Sleep Out

For once I am not talking about the Cover Africa Sleep Out on the Arts Quad… although shout out to those who did just a few weeks ago!

A week after the National Genocide Memorial Week, my community organized its own memorial event: a sleep out at the exact place (and on the exact date, I think) where seventeen years ago hundreds of Tutsi were locked inside the local government building where they had been seeking asylum, and burned to death.

Around 6pm on Friday April 22^nd the community gathered in the center of town and slowly, singing, walked together to the site at the top of a hill. There, the local Genocide Memorial Association had set up large tents, chairs, and spread hay over the rocky ground.

People greeted each other with silent nods and smiles instead of the usual handshakes and loud “Muraho!”s. Waiting for the final preparations to conclude, everyone spoke in whispers. Once the microphones were hooked up to a generator and enough people were seated, several older community members gave speeches. These were followed by more lighthearted youth performances: dance, song, poetry, and even theatre. These acts served to lighten the mood, and by the 9pm when a storm hit the tents, most people were smiling.

Once the weather calmed down around 11pm, a TV was turned on and music videos of songs remembering the genocide played on repeat. At this point most of the older adults went home to bed. The young people stayed and invited friends, who came and crowded around the bonfire and the television. By midnight there were at least 600 people watching music videos on a screen no bigger than the one in my family’s basement in Pennsylvania.  

Throughout the evening and into the night the atmosphere became noticeably less solemn. What seemed to prevail throughout the entire event, however, was a powerful feeling a unity and collectivity. It’s very possible that my lack of understanding of the language, culture, and each individual’s background allowed me to have rose tinted glasses for the event… but I know the toddler sitting in front of me throughout the night was laughing genuinely, and I’m pretty sure the adults who surrounded him were smiling frankly as well.