Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
“I am in charge of the maternity wing at Kigali Hospital. We have<br />
specific instructions to make sure you and your baby die during<br />
delivery. I for one do not wish to see your dead body or that of<br />
your child. Please do whatever you can to avoid falling in this<br />
trap. Whether you have your child here in Kigali or somewhere<br />
else, the choice is yours to make. I am here to let you know that<br />
if you opt to deliver at Kigali Hospital, both you and your baby<br />
will die.” After all these years of living with Patrick, I have come<br />
to one conclusion; my father-in-law never believed I genuinely<br />
loved his son. I tend to think that due to his militaristic and<br />
political office, he probably thought I could have been a spy<br />
planted to disrupt his kingdom. He could never have a peaceful<br />
night’s rest with me in his family. Desperate times call for<br />
desperate measures, they say; but I had never in my wildest<br />
dreams thought a father, out of desperation, would kill his own<br />
flesh and blood. As the nurse sat there giving us this unwelcome<br />
news, I became numb. The thought of it shocked me then and I<br />
still shudder at how malevolent we humans can get. How much<br />
are you willing to pay to satisfy an evil desire? There is nothing<br />
good in desiring to terminate a life. That is an evil intention.<br />
You can imagine the fear that gripped me after the nurse left.<br />
Where could we possibly hide? Not only did they want to<br />
annihilate us, but they wanted to wipe out our seed as well. I was<br />
gripped with anxiety and horror. The thought that my life and<br />
that of<br />
my children were in danger tormented me. Nothing could sooth<br />
me. It was like the old man was obsessed with the idea of<br />
hunting me down, it consumed him and took away his reasoning<br />
capacity. Your own son’s wife? Why would you want her dead?<br />
Was there ever going to be an end to the torment? Just when I<br />
thought I had seen it all, I was still reminded that I was the prime<br />
target for the worst cruelty anyone could imagine. I had to make<br />
a decision. First, I had to move.<br />
I went to Gitarama, near my parents’ home and hid there until<br />
the day I delivered my baby. No one knew where I was. In 1993,<br />
29
Change language