When the genocidal campaign reached the then Gikongoro prefecture in southern Rwanda, and the widespread killings began, Tutsi ran to the area catholic bishop, hoping he would use his powerful status to save them. Nevertheless, the local authorities and the Bishop himself sent them to the technical school that was at the time under construction and promised them protection from the French troops. They were also persuaded that the hilltop site was their best chance of escaping the militias roaming the entire country with guns, machetes and other sorts of weapons. Those who have informed themselves about the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi can already tell this was a trap to have as many Tutsi in one place, to make their killing easier. In the second week of the Genocide, more than 50,000 Tutsi had filled up the school, some from ostensibly safe havens such as the church. The refugees would usually defend themselves from attacks by pelting stones to the attackers, but on April 21 at around 3:00 am when the school came under attack, almost all of them were killed. The killers had guns, grenades, clubs, and machetes. It is reported that only 34 people survived the Genocide from this place. Surely the world has learnt about Genocide, but no words can give a clear picture of what happened at this school in Murambi, a town located in Nyamagabe district, Southern Province, although some may try. “Those cruel days were like nothing that had ever been seen […] a Genocide is not just any kind of story with a beginning and an end, between which more or less ordinary events take place. There are no words to speak to the dead. They won’t get up to answer you. What you learn from there is that everything is quite over for the dead of Murambi, and maybe then, you respect human life more. The dead of Murambi too, had dreams…” This paragraph from the novel ‘Murambi, the Book of Bones,’ by Senegalese author Boubacar Boris Diop was read in seven languages during his book signing event at Norrsken House Kigali on Friday, July 15. Flore-Agnès Zoa, Diops editor adressing the audience on July 15 First published 22 years ago, the novel tells a story of one Cornelius Uwimana who was born in Murambi but had fled to Djibouti at the time of the Genocide. When he returned, he learnt that his whole family was killed. Diop revealed that this novel, originally in French, was the most difficult to write due to its contents. His editor, Flore-Agnès Zoa also revealed that while it took them a long time to convince co-editors of the need to translate the novel into other languages, it ended up being translated into 17 other languages, including nine African languages. This milestone coincides with the decision of The Cour d’assises de Paris to sentence former Gikongoro prefet, Laurent Bucyibaruta, also known as the ‘Butcher of Gikongoro,’ a 20-year jail sentence for his role in the Genocide. Bucyibaruta who played a vital role in the killings at Murambi, was found guilty of charges complicity in Genocide and complicity in crimes against humanity. Jean Damascène Bizimana, the minister for National Unity and Civic engagement who was present at the ceremony said that this novel will allow young people to know that Rwanda has come a long way. “We keep in mind people like Boubacar Diop who help us tell the world to take note that there would be another genocide anywhere in the world in case hate ideology keeps being supported,” Bizimana said.
