I am my brother’s keeper
Sharon McLeay
Times Contributor
Last week, on May 17, Strathmore High School (SHS) students listened to Jean-Claude Munyezamu’s life account of the genocide in Rwanda, Africa. He recounted the lessons he learned from his experience.
“Genocide is not something that can be explained in words. There is no way to describe it so someone can understand. I can only give them lessons by sharing the story as it happened to me,” said Munyezamu.
In the early 1990’s, Rwanda experienced political unrest and poor economic conditions leading to food shortages. There was political upheaval, back room injections from external political influences, leading to several political assassinations. By 1994, conditions were in place so that an extremist paramilitary organization could brutally murder over one million people in 100 days.
The Rwandan people were killed because they had a Tutsi tribal heritage or association. Some people with Hutu heritage were also slaughtered, for their moderate beliefs. The murderers recruited people to participate, and all of it was backed by the reigning government officials. The population spoke the same language; there were no real physical differences, and many shared religious beliefs.
Munyezamu was born in Rwanda, but left for Kenya in his early 20’s. His absence left him alive today. He returned to Rwanda shortly after the 1994 killings happened, to find two brothers, his sister, many cousins, aunts and uncles gone. He tried to explain the desolation of losing your whole family and whole country to that kind of violence to young people, whose closest connection to killing may be a video game or television news.
“Usually there are people chatting all over the place. Everyone was interested and respectful,” said SHS student Alyssa LaVallee, describing the silent gym.
Calgary has just over one million people and Munyezamu said to imagine walking into it with no one left alive. Strathmore has just over ten thousand, and that many people were killed each day for one hundred days.
He said it is like looking at the words on a menu. You comprehend the words but have no understanding until you sample the food. He speaks of his experience, so no one will ever taste the word genocide again.
“We have no problem in sharing the stories, we learn by the telling of stories and our imagination grows by hearing the stories. To some it is just statistics and just a story…one million people die. But when they speak to someone who was there, someone who says that they took my two brothers, one sister, my aunties and cousins…then they have names and families. It is good for them to have that connection. It is very important. Human beings are all capable of doing harm,” said Munyezamu.
SHS student Joel Cooper agreed.
“After hearing how easily things can happen, it made you think whether it could happen in Canada or the U.S.,” said Cooper. “It was a small country, where everyone knew each other and suddenly their neighbours are trying to kill them, even though they knew them for a long time…all because of perfect propaganda going around.”
Munyezamu told them that genocide is not just the consequence of war. It started subtly, influenced by misused words, and inaction by people and international leaders. Ethnic divisions turned into ethnic slurs. Power struggles turned into domination and discrimination, leading to deadly consequences.
“It began by dividing the people into tribes. It was very artificial. A few people at the top, were using this for their own gains, setting brother against brother, until they became enemies. They were taught growing up in the school. They (Tutsi) were given names of cockroaches. People tend to believe what they see all the time. I think people believed that killing Tutsis was not even a problem. Sixty per cent of the people believed that was right, so it was easy to accomplish that,” said Munyezamu.
He said leaders would use propaganda language and redefine words. Many of the people had little education and believed what they were told. When they sent men out to “work”, the word meant killing and dismembering Tutsi people. He said people denied they were Tutsi to protect themselves. They did not stand up against the evil that was happening around them. They compromised their values.
“If you don’t stand up and face up to someone doing bad, because you don’t think someone will do it, or it doesn’t happen to me, there are consequences,” said Munyezamu.
SHS student Shaynne Salmon said that if it happened to her she would be so angry. She valued the speech, as it showed how he coped with that anger and gave her insight into the situation.
“It made us aware of it and that it could happen in any place. We have the power to stop it. He said that the week before, they were celebrating Easter and everyone was happy and fine. Ignorance allowed it to happen. Words mean a lot more than people think. Even the names we call others, make people seem not human. So it makes you think about what you say,” said Salmon.
Munyezamu said words also have the ability to heal and create. He feels education is the key.
“I am always excited to talk to students. If you really think it through, how it could be better….if people have advanced education, the propaganda would be a loser. Telling children here is powerful, because they are the next generation of decision makers. They are the future of Canada and the world,” said Munyezamu.
He said that global communications have an influence. Where the press is silenced, the people’s global connections can get messages out. He pointed out factors that deter genocidal regimes taking hold: people who stand up for what they believe and require it of their leaders, a political system with a vocal political opposition, free voting, proper policing backed by an impartial justice system, and freedom of speech and the press.
“The Canadian system should be a model for the whole world. Your neighbour can be your neighbour, you can have your own ideas but when it comes to community, everything else is outside,” said Munyezamu. “I owe society so much, I think it is the Canadian story. Everyone is connected and someone has done something good for me. It doesn’t matter how people will be, God will still be God to me. When you examine yourself, there is always a way to do something good. When you are angry, you have a decision. You can chose either, take revenge and do exactly what they want and be who they want you to be, or take a different pattern and say I am better than that. If someone hurts you and you react in the same way, you are doing what they want you to do. If I can quote Dwayne Dyer –When you have the choice to be right or be kind, always choose being kind.”
In spite of his painful past, Munyezamu shares a positive attitude wherever he goes. Since coming to Canada in 1998, he has been involved with Inspire Africa Foundation which raises funds and provides education for Rwandan orphans. He is active in Christian mission work through his church, and coaches soccer for under privileged children in Calgary. He was also awarded the Queens Diamond Jubilee medal. He said he is going back to Africa for a visit this year.