Jean Hatzfeld In Life Laid Bare, The Survivors In Rwanda Speak

It is always appalling to hear first-hand stories and experiences from people who have gone through atrocities like genocide. One can learn so much from their experiences and a world they are not accustomed to. That is what’s fantastic about writers who bring forth the knowledge of these dreadful events, like Jean Hatzfeld in Life Laid Bare, The Survivors in Rwanda Speak. This story highlights the killings of the Tutsis from the Hutus. Reading passages from Hatzfeld’s writings can open one’s eyes to the evils that men are capable of. To see one’s own mother or father be killed in front of their very eyes. Could anyone be the same? Could one go back to their daily lives as if nothing had ever happened? They are hard questions to answer, especially if one hasn’t seen these kind of horrors for themselves. From the first excerpt, Hatzfeld spoke to Jeannette Ayinkamiye. She managed to hide with her mother and sisters from the “interabamwe”, a group that hunted the Tutsis. After being hidden for a few days, the interabamwe found Jeannette’s mother. They cut off her arms and legs.

Francine was engaged to another Hutu. Once the genocide was over, Francine was able to find her fiancé, Theophile, and they were married. “They both agreed nothing had changed between them, except for what had happened” (40). They tried to put the past behind them; however, there were some memories they couldn’t. Jeannette and husband talked to their neighbors every day, because if they had not then they would dream of the horrors. Similar to Jeannette, even though they can no longer trust a soul, Francine does not wish for revenge against her attackers, because God will catch back up to them. It is impossible to forgive these men for what they did. It takes a great mind to not want to wish vengeance on the interabamwe, but that would require reliving their past, so they don’t dwell on