Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust

After Immaculée says her goodbye to Vianney, Pastor Murinzi leads the Tutsi women “down a dark hallway” to his bedroom, where he ushers them into the small private bathroom: “‘This is where you’ll stay,’ he said, swinging the door open to reveal our new home: a small bathroom about four feet long and three feet wide” (73). The pastor explains the rules that the women will have to follow in order to stay safe: They must remain absolutely quiet at all times, because no one is to know they are here—not even the pastor’s own children. If they need to use the toilet, they will have to wait to flush until someone else in the house flushes, to conceal the noise.

Night falls, and Immaculée makes note of her companions in the bathroom: There is Athanasia, “a pretty, dark-skinned 14-year-old with big beautiful eyes” (74). There is Beata, a 12-year-old still wearing her school uniform. Therese is the eldest of the group at 55 years old, wearing a colorful traditional Rwandan wrap-dress. Claire and Sanda are Therese’s two children: Claire is about 21, and Sanda is the youngest of the group at just 7.