Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust

Being outdoors for the first time in three months, the women are overcome with sensory overload: “The sensations of the night overwhelmed me. The coolness of the air against my skin; the crispness in my lungs; and the brilliant, hypnotic beauty of stars dancing in my eyes made my soul sing out” (139). The pastor leads the way to the French camp, which is located in an abandoned Protestant nunnery. Sensing Interwahame nearby, the pastor says the women must go the rest of the way alone to the French camp, and so they say their goodbyes.

When the women finally make it to the French camp, the soldiers draw their weapons and demand to see their identification cards proving that they are Tutsis in need of protection. However, none but Immaculée has hers, so the women panic, thinking that they will not be accepted. Immaculée is able to convince the soldiers that they are all Tutsis, and so they are admitted inside. The women are overtaken with relief: “An emotional dam burst in us as months of pent-up fear, frustration, and anxiety flooded from our souls, and a few of the ladies began to sob uncontrollably” (141). The camp, as it turns out, is only a field camp, and in a few short hours, everyone there will be transported to their base camp, somewhere several miles away, via a military truck.