The power of faith and forgiveness: surviving the Rwandan genocide

Immaculee Ilibagiza, a Rwandan genocide survivor and New York Times bestselling author of Left to Tell, addressed hundreds at St. Mary’s College.

She shared her story of hiding in a bathroom for 91 days with seven other women during the genocide. They were all members of the Tutsi tribe – a minority group in Rwanda historically in conflict with the majority Hutu tribe.  Over the course of 100 days in 1994, close to a million Tutsis were killed in the East African country. Narrowly escaping death, Immaculee emerged from the bathroom to learn that all of her family and friends had been killed.

Though her life has been filled with more pain and tragedy than most of us will ever know, Immaculee travels the world sharing her story and spreading a message of love and forgiveness.

“There is hope no matter what happens to you. … There is always light – just wait.”

Immaculee lives in New York and works for the United Nations. On a trip back to Rwanda, she asked a journalist to take a photo of her with a man she saw on the street of her village.

“Who is that?” the journalist asked her.

“His brother killed my brother,” Immaculee responded.

She took the young man, put her arm around him and smiled in the picture. In person, Immaculee radiates the same love and openness that this story tells.

Those who come to hear her speak have inspired her to continue sharing her story. She recalls a 100-year-old Holocaust survivor who told her she had been waiting her whole life to hear someone like Immaculee tell her it was OK to forgive.

Immacullee describes her time in the bathroom as personally transformative.

“They never found me, but I found myself.”’

The women were kept alive by a Hutu man who fed them leftovers and covered the bathroom door with a bureau. While in the bathroom, a tall Immaculee dropped to a shocking 65 points. She taught herself English with a French-English dictionary and turned to prayer to get her through her darkest moments.

Her faith is as incredible as her capacity to forgive those who killed her family.

Immacullee believes that every human is capable of transformation and worthy of forgiveness.

“If I deserve mercy, so does everyone else.”

Instead of wasting time being angry, Immaculee encouraged her audience to be grateful for everything they have.