AMBIGUITIES OF FORGIVENESS IN LEFT TO TELL: DISCOVERING GOD AMIDST THE RWANDAN HOLOCAUST (2006)

Abstract

To interrogate the ambiguities of forgiveness it is important to understand the historicity of the Rwandan genocide and the complexities of the interchanging roles of victim/perpetrator and ‘the enemy other’. Ilibagiza is credited for including the historicity of the ethnic animosity in her memoir, as she acknowledges that the 1994 genocide did not just suddenly erupt, but the work will be critiqued for its persistent portrayal of the Tutsi as victims and the Hutu as perpetrators, and for not acknowledging that the Tutsi were a ‘historically privileged’ (Mamdani 2001) group before the 1959 revolution. This article interrogates Ilibagiza’s comprehension of forgiveness and its importance during the genocide and in post-genocide Rwanda. Left to tell centres on the power of religion, positive thinking and compassion as major steps towards forgiveness on an individual level, but shows limitations concerning justice after the commission of ‘crimes of state’, as Orentlicher (1991, 44) notes. Forgiveness is necessary in the healing process, but justice is a crucial component of national reconciliation. Forgiveness is only the first step towards restoring the humanity of the victim/ perpetrator, and should be followed by restorative justice.