Nyange students' heroic legacy lives on

On a relatively elevated spot of the mountainous region of Western Province’s Ngororero District, Nyange Sector lies a secondary school. Not just any school, but one with an extraordinary history. Nyange Secondary School, became famous for its students’ heroism who stood together when the Interahamwe militiamen attacked them in 1997 and attempted to separate out the students according to ethnic lines. By the end of the attack on March 18, 1997 six students lay dead. Phanuel Sindayiheba, 39, the president of Komezubutwari Association of Nyange, survived the attack. He was then in Senior Six. Talking to The New Times last week, he recounted that the students showed heroism in the face of the macabre event. “It was about 8 pm when students had finished their supper and were revising. The Interahamwe entered the class and ordered us to separate; Tutsi on the left and the Hutu on the right,” he narrated. Vincent Nsanzabankunda on Thursday, January 28, 2016 during the interview with The New Times at the memorial graves under construction for the seven victims of the Interahamwe attack at Nyange Secondary School. One student, Marie Chantal Mujawamahoro, replied that they were all Rwandans and there was no point in separating them. “The answer seemed to surprise them, I think they did not expect such an answer,” he said. Then, they went out for a while and broke a windowpane and threw two grenades in the classroom. Some of us, me inclusive were injured by the grenades. They returned in the class and told us. Now, we want you to facilitate our work: We want Tutsi to go on the left and the Hutu on the right. Again, another student called Sylvestre Bizimana, said: “We told you that there is no Hutu or Tutsi amongst us, we are Rwandans.” Sindayiheba said that is when they started shooting at them beginning with Chantal Mujyawamahoro and they went on to the Senior Five classroom and the same happened there. Sindayiheba said that what makes them (the Nyange living heroes) happy the most during the celebration of the Heroes’ Day is that the heroic feat that the students displayed on 18/19 March 1997 was recognised and given value by the government. He said refusing to separate under ethnic lines will serve as a model for the current and future generations. “Embracing unity will ensure that all Rwandans unite to achieve sustainable development and welfare for all; which would not be possible if any sectarianism or divisionism was in place,” he told The New Times. Vincent Nsanzabankunda, in-charge of discipline at the Nyange Secondary School, said during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, Father Athanase Seromba ordered the demolition of Nyange Church where 2,000 Tutsi had sought refuge. They all perished. Marie Claire Mukaremera, the representative of parents’ committee at the Nyange Secondary School. She is also a teacher at Nyange B Primary School in Nyange Sector. (Photos by Emmanuel Ntirenganya). Marie Claire Mukaremera, the representative of parents’ committee at the Nyange Secondary School, remembers Nyange’s cruel genocide history. “The church was packed with Tutsi, but it was destroyed using a bulldozer. When we have such bad history but later have something that strengthens our hearts like having children who were characterised with heroism is comforting,” she said. Recently, the Cabinet approved plan to construct a Heroes’ Monument at the Nyange Secondary School. Sindayiheba said the monument will ensure that the history of heroism that the students showed gets understood by everyone. “It is a way to make history live forever. It is within the framework of the recognition of the heroic deed of the living and the departed heroes,” he said, adding that the monument would help students embrace good values and match in the footsteps of the heroes, once they read the inspiring content on the monument. It is an educational material for the current and the future generations,” he said. Nyange Secondary School was established in 1988/1989 by parents. It was in the former Commune Kivumu (current Ngororero District). But later in 1992, the school was handed over to Nyundo Diocese and got the name Nyange Secondary School. Since then, it has been private, but government aided school. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Nyange students' heroic legacy lives on