Richard Barigira Gotzen, the author of ‘Customer Satisfaction of Hotels in Rwanda’, has released a new book titled ‘In a Minute’ that thematically tackles sexual violence and highlights its effects on children, adults as well as the perpetrators. The author says the urge to connect the worlds of the older and the younger generation, and his need to address the persisting sexual violence, are the main reasons that pushed him to release the book. “If there is something that makes me worry, it is how a girl-child, especially from a rural area, faces unplanned pregnancy. In research I’ve done, I figured out that many do not talk to their parents because they are not comfortable with it,” he says. Richard Barigira Gotzen. “The older generation fear to talk about sex with their children and children get information from people they are comfortable with, which most of the time is false and results in problems. I wrote this book to highlight those problems for parents to notice and act accordingly and for children to realise they should trust their parents.” ‘In a Minute’ features a story of the main character, Cyusa, born of rape and facing judgment, abhorrence, and resentment. He meets the love of his life, Lina, and she becomes his refuge, and he is hell-bent on loving and protecting her. While Cyusa is busy living, he eventually faces the effects of sexual violence that happened to his mother. Then in a minute, his life becomes a joke. Barigira is aware that when sexual violence happens, the victim largely appears as a problem in society, adding that most single teen mothers are bullied, but society does not see their heroic hearts of not aborting, or their sadness either. “Instead, they choose to cast them out of society and yet what they did was even by accident. If possible, we can all listen to a girl-child who faced unplanned pregnancy, talk to her and help her get integrated in society. She has a burden of parenting a child while she is also a child,” he says. Barigira named the book ‘In a Minute’ after one of the characters in the book, Giramata, who gets raped as she tries to save a neighbour, and then in a minute, her vision of life gets ruined. According to the author, sexual violence also triggers mental health issues. “Many Rwandans suffer depression resulting from a harsh life or family issues,” he says. “We should learn to have humanity and to understand people instead of judging them. Through listening, we will figure out a better way to advise them. We need to give life through what we say.” Barigira notes that for him, writing a book is a worthy way of communicating with a generation he belongs to, as well as the generations to come because a book is a treasure that never gets old. His satisfaction blooms whenever he teaches people and they change, and by getting the privilege as an author. Tackling about his challenges, he says that in Rwanda, getting the best printing services for a book as well as a publisher to help is still hard, adding that some old authors with experience hesitate to support the young or offer good direction. “Some elders are in a system that other authors can’t penetrate. They should help the young writers,” he says. He plans to launch the book this year, visit schools and libraries in order to teach and connect with different readers and other people so that the information in the book can reach and change society. ‘In a Minute’ can be found on Amazon. One can also contact the author on Instagram Gotzen_rw or Twitter @gotzen_rw. He is also planning to distribute the books to libraries.
