PROFILE
Tharcisse Seminega

Tutsi survivor
Wife, Chantal
Father of five children
Studied for the priesthood
Professor
Author of No Greater Love: How My Family Survived the Genocide in Rwanda

Tharcisse was born in 1941 in Kabirizi, Rwanda. Life was simple then. People lived in huts in small villages. They had no electricity, phones, paved roads, or running water. Tharcisse remembers his childhood as a peaceful time. He was raised by his grandparents who treasured him, and he loved learning from them. Hutu and Tutsi got along, doing everything together.

One Change after Another

When Tharcisse was 14 years old he left his village for a boarding school that would prepare him to become a priest. After 15 years of study, he abandoned that goal because of the wide-spread ethnic discrimination he experienced in the seminary.

At the age of 30, Tharcisse began his study of Biology at the University of Kisangani in the Congo. Three years later he went to Italy for over four years to earn his bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences. He had planned to go to the Netherlands to continue his doctoral studies, but first, he decided to go home and visit family and friends in Rwanda. When he landed there the authorities took away his passport and his scholarship. In an instant, he was robbed of his future plans simply because he was Tutsi. He felt confused, betrayed, and angry that he was now a prisoner in his own country.

At this point, Tharcisse made the best of his circumstances. He followed the only option he was given by the authorities and began lecturing at the National University of Rwanda in Butare. A year later, in 1978, he married Chantal and they settled in Butare. They welcomed their first two children over the next three years. He made another change in 1983 when he became one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Unexpectedly that same year, Tharcisse received a scholarship to pursue his doctoral degree in France. He would only be given permission to go if he promised to return to Rwanda and teach for five years when he finished his studies. While they were in France their family grew to include five children. In 1988 Tharcisse took his family back to Rwanda because he did not want to break his promise.

The Seminegas resettled in Butare and Tharcisse returned to his teaching position at the National University of Rwanda. Once again he was the victim of unfair treatment. At first he and his family lived in a house with no running water or inside toilet. After several months the university finally gave them a house. Unlike the beautiful homes Hutu professors were given, his was barely finished and sat among rubble and thorny brush. That was the price for being Tutsi.

The Nightmare Begins

When the plane carrying the presidents of Rwanda and Burundi was shot down on April 6, 1994, hatred for Tutsi turned deadly. Each day it became clearer to Tharcisse that he and his family were in danger.

In the following days Tharcisse searched for ways to protect his family. He tried to find an escape route to Burundi. He begged Doctors Without Borders, without success, to hide his family or help them escape. There was no way out.

On the morning of April 21, Bernard, a fellow professor from the University, showed up at the Seminega home. He insisted Tharcisse had to go downtown to get a permit for the Tutsi nanny staying with them. Unaware of his evil intentions, Tharcisse left with him. The streets were chaotic. He saw Tutsi being captured, pushed into vehicles, and taken into the woods. After being kept away from home for many hours, it became clear to him that Bernard could not be trusted. Tharcisse realized that he and his family would be killed that very day and he desperately wanted to get home to them. He pleaded with Bernard to take him home and was finally dropped off at six o’clock in the evening.

With a heavy heart, Tharcisse described to Chantal the horrors he had seen. Feeling helpless he told her they must expect to be killed. In desperation, he tried again to protect his family by hiding them in a Hutu neighbor’s house. But the house servant threatened to kill them. In total panic, he questioned many of his past decisions. Knowing there was nothing else he could do, Tharcisse gathered his family together in the living room and said a prayer.

Hidden by Helpers–Hunted by Killers

Minutes later, Tharcisse’s trusted friend Adolphe knocked at the door. Tharcisse followed Adolphe’s plan to leave their home immediately. To increase their chances of survival, he allowed two of his younger children to go with Adolphe to his home. He was not sure the plan would succeed, but they had no other choice. Tharcisse flung open the door and, with his family close behind, ran into the valley towards the home of Adolphe’s friend Evariste.

That night, Tharcisse’s dear friend Justin came to lead them to his home. At one roadblock a night-watchman who recognized Tharcisse suddenly grabbed him and held a machete to his throat. The children screamed. He stood frozen as he watched his wife, and his children hurry away as instructed. After receiving a cash gift, the watchman finally let Tharcisse go unharmed.

The next day, Tharcisse learned that Bernard had returned to his home just 30 to 40 minutes after the family had fled. He came with a truck full of armed soldiers who shot their way into the house searching for the family. They had narrowly escaped being killed.

Justin was warned that the militia knew the Seminegas were hiding in his home, and they were on their way. So, the family had to escape into the thicket behind Justin’s house in the pouring rain. That evening, the militiamen burst into Justin’s home looking for the Seminega family. From the thicket, they could hear shouting and Tharcisse knew that his friend Justin might be killed for helping them. They could also hear the agonizing cries of other families as they were dragged out of their homes.

Vincent, a man unknown to Tharcisse, came in the middle of the night to lead them to his goat shack where the family could hide. After a week of worry over their little ones, Tharcisse sent word to Adolphe to bring Benjamin and Naomi so the family could be together. Over that next month, Tharcisse came to view Vincent as a true friend. With a grateful heart he watched as Vincent constantly put his life in danger to hide and provide for his family.

When they had to leave the goat shack Jean de Dieu, a fellow beekeeper and close friend, willingly offered to hide them in his tiny underground room. Tharcisse and his family quickly made friends with the three other Tutsi that were already hiding there. They encouraged one another with comforting words and prayers. Tharcisse appreciated the efforts made by Jean de Dieu and the creative ways this kind single man cared for ten people without attracting attention.

Coming Out of “The Grave”

Vincent came to Jean de Dieu’s house when the RPF Tutsi rebel army had taken control of the area and he encouraged Tharcisse to write a note to them. With trembling hands, Tharcisse scribbled out a few sentences explaining who they were and where they were hiding. The family was very fearful to come out into the open, but when the soldiers arrived to rescue them their relief was indescribable. After hiding in the dark in silence for more than two months, their skin had grown pale; they were blinded by the sunlight and had lost the ability to speak aloud.

Tears of Joy–Tears of Sorrow

As Tharcisse walked with his family to the survivors’ camp at Shyanda, all they could see was death and destruction. Tharcisse’s joy at having survived with his wife and children was overshadowed by the realization that so many of their loved ones had been murdered. They eventually learned that well over 120 of their relatives were killed.

As Tharcisse and Chantal tried to rebuild their family’s life, painful memories and ongoing hatred for Tutsi made living in Rwanda too difficult. In 2003, the Seminega family immigrated to Canada. Their oldest daughter Marie, and two of their adopted children, did not go with them.

Recalling the incredible horrors surrounding the Rwandan genocide will always be difficult for Tharcisse. In writing his book, he gives a powerful eye-witness account of true self-sacrificing love in the face of unthinkable brutality. Tharcisse believes that what he and his family experienced proves that this type of love can transform ordinary people into courageous heroes.

Today, Tharcisse and Chantal feel a responsibility to share their personal story of survival, especially with students. Through educational seminars and interviews, they impart lessons they have learned about displaying the qualities of love and forgiveness.

Back to Profiles