Author Robert Bazambanza discussed his experience of the 1994 Rwandan genocide and its influence on his graphic novels Friday afternoon in a classroom in Kemeny Hall. The speech, whose location was moved three times, attracted about 50 people.
Bazambanza, who spoke in French and used an interpreter, began by describing Rwanda before the genocide.
"We were actually sleeping in paradise," Bazambanza said. "But we woke up and it was hell."
The genocide began after President Juvnal Habyarimana, a member of the Hutu tribe in Rwanda, died after his plane was shot down by an unknown assailant. After this event, sectarian tensions led some members of the Hutu tribe, constituting the majority of Rwandans, to kill members of the Tutsi tribe (though violence did run both ways).
"During the president's tenure, all they did was teach that Tutsis were cockroaches and snakes," Bazambanza said. "So when the plane went down, we were targeted as cockroaches and snakes."
When Bazambanza relayed some of his most painful memories of the genocide, the audience absorbed his story in silence.
"When we fled, my father stayed behind," Bazambanza said. "He didn't have a chance to get out. Minutes after we'd left, they were there and killed him."
During the genocide, there was hope that outside forces might intervene, Bazambanza said. However, help from the United Nations came too late, a charge he levied several times during the speech.
"It was every man for themselves," Bazambanza said. "People were dragged away to die. We saw people killed with machetes and sticks."
The second half of Bazambanza's lecture focused on how the genocide influenced his graphic novels. He showed cartoons from his latest book, "Mutesi in New York," which used a metaphor involving the Titanic to portray the feelings of Rwandans during the genocide.
Bazambanza said the situation in Rwanda was similar to that on the Titanic because as the situation began to deteriorate, there was nowhere for the Tutsis to go.
"People felt very betrayed," Bazambanza said. "People were expecting to be saved."
He also presented cartoons that showed how difficult it had been to move on with life after immigrating to the United States. Many Rwandans are still traumatized by memories of the genocide, he said.
Bazambanza finished his speech with a plea to the audience. As citizens of the most powerful country in the world, Dartmouth students can change things for the better, he told the audience.
"Please do not let the genocide happen again," Bazambanza said. "As human beings, help other human beings. You know what should and should not be done."
