By: Fatima Tariq
During winter break 2017-18, I went to Rwanda with American University's Alternative Break program to learn about pose-1994 genocide development as well as youth and women empowerment in the country. Our stay in Rwanda was approximately two weeks long in which we went to a number of cities including Kigali, Niyamata, Butare, Kibuye, etc.
Hearing the stories of the victims, visiting genocide memorials, and visiting different organizations to learn about their work taught me a lot about the resilience and strength of Rwandans. However, for me, one of the most important learning from this trip was learning about the power of forgiveness.
Amongst all the organizations that we visited, Sevatoa resonated with me the most. Sevatoa is a grass-roots organization in rural Rwanda that was founded on December 28th, 1995 by a widow who aspired to unite the widows and orphans of the genocide. This organization does a number of things to help people heal such as women singing songs of God and chanting prayers. When we entered Sevatoa, we were greeted with a welcome dance of traditional style. It was a good way to mingle in with the members of the organization. After that, we heard testimonies of victims of the genocide.
Upon hearing these testimonies, I came to learn that the victims in Sevatoa have accepted that those who killed their families are amongst them. Yet, they chose to forgive them. One of the orphans mentioned in his testimony that he, like others in Sevatoa, is no longer thinking about what happened during the genocide, rather he is thinking about the future.
Afterward, the perpetrators were asked to identify themselves. Seeing the perpetrators rise from the same crowd and confess about what they did was mind-boggling and shocking, to say the least. After the perpetrators gave their testimonies, the victims and perpetrators hugged, showing that they really had moved past their differences.
I could not believe what I had just witnessed - pure forgiveness. A while ago, all I knew about these people was that they dance really well. And now, just moments later, I got to learn so much about their character and strength.
Visiting Sevatoa was a very powerful experience. It taught me that even the worst wrongdoings can be forgiven and that forgiving is much better than keeping grudges inside as it sets the victim free of his/her pain, letting him/her move on.
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