Moving testimony

Yesterday the conference began with a couple of women speaking on the gender equality issue and sexual violence. The body language from the men in the audience was obviously not in full agreement with what they were describing. Then, a soft spoken woman got up to speak. She was very appreciative and humble in her delivery. She spoke in tribal language, so that had to be translated to French and then to English just for our camera. I choose not to fully repeat the horrors that she described from her life in this blog. It was too graphic that I have to question who might be reading this  She described the murder of her husband in front of her, the solders then raping her on his mutilated body, the subsequent raping of her two daughters. Very shortly after her in laws told her she brought disgrace and they sold all her (husbands) possessions. Then the daughters were pregnant from the soldiers raping them and didn't want to care for the babies, so she did.  People called her a witch and she was outcast.  It got to the point where even her daughters called her a witch. This story was so powerfully moving, people began weeping and then some began waling.  There were some that passed out from the emotional strain and had to be carried out for air. Men were sobbing inconsolably.  One man (boy) got up and asked to speak. He spoke in her native tongue a because it was his too.  He apologized for what the men had done and asked for her forgiveness. It was an amazingly brave gesture.

Originally when the conference was being planned it was said the real healing could only come if Rwandans were a part of the conference.  However, having Rwandans would make it too heated as one great source of the issues stem from the Rwandan genocide rebels that fled to Congo on a killing spree. For this reasons no Rwandans were sought to be included. Some of the men that broke down, however, turned out to be hiding that they were half Rwandan and overcome with guilt. There were trauma sessions set up to deal with those that needed help. No body expected this kind of response.

After, they went into the Sunday church service which was very appropriately held. All in all the kids were in the conference tent for 6 hours and were engaged the entire time.

A very powerful day.