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Archive for July, 2011

I’m not leaving. Carl Wilkens finally tells his story.

Sunday, July 31st, 2011

A Review of the book,

I’m not leaving., by Carl Wilkens

Carl Wilkens was the only American to remain in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide. He sent his family out of the country when evacuation orders came, and remained to stay by the side of his household employees who had Tutsi identity cards. The book title hints at the heroic themes to follow. When I consider the legacy of abandonment that the United States left in the genocide, even the title of Carl’s book, feels like cool water on a painfully burning issue.

I love this book. It’s short (only 165 pages), self-published and gets straight to storytelling. Carl does not try to extend the book with political background or much reflective philosophy. He explains his reasons for refusing orders to evacuate, and then goes on to tell countless unbelievable stories of day by day survival and his efforts to protect orphans located in various orphanages around Kigali. He makes simple but poignant observations throughout his book about faith, love and humanity, that knock you over with power of truth.

For me, the largest truth that I drew from Carl’s story, is the high value of individual relationship; the power of one to one humanity, over ideals, institutions or causes.

One passage drawing out this truth was letter exchange between Carl and the President of the Seventh Day Adventist World Wide Church, who ordered him to leave Rwanda by appealing to the greater good of the cause:

“Dear Carl,

I have tried various means to communicate with you personally and orally, but it has not been possible under the present conditions.

Thus I must resort to the written word. Your total commitment and dedication is both heroic and exemplary. Needless to say, I, and my fellow leaders appreciate you, and what you have accomplished. However, it is for this very reason that I am “asking” you to depart Kigali as soon as possible.

It goes against my very nature to use the word “order” in this context; however, that is the word that most accurately describes the sense that I must convey. I am aware that most of the UN personnel have left the area, and therefore expect you to determine a reasonably safe method of evacuation.

We must use your skills and knowledge to define future work in Rwanda. Therefore we are asking that you immediately relocate to Nairobi to work with others there in the vital look-ahead plans.

Your remaining in Kigali would deny the church and ADRA the input which you could provide, and can be counterproductive. For the greater good of the cause, (emphasis added) I want you to lay down the good work you have been doing in Kigali in order to become part of the larger task ahead.

This directive is given after much prayer and consultation. It is a decision, not a request. Please contact us immediately upon reaching Nairobi. Our prayer is that Christ will be with you and protect you as you relocate.

Yours in Christ

Robert S. Folkenberg.

President of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.”

Here is Carl’s reply:

“Dear Elder Folkenberg,

Thank you very much for your letter. I am not refusing to obey your directive, but I need your help with two things before I can comply.

First, I need your help telling my friends and Rwandan coworkers that God will be with them and protect them, and explain to them why I can’t stay and rely on that same presence and protection.

Secondly, I need your help in making arrangements for the safeguarding of the two young people in my home who have Tutsi ID cards that will surely lead to them being killed.

As soon as you are able to help me with these two things I will be glad to join my family in Nairobi.

Sincerely,

Carl Wilkens”

Let us follow Carl’s example of releasing our cause, for the sake of one or two souls! He disregarded any opportunity to “define future work in Rwanda” in order to save the life of two household employees.

There is no doubt that ADRA had done great work in Rwanda. But too often, we put the value of a great human institution, before the value of one person. Jesus radically showed us the reverse. Jesus told the parable of the lost sheep, of the shepherd’s willingness to leave the many, to rescue one desperate person.

Carl’s story goes on to describe very many unbelievable moments of decisions that lead to life or death. While he initially stayed to protect his household employees (who did indeed survive), he ended up saving the lives of hundreds of others, working alongside many Rwandans who sacrificed themselves to protect their fellow Rwandans. He describes how he learned to relate to the killers as human beings, and elicit their cooperation, in order to protect many orphans and people under his care.

I also realized by reading Carl’s story that I think about justice and fighting against evil in black and white ideals. Carl’s story teaches me that fighting for justice is a messy job that we shouldn’t judge. A person’s desperate fight to survive or to save others, confuses the distinction between good and evil, removing clear paths to justice.

Read Carl’s book. He will ground you back to one-to-one relationship, and simple truths of love and faith.

By Serena Morones

Carl’s book can be purchased from his website http://worldoutsidemyshoes.org, or here on Amazon.com. http://amzn.com/1450780806

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Reading List

Friday, July 15th, 2011

We’ve customized an Amazon reading list to show a collection of our favorite books, movies and music about Rwanda.

Visit http://astore.amazon.com/speak01-20 and see our comments about specific books.

Keep reading, keep learning, keep relating!

Posted in Books about Rwanda | Comments »

From a Rwandan: We are Wealthy

Friday, July 1st, 2011

By Enric Sifa

On TV, in newspapers, on the radio, even from missionaries: when it comes to Africa, we hear negative things from all sorts of media. We hear about the wars, hate, malnutrition, disasters, and poverty of Africa. But are those really the only things Africa has? I remember, in Africa, when I was growing up, I never even thought about the things mentioned above. I thought Africa was the only place people should live. I loved the animals, the sun, the butterflies, the hills, and the valleys. I remember how beautiful the lakes and the rivers were. I remember how delicious the meat was, I remember the smiles of people, the parties every Friday, all the colors, and the rest of the beautiful things that Africa has. That’s what I remember of Africa.

African people are the happiest people you can ever find. One man may not even have salt in his food, but before he eats it, he says a prayer of praise to God for providing that food. He eats with a smile on his face and after he is done, he sleeps on a matt on the floor- with happiness. If a person gets a stomachache, he goes into the wild and chews a special kind of leaf that makes the stomachache go away. Another person doesn’t have any shoes, but you will still see him dancing on the hard dusty floor. He doesn’t care about shoes because he lives in paradise. He loves his life. You will see him playing soccer for ninety minutes straight with no shoes. He feels no pain. After soccer, he goes to take a bath. When he takes his bath, he may only have a bucket to use, but he is happy. That’s what I remember of Africa.

I loved to play with flowers in the streets. I loved the smell of the tall grasses beside the small roads. I loved the river that was only a mile away from my house. I loved the hills on the other side. I loved the party people who came to my house every friday. Life in Africa is so beautiful. People work hard, but they don’t let work and money determine who they are as people. The community is awesome, and you won’t find a single person who lacks friends. People are friendly and they like to include everyone: strangers, tall, short, fat, white, black…everyone. The music is amazing. Everyone, even a disabled person, has a beat. Everyone shakes the booty, man or a woman. If you can walk, you can dance; and if you can talk, you can sing. That’s what every African thinks, and it works well.

rwanda-kids

It’s frustrating that people don’t spend time talking about the beauty of Africa. It seems like they only focus on the negative. There is suffering everywhere. It’s good to help, but if we only talk about what Africa doesn’t have, Africa will always feel inferior. They won’t have the courage to achieve bigger dreams. I love Africa. I know the struggle. But I never knew the struggle until I left Africa. The thing is, we try to compare our lives with other people’s lives and then we come to the conclusion that if a person doesn’t have what we have, he must be suffering. Money and wealth do not make us people. We are people because we have life, and life comes freely to everyone. The president lives because of the free gift of life, just as the homeless person lives because of the free gift of life-neither live because of MONEY. Life is beautiful. Therefore, let us recognize the beauty in it and appreciate the ART of God.

Enric Sifa was born in and grew up in Rwanda. He is a singer/songwriter currently attending Warner Pacific College in Portland, Oregon. To learn more about Enric and his music, visit www.enricsifa.com

Tags: Enric Sifa, Rwanda
Posted in Perspectives on Humanitarian Work, Uncategorized | Comments »

About Speak Rwanda

Tony & Serena Morones are founders of Speak Rwanda and are actively involved in the lives of many Rwandans through ministry and business. They live and work in Portland, Oregon.