Bearing Witness: Murangwayire Liliane Publishes Book on Surviving the Genocide Against the Tutsi

Author Murangwayire Liliane has officially launched her book, which recounts her harrowing experience surviving the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and her long journey of rebuilding her life afterward.

Titled “Surviving the Unthinkable: A Story of Hope and Resilience,” the book was unveiled on March 21, 2025. Murangwayire shared that her motivation for writing the book was to preserve the memory of the Genocide and, in particular, her personal testimony of survival.

She explained that writing the book was not an easy task, having begun the process back in 2000 while she was still in high school.

“The journey of writing this book was long. I started in 2000 while in secondary school. Writing about my survival meant putting deep emotions and painful truths on paper,” she said.

She added,

“When I first began, I only wrote two lines before breaking down in tears and stopping. A year later, I tried again. I kept the pages hidden away in a safe place, far from anyone who could damage them. When I got married, I packed those pages in my suitcase and took them with me.”

The book is structured into ten chapters. These include sections on the roots of the divisions that led to the Genocide, remembrance of her family, the intensification of persecution, and more.

In the chapter on remembering her family, Murangwayire recounts how many of her relatives were killed inside the Ntarama Church in Bugesera District, and she revisits their stories.

It is not until the fourth chapter that she tells her own survival story. After fleeing to Ntarama Church with her family, she was attacked and left for dead by the killers who thought she had perished—yet she miraculously survived.

In chapter five, she describes the liberation and praises the bravery, compassion, and unity of the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) in rescuing the Tutsi. She emphasized that the international community failed to act, but it was Rwandans who stepped up.

“The Genocide happened while the world watched. Countries with the means to intervene stood by. But it was a Rwandan who loved their country that said, ‘Let’s do something.’ Even without resources, their greatest weapon was love for their nation. That person who saved us, who saved so many—I consider them a hero, a rare human being. The world should know and honor them.”

The book also details her life after survival, including being taken in by an Italian woman, the life she experienced in Italy, and her eventual return to Rwanda.

Murangwayire also discusses the process of rediscovering life, affirming that despite the horrors of the Genocide, hope and the possibility of a meaningful life remained.

One chapter focuses on the long-term impact of the Genocide—not only on her as a survivor but also on other victims, their descendants, and Rwanda as a whole.

Though the book is written in English, she announced plans to publish it in Kinyarwanda and French as well.

Charles Habonimana, Director General of the Rwanda Airports Company, commended Murangwayire’s courage in documenting her story, calling it a valuable step that other survivors should take to preserve their histories.

Tito Rutaremara, Chairperson of Rwanda’s Elders Advisory Forum, also praised the book, saying it provides a clear depiction of how the Genocide unfolded.

Murangwayire’s bravery in telling her story was widely acknowledged, with speakers urging more survivors to write and share their testimonies to prevent history from being forgotten or distorted.