When is Never Again?

I do not think I wrote about seeing the memorial for those killed at Kibimba back some time ago. Kibimba is on the way to Gitega and in one of my first blogs I talk about the runner and the book that I read prior to leaving called, This Voice in My Heart. I stopped on the way to take some photos. In case you do not remember, the site memorialized the massacre of secondary students, teachers and neighbours who were Tutsis at a school during the Crisis in 1993. Some of the students, Gilbert the author of the book, being one of them, ended up seeking shelter from the Hutus in a petrol station, but to no avail. Most were burned to death. Gilbert barely escaped, by using a femur of a classmate to break a window and outrun those who wanted to kill him. There is also a memorial that says “Plus Jamais Ca!” – Never Again. We hear that so often these days but I wonder when never again will happen. We have had so many incidents of crimes against humanity and we still don’t react as an International Community in a timely or efficient manner. I have been doing a great deal of reading about what happened to the people here, about the number of children recruited as soldiers to kill, and about stories of hope and reconciliation. When I was up in Burasira I started to read Stolen Angels which is about the 130 girls who were stolen by Kony’s rebels in Northern Uganda and forced to be soldiers or “wives”. These are common stories in these parts. I have also met a man named Sebastien who should well be dead but continues to do what he calls “God’s work.” Levy hires armed guards as he goes about the daily work of making peace and healing communities here in Burundi. Mama Helen has accepted hundreds of children of rape who have been abandoned and now live in the DRC at Naomi’s Foundation. For every inch that the darkness tries to claw, I see miles of redemption embraced by people who should have been torn apart by their experience. These are the real agents of peace, agents of hope, and agents of blessing to so many people in dire need.

ps: Am off to Kigali and Goma again. Back on Tuesday. Not sure that I will post until then. Happy Valentine's Day one and all!