Freedom Lecture: Dieudonné Gakire

The Rwandese writer Dieudonné Gakire gives the 28th Freedom Lecture. Dieudonné is a survivor of the country’s genocide of 1994; his experiences have prompted him to write inspiring books such as “A Dreaming Child” and “A Gift to the World”.

The Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, was a mass slaughter of Tutsi and moderate Hutu in Rwanda, which took place between 7 April and 4 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. The scale and brutality of the massacre caused shock around the world, though Western nations such as Belgium, France and the U.S decided not to intervene.
On this evening, Diedonné Gakire shares his personal story with us. By doing so, he strives to meet with different people of different backgrounds in order to inspire and motivate them to learn from his experiences, and through telling his story, impact the lives of many.
Speaker:

Diedonné Gakire is author and Executive Director of ‘Global Radiant Youth’. It is an organisation he founded, which aims to build a conducive environment for creativity, innovation and lifelong learning for social-economic development among the Rwandan youth, through capacity development and cross-cultural exchange. He is also the vice president of IBUKA Netherlands. His work focuses on justice, memory, supporting genocide survivors and peace-building.
Koert Lindijer is a Dutch correspondent in Africa for NRC Handelsblad and NOS. During the Genocide in 1994 against the Tutsi, Koert was in Rwanda to report and kept visiting the country later on. In 2007 he won the price ‘Journalist van de Vrede’ for his work as a journalist. Koert is also author of four non-fiction books about complex social and political situations in Africa. De vloek van de Nijl and Bittereinders were nominated for the Bob Den Uyl price.

 Hier aanmelden: https://debalie.nl/agenda/the-freedom-lecture-dieudonne-gakire/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Nieuwsbrief%2028-11-2019&utm_content=Nieuwsbrief%2028-11-2019+CID_923afd84c00269d8311fd98cacc5cbf4&utm_source=nieuwsbrief

Ik zag zat ik zijn boek gratis kan lezen met mijn Kindle Unlimited account en dat ga ik maar eens doen.

About the Author

Dieudonné Gakire is a Rwandan national born in 1991 in an extended family of two parents and eight siblings, his family direly depended on subsistence type of agriculture, in Ruhango District, Southern Province of Rwanda. When the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis started Gakire was two years and eight months old, dressed like a girl; due to the fact that boys were most hunted for, his 11years old Sister with no option carried Gakire on her back, walking while hiding during day and night under extensively rainfall trying to reach Kabgayi [One of the towns in Southern Province of Rwanda] -The hope for survival point. He is a highly motivated young professional whose initiative has driven him to write two books, A Dreaming Child: (A collection of the stories of young genocide survivors, a demographic now playing a vital role in national reconstruction) and A Gift to the World: (A collection of motivational poems, parables and nonfictional short stories intended to convey moral lessons and to promote a spirit of humanity) and to publish a newsletter on global affairs, Urungano Rushya: (A newsletter on global affairs published for schoolmates at the Groupe Scolaire APECAS de Muyunzwe). With a strong commitment to social responsibility generally and the struggle against genocide ideology in particular, Gakire—himself a survivor of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi—once served as the head of a students’association for genocide survivors and continues to speak publicly to encourage Rwanda’s youth to seek innovative solutions to the problems of development and reconciliation. Gakire’s stories in his book has been widely published by different organizations including United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Korean magazine called Global Briefings that has signed an agreement with him to translate his book into Korean language to be sold in South Korea, and many more. His story has been so touching to many readers worldwide. He has met and is still meeting different people of different backgrounds and categories just to inspire and motivate them, learn from them hence impacting lives of many.

Though we are different people, sorrows and happiness are journeys that do not discriminate rich or poor. We all experienced hardships in the genocide. What hurts most is the silence from the rest of the world. The lack of consideration.

We lived through dark times, your age didn't matter and your bank balance didn't matter. Unfortunately days can't tell their stories. Our scars are what remind us of those days. Physical scars, Psychological scars, some of us moved on, others are still consumed by this darkness. They refuse to heal, to move on, how can we save them?

I always wish I could forget my past, the hardships, but mostly the losses. For me the genocide was a trying time for me. It yanked away my childhood, I had to grow up before my time, had there been no war, would I have had a happier childhood?

We will always wonder what would have been if 1994 hadn't happen for us, as a nation, as individuals, as families. The pains, the difficulties. The numerous children who can't tell their stories but were victims like me. My only wish is that the perpetrators
of this evil eventually pay their price, can the law fully take its course?

This book is a beacon of peace, our history as Rwanda has brought up children that are strong willed, children who are fixers, they try to make right what went wrong in our past. Sometimes failing, other times succeeding. We can only wish them well,
Because they are our pillar as a nation.

Dear Rwanda,
I assure you that I will finally get your light spread beyond your boarders, in all of Africa and the world, I am on my way to be the flicker of light in your darkness, even in death we can find hope and build a future for me and your people.




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