Surviving the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi is what 70-year-old Josephine Murebwayire calls ‘God’s will and a second chance at life’.
When the unimaginable happened, in her case, losing all six of her children, husband, and siblings in the mass killings that left over one million innocent people dead, she devoted her life to giving any kind of support to children who survived the Genocide.
Her story
Before the killings started, Murebwayire lived in Masoro, Ndera Sector, Gasabo District. Her husband, she says, had been jailed in early 1990 for allegedly being a spy.
"Even though I wasn’t imprisoned, I was tortured too. My husband was serving a life sentence, thankfully, after six months, he was released with the help of Amnesty International, a non-governmental organisation focused on human rights,” she says.
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On April 7, 1994, she vividly recalls how soldiers appeared abruptly at their home and accused them of ‘killing the President’.
Her family was then informed that they were to be killed for their ‘actions’, and were told to ‘prepare for agony’ as Interahamwe militia were on their way to finish them, one by one.
Murebwayire and her family waited in fear for the terror that was yet to be unleashed on them. Her neighbours, unaware of the forthcoming peril, left their homes to hide at her residence as she had a big compound.
"In the morning, the killers arrived at our home, tortured and killed some of the men, but for reasons unknown to us, let the women and children go,” she says, adding that she was forced to leave her husband and two older children behind.
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Murebwayire and her four youngest children headed to Ndera Catholic Parish, and to her relief, her husband and kids managed to get away and found them at the parish. On the morning of April 9, a vehicle packed with Interahamwe militia arrived.
"The militia force took the Hutus who were among the crowd, when I begged their leader to take us along, he spat in my face and told me to ‘prepare for death as the time was due’.”
While at the parish, she was constantly humiliated by one of the leaders and so they had to leave, eventually taking refuge at Petit Seminaire de Ndera which was nearby.
"We were received and offered classrooms to sleep in and food. We were mixed with Hutus who were outraged, and insulted us,” she recalls.
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Murebwayire says the following day, a group of soldiers went to where they had sought refuge and ordered them to vacate the place, noting that they would be protected from their homes.
One of the priests at Petit Seminaire Ndera doubted it, and explained to them that it wasn’t safe to go back to their homes.
"The soldiers left and then returned, and asked Hutus to show their IDs. Those who had them left the place and we stayed. There were two Hutu priests protecting us, and so the soldiers shot them—one died but the other survived,” she recalls.
The soldiers and Interahamwe militia eventually returned and killed an estimated 450 to 500 Tutsis in the area, while Murebwayire and her family waited in horror and fear—watching as the bloodthirsty killers used machetes to cut people into pieces—for their turn.
She watched hopelessly as they butchered her family after which she too was hacked with a machete—and then everything went dark. It turns out she had been left to bleed to death, when she gained consciousness, she looked for her family but they were not there.
"I failed to find their bodies, I looked around, trying to identify them so I could give them a decent burial,” she recalls.
In her search, she continued to where they used to live and found her children had been thrown inside toilets near her home.
Bleeding excessively and unable to walk any further, Murebwayire hid around the toilets at Petit Seminaire Ndera where she spent 21 days until she was rescued by RPF-Inkotanyi fighters.
"They found me starving to death, I had bled extremely, but they did their best to save me. I started breathing normally, ate, and slowly regained energy,” Murebwayire recalls.
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A few other survivors at Petit Seminaire Ndera were also rescued and taken to an orphanage in Byumba. Murebwayire, in her condition, pledged to take orphans that were being rescued from different areas around Ndera under her care as they headed to the camp. By the time they got there, she had six children.
"However, as soon as we got there, my health deteriorated and I could no longer take care of them all. I was hospitalised later at Byumba Hospital but promised to take them back as soon as I recovered. It’s a vow I made as they had no one to look after them, except me,” she says.
As days went by, five children found their families. She was also able to raise her young sister’s two children, a boy, and a girl when she recovered.
While at the orphanage, Murebwayire met her nephew, the son of her deceased sister. He took her to his home.
"He took me in, though he couldn’t take care of us all at his home. But he tried his best with the children who stayed at the Byumba orphanage.”
In August 1994, she moved to Kigali with orphans whom she promised to support till they were capable of taking care of themselves.
"My nephew who had become a soldier informed me that his siblings had survived and found a place to stay. I stayed with them and received more children whom I have lived with for years. Some connected with their families and left. I lost count of the number of children I have raised,” she says.
Murebwayire says that today, all the children are grown, some are abroad, others got married, and are working and most of them are doing well.
She notes that at the end of 1994, she was working in a relative’s shop in Remera where she earned some money to help her take care of the children. She later gave three female tailors free working space to start training young girls, eventually turning it into a training centre.
Support
One day, Murebwayire gave a testimony about her life and mentioned the centre, and got sponsorship from Commune Kacyiru. "They gave us tailoring machines and fabrics, and more young girls joined,” she says.
She notes that the training centre was also supported by other people in terms of equipment and finances and was later named Ubumwe Remera College.
Murebwayire also appreciates the support of AVEGA-Agahozo, created to help reintegrate Genocide widows back into Rwandan society following the trauma they faced, for offering scholarships to children at the time.
Since she couldn’t do tailoring herself due to her health condition, she embarked on a new initiative to talk to every child survivor and listen to their experiences and help them accordingly.
Unfortunately, the tailoring machines were stolen, so she had to sell the workspace and used the money to purchase a home in Kimironko where she currently stays.
Fulfilment
What fills Murebwayire’s heart with joy is that all the children she looked after are alive and love her and that most of the time they visit her, which reminds her that she is not alone.
"AVEGA-Agahozo took us in and provided a safe environment for us to discuss and express ourselves openly.”
She points out that through the organisation, they created a group of women survivors whose children were all killed during the Genocide, known as ‘Humura Nturi Wenyine’ where they comfort and support each other in building strength, and healing, as they strive towards development.
More than anything, Murebwayire commends First Lady Jeannette Kagame’s initiative to build homes for Genocide widows that many now live in.
"The journey of healing and moving on isn’t easy. What is hard is to accept what happens to you. If you can’t do it on your own, there is someone who can help you. The first is God, the second is one who approaches you and listens to you. I pray and I believe in God and I know that He loves me. Being alive is His plan,” she says.
Murebwayire is seeking support to extend the group’s activities to many more in need and help them build courage and strength and improve their lives.