Grace Usabye, 40, was nine years old when the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda worsened. At the time, her parents were employed at Ndera neuropsychiatric hospital, an old infirmary – founded in 1968 – commonly known as Caraes Ndera Hospital, that provided specialized healthcare in psychiatry and neurology. Her family lived nearby the hospital, in the suburbs of Kigali. ALSO READ: April 12, 1994: ‘The signal for genocidaires to move toward the apocalypse’ When the massacres targeting the Tutsi deteriorated, on April 7, the hospital was the nearest place to run to for safety. “On the morning of April 7, we heard a lot of gunfire. No one went to work that day. Dad tried but when he reached the trading center, he came back in a hurry and said we had to leave urgently,” she recalls. ALSO READ: Unity and reconciliation through the eyes of youth in a Rwandan village They quickly gathered a few clothes and left for the hospital. It was clear that fear had gripped all the Tutsi in the area, as they joined them in a rush to find refuge at the hospital. “When we entered, the door was locked for safety. There was only one key to the place. We also piled several heavy objects behind the door so no one could force it open,” she recalls. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before Interahamwe militia found out that that many people were hiding there and started shooting at the facility, from a distance. ALSO READ: Bizimana details how Belgium fostered culture of impunity, laid groundwork for 1994 Genocide “They were shooting from outside. When they realised that they could not do it all alone, they went to Kanombe and asked for reinforcement from government soldiers.” The Tutsi inside continued to hide under beds and tables inside the hospital’s rooms. Outside of hospital, however, there were some mental health patients who continued to sit and wander around, oblivious to the tragedy that was unfolding. Some of these mentally ill people would end up being hit by bullets, and dying. ALSO READ: Genocide commemoration: Why we remember On the evening of April 7, Usabye recalls, the shooting ceased as government soldiers and Interahamwe militia apparently got tired and took a break. Then, the people hiding in the hospital decided to take advantage of the lull in shooting and try to get water or food. The Interahamwe had disconnected the water pipes, and, at night, Usabye’s father, who had plumbing skills, sneaked out and repaired the smashed pipes. Cooking was not easy despite the fact that the hospital stores were stocked food like rice. It was risky to move to the kitchen because one could be hit by a bullet. Her mother tried to cook some rice that night but gunshots scared her, forcing her to take the food off the fire before it was ready. “We ate it like that,” Usabye said. The first two to three days went like that. Though Usabye and her family continued to survive, a number of people had died around them, including a friend from the neighborhood as well as a number of mental health patients who did not know how to hide. After a couple of days, one afternoon, “good news came!” Someone said Belgian soldiers were on their way coming to the facility and would rescue the Tutsi hiding there. “Some boys who were part of our group peeped through the windows and saw them coming. The doors were opened wide for the first time since the genocide started. We went out of our hiding and thought we would be rescued.” ALSO READ: Bizimana: ‘No country in the world has spent 109 years destroying another like Belgium has done to Rwanda’ Many people came out and looked at the Belgian soldiers as they got out of their vehicles in the compound. “What hurts is that they came in and took dogs from the catholic priests’ house and put them in the cars. They also took an ill Indian from one of the rooms. They took the priests too and left,” she said. As all this happened, Interahamwe militia were not very far from the area. When the Belgians left, the shocked and confused Tutsi rushed back into their hiding place and locked the doors. They spent a night there and one more day in the facility before Interahamwe found their way into the compound one late afternoon. They ordered everyone to get out and sit in the compound. Everyone wearing anything good was ordered to hand it over to the militiamen. “Then they asked people to present their identity cards. The Tutsi were asked to stand up. Then, Interahamwe told the Hutu who had remained seated to leave.” After that, the killing started. First, a man called Rukanika and a woman called Daphrose, along with her children, were put aside and grenades were exploded on them. “We thought we were going to be the next,” Usabye said. Luckily, there were some Hutu who had not left yet. After the grenade attack, Interahamwe asked them to leave very quickly. As they rushed to leave, Usabye and her family took advantage of the disorder and ran along with them. Unfortunately, her dad stayed back. “When we reached home, we found that they had destroyed our house partially, removed the door and taken our mattresses,” she said. It didn’t take long for Interahamwe to find out that her family had returned home. Soon, three of the killers came to the house. They ordered her mother to bring out the children. She refused and, instead, bribed them with some money. The killers left. They returned the next day, but somehow, the family managed to escape death once again. In the days that followed, the militia stopped coming to Usabye’s home as they had started fleeing from the RPA’s attacks. As the militiamen fled, many confused people, including Usabye’s family, fled as well. Large groups of people were on the move. After a long journey on foot, Usabye’s mother decided to stop and settle with her family in a house on the road towards Masaka. “There was no food, and no water. One day, mum went to fetch us some water in the swamp. After fetching it, she saw a corpse in the swamp and left the water. Whenever it rained, we tapped water from the roof.” ALSO READ: How Kagame masterminded RPA’s decisive campaign against Genocide within hours The RPA rebels continued advancing and, before long, they were very close. The sound of gunfire and shelling as the rebels battled the genocidal regime’s army and militiamen in Kanombe grew louder each day. It was during this time that the rebels rescued many people in the area. Usabye’s family was among those rescued, but unfortunately, her father did not survive. According to information shared to her by Gakwavu, an elderly Tutsi man who survived the massacre at Ndera hospital, her father was shot but initially lived with the injury. However, an Interahamwe later found him and brutally killed him with a machete. Fortunately, the rebels found and rescued Usabye, her mother, and two siblings. “They fed us, gave us medical care in whatever way they could, and slowly, peace began to return.” After RPA had taken control of the country, her mother returned to work at the hospital, having been offered a new position. The children were enrolled in school, supported by the Genocide Survivors Assistance Fund (FARG), and they were able to continue their education. Today, Usabye is married and has a family of her own.
