young ten year old and asked her why she hadn't stood up to any of the name callings. She then responded, "I don't know what I am, Teacher." Immaculee soon found herself kicked out of class for not knowing her own tribe. It was only until the next day she found out she was Tutsis. Over the years, the Tutsis were being persecuted and eventually were treated as second class people, meaning they didn't have all the privileges the Hutus had. It was so bad, that despite her 94% average in school, they wouldn't give Immaculee a scholarship to high school and university just because she was Tutsis.
Relate
I could somewhat relate to Immaculee's life because my mom's country, Burundi, had the same problems, just not as extreme. There were constant wars causing most families to flee. But another way that I could relate to this story would be judging. Just like Immaculee's parents, I find it meaningless to judge a person by their race or tribe. It's not like that person chose to be who they are and eventually have their rights to life taken away because of heartless people. We both have in common our faith and trust in God and I believe this book will change the way I see things in life.
Reflect
Can't wait to learn more!
