Takes Five; Cecile Nyiramana; Finding New Faith After Rwandan Tragedy

Summary

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Cecile Nyiramana turned to the Quaker faith in 2000 after years of personal and political suffering in the African country of Rwanda. Nyiramana, 36, was born in Kigali, the Rwandan capital, and survived the 1994 Rwandan genocide, which resulted in the deaths of some 800,000 people, mainly Tutsi Rwandans killed by Hutu Rwandans. Her husband, whom she requested not be named, has been in prison since 1999 along with thousands of others rounded up in the years after the war as the government has tried to find the guilty. He is of Hutu descent and has yet to be tried. Nyiramana, who is of Tutsi descent, has been working to help the two sides in the conflict come to terms with the past. She was in Milwaukee last week where she met with Marquette University faculty, students and others to discuss social justice and her reconciliation work in Rwanda. She also spent a few minutes with the Journal Sentinel's Nahal Toosi, answering questions through an interpreter.

Q: When the genocide happened it lasted about 100 days where were you and how did you survive?

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Extract

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Takes Five; Cecile Nyiramana; Finding New Faith After Rwandan Tragedy

A: I was in the country, in Rwanda. I hid with a family of friends of my husband. We hid me under a bed. That's how I survived until the genocid...

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