REFINED BY FIRE 2

A CHILDHOOD TO REMEMBER
I was born in Gitarama, a southern province in Rwanda. I am the
second born in a family of four children. My father was a nurse
and was always transferred from place to place because of the
nature of his job. A medical official in the rural areas was
considered a very important person, and our home always
hosted many people, who came as regular visitors, and others as
patients seeking my father’s services. We, therefore, made
friends with very many people and learnt many different
cultures. Everybody was welcome at home. What stood out for
me is how my father treated everyone equally. At the time of the
events I remember of my childhood, my father was working as a
nursing officer stationed at a nearby catholic mission and
convent. Wherever we lived, children in the neighborhood
called him ‘father’ because he nurtured them in one way or
another. My parents taught us to love everybody. My childhood
was a peaceful one and I had never heard of any ethnic-related
problems in my family, let alone our neighborhood. I had only
heard about an incident in history, nothing more