Ok. So Diphaphata is not a traditional Rwandan recipe. I could not find a Rwandan recipe that was simple to make with ingredients on-hand (and something we would eat); therefore, I went with this Botswana recipe. These are VERY similar to an English muffin. Not only were they super easy to make (your kids could make these) but they taste great, especially with a little honey drizzled on each slice.
Now to the book… (link)
I came across this book in 2018 while visiting the Holocaust museum in D.C. I had it in my Amazon wish list since that visit but had forgotten about it until recently.
The Rwandan genocide has always been something close to my heart. It is a topic I have always taught to my students no matter if I am teaching Advanced World Geography, Economics, World History, or Government. It is an event that many students have never heard about (sadly). And it is an event that the U.S. chose to “debate” in order to not engage in a foreign conflict. THAT aspect is what I struggle with to this day…
Just a backdrop… President Clinton. 1993. Black Hawk Down. Somalia. This event shaped Clinton’s future foreign policy. Before this incident occurred, Romeo Dallaire, head of U.N.’s mission in Rwanda, was warning international leaders about the tensions between the Hutus and the Tutsis (if you read this book, you will get a great synopsis of the history (colonial history) of Rwanda). He was asking them to “scramble”/cut the air waves in Rwanda since that was how the message of hate was being spread. He warned and warned and warned only to be ignored over and over again. (Side note: I have his book Shake Hands with the Devil. I have had it for years and have never finished it. It is emotional and heartbreaking. He always blamed himself for the genocide although there was nothing he could have done since he was told they were there for a peaceKEEPING mission (can’t shoot), not a peaceMAKING mission (can shoot)). Shortly after Dallaire began to warn the world about the tensions intensifying, the Black Hawk Down incident happened that October 1993. Now jump to April 1994 when the slaughter began in Rwanda…from April to July 1994, Secretary of State Madeline Albright and other U.S. officials debated if genocide was actually occurring. Why did they “debate” and question, even when reports and images were coming out of Rwanda? Because according to the Geneva Accord, signed after the Holocaust, the U.S. would be REQUIRED to intervene if they deemed an event as a genocide. And from what recently happened in Somalia, there was no desire to get involved in a foreign event that did not have a direct impact on the U.S. (and would not spread to areas that may directly impact the U.S.). Many people debate if that was really the case but I will stick to my opinion it was. Why? Because one year later, in 1995, the U.S. deemed ethnic cleansing was going on in the Balkan area. The U.S. intervened by fighting above (not on) the ground but knew that this area was a “powder keg” where tensions could spread to European neighbors and allies. The Balkans was considered a strategic location; Rwanda was not.
Before I discuss this book, please view the declassified documents and read for yourself the “debate” if genocide was really occurring in Rwandan. DOCUMENTS
I struggle with the decision by U.S. officials (I do not believe, for one second, they legitimately didn’t know “genocide” was occurring). I totally understand that the U.S. cannot intervene in every foreign conflict. I also understand that our military have family members who may not want them to engage in foreign conflicts that would not impact the safety of U.S. citizens here. However, saying all that, students learn two primary aspects when studying the Holocaust: 1) how could we have not known what was going on in Europe during WWII and 2) never again. Except… it did happen again and we did know what was going on this time. THAT is what I struggle with. We teach students the lessons we learned from the Holocaust but fail to teach them about the Rwandan genocide and how the U.S. failed in this situation. And not only thinking about policy decisions…I struggle with the fact that the Rwandans who were being slaughtered were created in the image of God, many of them professing believers (and yet the world stood by and let it happen).
And this is where the book comes in… for three months, Immacul’ee Ikibagiza hid in a TINY bathroom with six other women – not talking, not eating enough, not showering, and fearing that any moment you could be brutally murdered. It is an incredible story of survival and forgiveness (a story that my oldest daughter will be reading this summer).
Quotes from the book:
1) “As a young girl, the only time I was reminded that there were different tribes in Rwanda was when I stood up in class once a week during ethnic roll call. It was an annoyance, but it didn’t bother me too much because I had yet to discover the meaning of discrimination.”
Ilibagiza, Immaculee. Left to Tell (p. 17). Hay House. Kindle Edition.
How true is that of today? I see divisions deepen only because some choose to widen the rift in the “cracks.” I wonder how many problems would not be what they are today if we aren’t constantly reminded of them? Just food for thought…
2)” I wish I had known that that night was to be our last family supper together. I would have stood up and thanked God for all of them. I would have told everyone sitting around that table how much I loved them and thanked them for loving me. But I didn’t know.”
Ilibagiza, Immaculee. Left to Tell (p. 41). Hay House. Kindle Edition.
3) “Prayer became my armor, and I wrapped it tightly around my heart.”
Ilibagiza, Immaculee. Left to Tell (p. 85). Hay House. Kindle Edition.
4) After it happened in Nazi Germany, all the big, powerful countries swore,
“Never again!” But here we were, six harmless females huddled in darkness, marked for execution because we were born Tutsi. How had history managed to repeat itself? How had this evil managed to surface once again? Why had the devil been allowed to walk among us unchallenged, poisoning hearts and minds until it was too late?”
Ilibagiza, Immaculee. Left to Tell (p. 86). Hay House. Kindle Edition.
5) “I couldn’t understand how other countries, especially the so-called civilized ones in the West, could turn their backs on us. They knew that we were being massacred, yet they did nothing.”
Ilibagiza, Immaculee. Left to Tell (p. 104). Hay House. Kindle Edition.
6) “The UN had even withdrawn its peacekeeping force shortly after the killing began. However, Roméo Dallaire, the Canadian general in charge of the UN peacekeepers, refused to obey his orders to leave and remained with a couple hundred soldiers. He was a brave and moral man, but he was also alone in a sea of killers. We heard him often on the radio begging for someone, anyone, to send troops to Rwanda to stop the slaughter, but no one listened to him. Belgium, our country’s former colonial ruler, had been the first to pull its soldiers out of the country; meanwhile, the United States wouldn’t even acknowledge that the genocide was happening!”
Ilibagiza, Immaculee. Left to Tell (p. 104). Hay House. Kindle Edition.
7) (LOVE THIS QUOTE)
“But I came to learn that God never shows us something we aren’t ready to understand. Instead, He lets us see what we need to see, when we need to see it. He’ll wait until our eyes and hearts are open to Him, and then when we’re ready, He will plant our feet on the path that’s best for us … but it’s up to us to do the walking.”
Ilibagiza, Immaculee. Left to Tell (p. 114). Hay House. Kindle Edition.
There are many more quotes I would love to share but it would be endless…and how awesome that Kindle cites it for you!!!!
Do yourself a favor and read this very short, simple book. It is not extremely graphic (in the details of the slaughter) and very easy to read.
