How to Prevent a Genocide in America

How Rwanda’s monthly ritual of reconciliation changed my life as a privileged American

Victims of hate that never asked to be heroes or martyrs — photo taken by the author

Our journey to Rwanda began five years ago in Salt Lake City while Marisa, my wife, was teaching a private French lesson to a friend.

They were working on the conditional tense. Marisa had prepared a number of hypothetical questions as part of the lesson.

“Si tu pouvais vivre dans n’importe quel pays, ou est-ce que tu vivrais?” (Translation: if you could live in any country, where would it be?)

Without a second thought, our friend responded “Rwanda.”

“Rwanda?” Marisa responded in surprise, “Isn’t that a dangerous place?”

The only thing Marisa knew about Rwanda was the only thing that most other Westerners know: genocide.

Why would anyone want to live in a place known for heart-wrenching conflict and mass violence?

A land of extremes, constructed over decades of dissonance

In April of 1994, Rwanda erupted in a full-scale genocide.

In a period of three months, close to 1,000,000 innocent men, women, and children were murdered.