Copyright © 2019 GM&A Publishing
Excerpts by permission of Publisher
PROFILE
Naomi Seminega
Tutsi survivor
Third child of Tharcisse and Chantal
Turned 11 years old during the genocide
Temporarily separated from her parents
Physically attacked by militiamen
Naomi was born in Rwanda and was one year old when the family moved to France. They returned to Rwanda when Naomi was five years old.
“Cockroach”
At school all students were required to report their ethnicity to the teacher. Because she was Tutsi, Naomi was labeled by her schoolmates as an “enemy” and a “cockroach.” Before this, the words Hutu and Tutsi had no meaning to her.
When the plane carrying the presidents of Burundi and Rwanda was shot down, Naomi knew everything would change. She would no longer be able to go to school or the market, visit her friends, play sports, or even go for a walk. She and her family were trapped like prisoners in their own home and the threat of death became very real. They slept in the hallway because killers could throw grenades through the windows. She heard stories of killings of Tutsi. Escape was impossible.
Shaking Like a Leaf
On the day that Naomi and her family fled from their home in small groups, she and her younger brother Benjamin confidently followed their father’s close friend Adolphe to his house. On the way, they encountered soldiers. When one threatened to shoot them Naomi was shaking like a leaf. Amazingly, they were allowed to go and one of the soldiers showed them a safer path. The road was familiar to Naomi, so she and Benjamin rushed to Adolphe’s home, while he went to check on the rest of their family. Nearing the house, a group of people recognized them as Tharcisse’s children, making them feel anxious.
In the following days, Naomi experienced many frightening events. She was often alone with Adolphe’s younger children and a hostile Hutu worker who refused to speak to her. From the window Naomi and Benjamin saw a small crowd of men carrying machetes, clubs, iron rods, and shotguns. The men were singing Hutu propaganda songs. The noise of metal drums, dogs, and children shouting was deafening. Some of the men were shirtless; others wore banana leaves. Later they saw militiamen dragging men who were moaning and groaning and appeared to be dying. Their fear increased. Horrified, they imagined this would happen to them.
One evening, Adolphe rushed into the house shouting that the killers were coming. Naomi and her brother, along with Adolphe’s children and the Hutu worker, all quickly fled into the bush. They ran and ran and ran, hearing the dogs and the metal drums. Frightened, Naomi clung to the Hutu worker. But she was confused and hurt when the woman swore at her and told her to go away. Two of Adolphe’s children followed Naomi as she and her brother ran away from the worker and the sound of the drums. Much later, Adolphe found them and took them home. That night, they went to bed fully dressed, ready for another attack.
A Hand Blocks the Machete
The next day, militiamen rushed into the house fully armed and intent on killing the “small cockroaches.” They took Naomi and her brother outside demanding to know where their parents were hiding. With murder in his eyes, a soldier looked at Naomi while sharpening his machete, pointing it at her. As she cried he struck her from behind with a club. Then grabbing his machete, he attempted to finish her off. A militiaman, who had worked as a gardener for her father, put his hand between the machete and her chest. The machete went through his palm and saved her life.
Another militiaman began dragging Naomi to the stadium where she knew thousands of Tutsi had already been killed. The militiamen changed their minds because they were focusing on killing males, so they took her back to Adolphe’s home. Once again, Naomi had escaped death.
Reunited
Naomi and Benjamin were reunited with their family who were hiding in a goat shack. Weeks later, when the family had to be transferred to an underground room, they traveled in small groups. Naomi and Joel spent the night at the home of a family friend, Justin. Once again, Naomi was apart from her family. The next day she and her brother Joel (disguised as a girl) made their way to join the rest of the family in the underground room.
Naomi immigrated to Canada with her family in 2003, where she currently lives with her husband and their daughter.