A memorial to victims of the Rwandan genocide. All pictures by Scottish Bible Society

Forgiveness and Reconciliation

Tuesday February 17 2015

How work supported by the Scottish Bible Society is bringing communities together in Rwanda, 20 years after the genocide.

A landlocked country in central Africa with mountains dominating the landscape in the west, they call Rwanda the ‘land of a thousand hills’.

However, Rwanda is also known as a country affected by a terrible genocide that took place as recently as twenty years ago. In 100 days from April 6 to July 16 1994, an estimated one million Tutsis and Hutus were slaughtered. During this period, more than six men, women and children were murdered every minute of every hour of every day. This was one of the darkest moments of human history.
 
Norman Liddle, Community Partnership Manager at the Scottish Bible Society, was part of a group of staff and volunteers who recently visited the Bible Society of Rwanda. He says, “I was so humbled when I met Marcellin, a man who suffered terribly during the genocide. He was hunted down and his name was on a death list. His wife and one of his three children were killed along with 98 members of his wider family.

Despite this, Marcellin works tirelessly as a volunteer promoting peace and reconciliation. He goes into prisons visiting men who are serving time for crimes committed during the genocide sharing stories of forgiveness and hope from the Bible.”
 
The theme of reconciliation is the focus of one of the projects the group visited. The Bible Society brings together groups of widows, drawn from both sides of the conflict, to study the Bible. This group work leads to deeper discussions as they do practical work together such as making baskets or planting vegetables. Through talking and sharing with each other the healing process starts.

A community has now been established that understands that both sides have painful memories. The tears still flow freely but so does the compassion and care for each other as the impact of Bible teaching is seen in the new lives being lived in these communities. Now they no longer call themselves Tutsi or Hutu, but Rwandan.
 
Reflecting on this visit, Norman says: “As I watched these women sitting, chatting and laughing together as they wove baskets, I wondered to myself if I could have done the same? Would I be able to reach this level of forgiveness and reconciliation? The emotion I experienced here was not one of hatred but of joy. Using Bibles provided by the Bible Society, a biblical framework for forgiveness and reconciliation is being taught. I could see that the Gospel message is clearly helping the women in this difficult and challenging process. They feel enabled to move forward.”
 
The group was involved in a variety of tasks during the visit. They helped local people with some gardening, painting buildings and constructing houses. At the Remera Presbyterian hospital in Rukoma, they prepared food for patients who were in hospital because of AIDS. Here the volunteers from the Bible Society’s Good Samaritan Project cook food and give Bibles and spiritual support to patients.

As Norman worked alongside some of the volunteers from local churches, they talked about how they were looking beyond the stigma of the disease and taking inspiration from the parable of the Good Samaritan, showing practical love and care in spite of their own poverty.
 
Poverty is a big challenge for Rwandans. It’s one of the poorest countries in the world. The average income is £2 per week. The major religion in the country is Christianity but with the cost of a Bible at £4, not everyone who wants a Bible can afford one. During the visit, the group were able to distribute Bibles through projects like the Good Samaritan. “It was such an amazing privilege when I gave someone their first-ever Bible.” says Norman. “Just to see the look of joy on their face and watch them immediately start to read it, lost in the Word and oblivious to anyone around them was delightful.”
 
Throughout this year, Norman or one of the volunteers from the visit to Rwanda will be available to speak at your church or at a meeting in your community.  To find out more, call 0131 347 9812 or email norman.liddle@scottishbiblesociety.org