On October 29, Delbarton invited Rwandan genocide survivor Immaculée Illabaqiza to address the school community in the FAC. 

In 1994, at age fourteen, Illabaqiza spent 91 terrifying days hiding with seven other girls and women, including one traumatized seven-year-old, in a 3x4 foot bathroom concealed in a Hutu pastor's house. The Rwandan genocide occurred from April 7 to July 19. In just 100 days, an estimated 500,000 to one millions members of the Tutsi ethnic group were systematically murdered by Hutu militias under orders from government leaders. Hutu politicians also controlled the country’s media which actively, intentionally incited violence among Rwandan citizens.

Ilibagiza's mother, father, two brothers and grandparents died, along with 900 of her 2500 classmates. Of her close relatives, only her brother Aimable survived -- he was studying in Senegal at the time. She later learned that her mother was slain first among her family members, and she remains grateful that her mother was spared witnessing her own sons’ murders.

At one point, as the frightened group hid, three hundred rampaging Hutus surrounded the house, intent on killing members of their own tribe, including the pastor, if they were caught  hiding Tutsis. They checked every room, even opening pieces of luggage to see if young children were hiding inside.  Miraculously, the bathroom door remained shut, something Illabaqiza attributes to an act of God

 “Complaining doesn’t help,” she says of her ordeal. “It changes nothing.” Instead, she relied on the rosary her father thrust into her hands as she fled to his Hutu friend’s home. Her father trusted that his friend was a good man, and he was correct.

Some days,  Illabaqiza would silently repeat the rosary twenty-seven times in a form of quiet, personal meditation. At first, while reciting the Our Father, she skipped the passage ‘forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us’ because, for her, forgiveness was inconceivabl. Compassion was a gift that the killers did not deserve. Finally, after reading a Bible provided by the pastor, “I found peace in my heart. When I started to pray with sincerity, that’s when my heart started to change.” A voice had spoken to her: “This is God’s prayer. If I were you, I wouldn’t change his prayer.”

In her first book Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust, Ilibagiza shared how her Catholic faith anchored and guided her. She ultimately forgave and, during a jailhouse visit to one of her family’s killers, even expressed compassion. Her parents had been teachers, and her father, a Catholic school principal, taught her not to judge other people by labels like race, religion, culture or politics. “Faith is a superpower,” she told her Delbarton audience. “In the end, it’s all about doing the right thing. It’s all about love.”

Juniors in the Delbarton's Genocide Studies class, who joined her in Spada Commons after her FAC appearance, previously read her book which details her journey of forgiveness and healing. By analyzing some of the worst atrocities of the 20th and 21st centuries, our Genocide Studies students examine larger questions about human nature, the reality of evil, the heroism of altruists, and the Christian call to seek solidarity, peace, and justice for all people.

Today, thirty years after the Rwandan genocide, the memory remains vivid among the people. Rwanda has chosen to institute public holidays to commemorate the event and passed laws to criminalize genocide ideology. Never again.

Immaculée finally found refuge in the United States where she was able to process why she lived through an experience that took the lives of so many fellow Rwandans. Her daughter Nikki, who manages her speaking engagemens, accompanied Ilibagiza on her visit to Delbarton on a beautiful fall day.

Today Ilibagiza speaks to and inspires people all over the world. She was the recipient of the 2007 Mahatma Gandhi Reconciliation and Peace Award and, in 2013, became a naturalized U.S. citizen. After studying electrical engineering in Rwanda, she received honorary doctorates from the University of Notre Dame in 2007 and St. John's University in 2008. She continues to share her personal story of survival and spiritual growth while highlighting the dangers of political corruption and media manipulation. Citing the upcoming United States presidential election, Immaculée Illabaqiza emphasized our good fortune to be citizens of a democratic nation and the importance of making good choices. “People can make bad decisions,” she said. “How they affect us is what we can control.”

After her presentation, she answered questions from Genocide Studies students (in jackets and ties as a sign of respect) at an event hosted by Genocide Studies teachers Kendall Rogers, who had introduced today's speaker in the FAC, and Greg Bevelock who are pictured below. Our young men clearly were in awe of Illabaqiza's life story.

We thank Immaculée Illabaqiza for sharing her inspiring story of resilience and survival with our community. At the conclusion of her remarks, Delbarton students in the FAC leapt to their feet to give her a standing ovation.   

Ultimately, her message was simple: “If you choose love, I am with you.”