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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 2016-10-19, Page 110 Lucknow Sentinel • Wednesday, October 19, 2016 Carleton professor issues plea to help rebuild life of woman who survived Rwandan massacre Allan Thompson to death at the checkpoint. Special to Postmedia Remarkably, in a genocide that would claim hundreds Don't get involved with of thousands of lives, there the people you write about. are virtually no recorded That's what my journalism images of a killing, primarily professor at Carleton Univer- because there were so few sitysaid decades ago and it's foreign journalists in the what I tell my students now. country, an indication of the And yet, I crossed that world's indifference to the journalistic Rubicon when I Rwandan tragedy. decided to help Rosalie Uza- But across the valley that mukunda, a survivor of the morning, British camera - Rwanda genocide. And I man Nick Hughes was would like you to think recording what was unfold - about helping her as well. ing in the valley below, cap - It was just after 9 a.m. on turing the final moments of the morning of Apri111,1994 Gabriel and Justine before when the death squads they were slaughtered. pounded on Rosalie's door I was a reporter in the in Gikondo, a poor neigh- Ottawa Bureau of the Toronto bourhood in the capital city Star in 1994, and while I Kigali and one of the first wrote some stories about the sights of massacres that genocide, it never occurred would eventually claim up to to me to ask The Star to send a million lives. me there. I was oblivious as Rosalie's husband , everyone else, something I'm Gabriel, and the eldest ashamedoftothisday. daughter at home that day, I finally made it to Rwanda Justine, were dragged off to a two years later, to cover the roadblock, where others had efforts of Canadian peace - already been killed. Rosalie, keepers dealing with refu- who was sevenmonthspreg- gees across the border in nant at the time, managed to Congo, then called Zaire. flee with her two little girls The Rwandan story captured and hide in a latrine. When me. On my return to Canada, she returned in the after- I made it a mission to docu- noon, neighbours told her ment the remarkable Romeo that her husband and Dallaire, who commended daughter were gone, beaten the UN mission in Rwanda, Y WINTER IS COMING Are you ready? Enjoy a hassle free winter in the comforts of our retirement home. Our all -inclusive winter stay package gives you the peace of mind of leaving the hazards of winter behind. Our attentive staff will ensure you have the best care possible, with delicious home style meals and activities and events for you to enjoy. Visit RVILLA Retirement Living Inc. today for a free tour and discover why we are a premier retirement home in the area. STAY FOR 4 MONTHS AND GET YOUR 5TH MONTH FREE RVILLA RETIREMENT LIVING INC. 22 Part< Street, Ripley, Ontario (519) 395-0225 generalmanager@rvillaretlrement.com wvvw.rvi llareti rement.com PROMSIONALLY MANAGED BY UNIVERSALCare and once I took up a teach- ing position at Carleton, I returned to Rwanda many times to help re -build the journalism school there. In my research on the role of media during the genocide, I came across the remarkable news footage of the killings of Gabriel and Justine and over the course of several visits to Rwanda, managed to find Rosalie and her family and piece together their story. That's when I got involved, a journalistic transgression I am willing to live with. Dur- ing our interviews, I prom- ised Rosalie that anything I earned from telling her story would come back to her family. I have kept my word. Every time I returned to Rwanda, I would visit Rosa- lie in her little house in Gikondo, the only thing she had left as she tried to rebuild her life. In 2014, I joined the family as they marked the 20th anniversary of the genocide and the loss of their family members. Isaac, the boy who was born just two months after his father's death, is now a young man. And together with Rosalie, we decided the best way for me to support them was to help Isaac go to university, so that he could in turn help his mother. That news footage of the killings of Gabriel and Jus- tine provides a sombre case study of the media's role in Rwanda. I have shown it to hundreds of people now in a Canadian Music CBC Music, in association with MusiCounts, have teamed up for Canadian Music Class Challenge (for- merly Canada's Greatest Music Class). The initiative challenges Canadian music classes, from elementary to high school, to perform and sub- mit a cover of a Canadian song. The challenge kicked off on Sept 30 and runs through until Nov 23. The winning classes will be awarded hometown hero status, receiving a commemorative plaque and a high-tech classroom recording kit that includes a laptop computer, Photo provided by Allan Thompson Rosalie Uzamukunda, in the yellow skirt, gathers with Allan Thompson (far right), friends and family outside her house in Gikondo in 2014, before it was badly damaged by flooding and rains in 2016. presentation called The Gen- ocide Video, an indictment of our indifference to the Rwandan cataclysm. Through it all, I have kept in touch with the family, most often on Facebook. A few months back, Isaac posted pictures of devastat- ing flood damage to their home in Gikondo, which is perched on the side of a slope in a slum. And just recently, more heavy rain brought down the back part of the house. City authorities have told Rosalie that her home is built on a spring in a dangerous flood plain and she must move, leaving behind the only mainstay in her life, the home she shared with her late husband. Once again, the family reached out to me for help. I am doing what I can, but also decided the time has come to appeal publicly to friends and family and to the hundreds of people I've spo- Family snapshots of Justine Mukangango (left) and her father, Gabriel Kagaba, before their deaths in 1994. ken to in making the Geno- All of the donations will be cide Video presentation. sent directly to Rosalie in If you would like more hopes of providing her with information, don't hesitate some short-term financial to contact me at allan. security as she tries, for the thompson@carleton.ca. You second time, to rebuild her can also donate directly life. through the appeal I have This article was originally posted on GoFundMe at published in the Ottawa gofund.me/rwandarosalie. Citizen Class Challenge looking for covers of Canadian songs recording software, speak- ers, a keyboard, micro- phones, and more. The Canadian Music Class Challenge is looking for the Canada's best music class and this year, there are more even opportunities to win, with six categories including: • High School Instrumental • High School with Vocal/ Choral (a cappella or with band) • Junior High School Instrumental • Junior High school Vocal/Choral (a cappella or with band) • Elementary School Instrumental • Elementary School with Vocal/Choral (a cappella or with band • Elementary School with Vocal/Choral (a cappella or with band The following 16 songs can be submitted for consideration: • `Ain't Gonna Bother" by Rosie and the Riveters • "Rolling Stone" by Reu- ben and the Dark • "Run This Town" by Corb Lund • "Soul Run" by Tanika Charles • "Wish You Well" by Jus- tin Hines • "The Hockey Song" by Stompin Tom Connors • "Fil de Soi" by Marie - Pierre Arthur • "Le Mepris" by Caracol • "T'es Pas Un Autre" by Buffy Sainte -Marie • "We're Here For A Good Time (Not A Long Time)" by Trooper • "Stitches" by Shawn Mendes • "2 Heads" by Coleman Hell • "Bobcaygeon" by The Tragically Hip • 'Ahead by a Century" by The Tragically Hip • "Aida" by Sarah McLachlan • "Machine" by Scott Helman For more information about the Canadian Music Challenge please visit cbc- music.ca/musicclass.