I finally finished "Left To Tell" by Immaculée Ilibagiza. I've been wanting to read it for about two years now. I took it with me to Australia hoping I would get a chance...& guess what...I did!
I have to be honest...I didn't know much about the genocide that happened in Uganda in the early '90's. Maybe it's because the Clinton administration made the selfish choice not to do anything about all the innocent people dyeing in Africa......leading to the American race (me) not knowing what was really going on in that part of that world. I guess as I grew up, I started to understood that there was a war that happened in Uganda and generally there was poverty in Africa. When I was in Kenya in 2004 I remember hearing about the troubles of Uganda. but I didn't know the extent of why it happened.
Reading the story of Immaculée Ilibagiza was an eye opener to just one person's experience. In 1994, she spent 91 days hiding in a cramped bathroom with seven other women while outside many of her friends, family and fellow Tutsi (her race) were being slaughtered by the rival Hutus during the bloodiest period of the Rwandan Civil War. While she was in the bathroom she prayed all the time and even taught herself English because she believed that God was going to get her through that unjust time and get her a job at the UN. It's amazing after all the suffering she went through, she learned to forgive. Now she works for the UN and is an advocate for peace and forgiveness (what a beautiful job!) If you don't have the time to read her book "Left to Tell", then I highly recommend you watching these short clips about her! SOOO GOOD!
