Left To Tell: Summary

During the 1994 Rwandan genocide, Hutu extremists sought to kill all Tutsis after the Tutsi rebels shot down the president’s plane. Nearly a million Tutsis were murdered during the genocide. Hutus were ordered to cleanse Rwanda of all Tutsis by the Rwandan government. Hutus used machine guns, machetes, and grenades to clear Rwanda of Tutsis. Hutus also raped and transmitted HIV to dehumanization and strip women of their dignity. The genocide was ended when president Paul Magana sent the RPF to stop the genocide after three months of bloodshed. Author of Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust, Immaculee shares her story on the Rwandan genocide. Immaculee was hid in a concealed bathroom along with six other Tutsi women, by a Hutu pastor. One hundred days cramped in a small bathroom, Immaculee grew closer to god by prayer and faith. After three months of bloodshed, Immaculee soon learned her family was murdered …show more content…
Struggling to forgive the killers for murdering Immaculee’s family, Immaculee mustered up the strength to forgive and pray for all the hearts the devil has poisoned. Soon after the 1994 genocide, French soldiers offer Immaculee a chance to return home to face the brutal reality of the genocide. Immaculee expresses “As we drove away from my home, past the unmarked mounds of dirt that covered Mother and Damascene, I felt the bitter, dirty taste of hatred in my mouth. On the return trip I looked at the faces peering at us as we passed, and I knew with all my heart that those people had blood on their hands- their neighbor’s blood….my family’s blood.” (196) Forgiving Hutu extremist for brutally murdering her family, Immaculee prayed for god to forgive the killers and cleanse them of all the hatred in their hearts. “Forgiveness is all I have to offer.” (204) Immaculee explains to Semana. Immaculee opens her heart to forgive Felicien for murdering her mother and