Introduction
This testimony is shared by a member of the Rwandan Association of Queensland Inc., a survivor of two devastating periods of violence: the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and the subsequent massacres in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 1996/1997. The author, a Hutu from Rwanda's central province of Gitarama, offers a personal account of survival amidst unimaginable horrors. The testimony highlights the human cost of these conflicts and calls for recognition and justice for all victims.
Testimony
I am a survivor of the two Rwandan genocides: one in 1994 inside Rwanda that is commonly known as genocide against Tutsi and one in the DRC in 1996/1997. The latter is not recognized yet as genocide, but I pray and hope that it is one day.
I come from a central province in Rwanda called Gitarama. I am of Hutu ethnic tribe. My family and I cheated death twice in 1994 in Kabyayi and in Gitarama stadium. While the people who were being killed in 1994 were Tutsi, when RPF arrived in Gitarama, they were also killing Hutus and this was systematically. So many people died in Gitarama stadium I thank God to have survived.
I have witnessed unspeakable killings that still give me nightmares to this day. The worse of these killings took place in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). I will try and give a “book summary” of what I witnessed in Congo. This is my lived experience of the events:
- In 1996/97 RPF soldiers attacked Inera refugee camp where I was living killing many people.
- I left the camp and embarked on a long journey to nowhere - just anywhere safe. At all times, RPF soldiers were following us and indiscriminately killing people.
- I reached a place called Tingitingi. RPF followed us there and killed so many people there. I can estimate the number of dead to be no less than 5,000.
- Together with other survivors, we went to Rubutu. Again, RPF encircled us and shot and killed thousands of people. I remember seeing hundreds of people fall in the Rubutu River after being shot. Some committed suicide. I survived the killings of Rubutu river crossing. Grenades and machine guns were used to kill us. To this day, I have shrapnel deep in my back that doctors have deemed unsafe to remove. In Rubutu alone I estimate that at least 10,000 died there.
- We reached a place called Ubundu along the Congo river. UN planes air-dropped food for us. We stayed there for a few days. Again RPF soldiers found us there and killed at least 5,000 people there. So many people jumped in the Congo river and it was the intention to shoot people sending them into the river because there was nowhere else to go.
- From here we braced the equatorial forest until we arrived at a place called Upara and later on we reached the border of Congo and Central Africa at a place called Bandaka. I stayed here for 2 weeks. I witnessed RPF soldiers pretending to be Red Cross offering to welcome refugees. They asked refugees to get on what they called an evacuation boat that was supposed to take them to Central Africa. Everyone was fighting to get onto the boat. As soon as it was fully loaded, they opened fire and threw in bombs killing everyone. There were about 400 people who lost their lives on that boat. By the grace of God I managed to reach Central Africa where authorities offered us protection.
One thing I have learnt is that there is indeed time to die. I cannot explain how I managed to survive. It simply was not time for me to die yet. Today I remember all the victims of these senseless atrocities and I hope that one day they will get justice.
Lest we forget.
Further Reading
For more information on the historical context of these events, consider exploring the following resources: