EVELYNE MUKASONGA

Evelyne Mukasonga’s memoir is a story of survival and forgiveness. The book describes the author’s happy childhood in Gisenyi, in the home of her parents who were successful business owners and devout Christians. The mixed ethnic background of Evelyne’s parents – her father was Hutu and her mother Tutsi – became a reason for her persecution. The book quickly evolves to a harrowing account of the author’s narrow escapes during the months of slaughter in 1994. The author survives hiding at family friends’ houses, disguising herself to escape certain death and even facing an angry mob  of  murderers with equanimity. The book does not end there, however, but follows Evelyne to her refuge in Goma, DRC, where she meets her husband and has her first son. What starts as a safe haven for Evelyne quickly turns into another nightmare when the DRC turns into the site of “the first African World War.” Evelyne and her family get caught up in the struggle between President Laurent Kabila’s forces, and rebel militia aiming at ousting the president. As Rwanda supports the Congolese rebels and she is perceived as Rwandese Tutsi, her life and that of her son are again in danger. She has to flee again within Zaire, hiding, starving, overcoming disease and suffering imprisonment in a man’s detention facility with her one-year-old son. Rescued by the UN and resettled in the USA, Evelyne and her husband become peace builders and community activists.