Rwanda: Catholic priest honored again for saving 3,000 Tutsis
By Christian Telegraph
September 11, 2009
A Catholic missionary is among 20 'Silent Heroes' honored for courageously rescuing Tutsis that were being hunted down by machete-wielding militiamen during the 1994 Genocide, reports Catholic Information Service for Africa (CISA).
Father Mario Falconi, who during the Genocide was a parish priest in eastern Rwanda, saved more than 3,000 Tutsis by hiding them in the church during the massacres, the state-owned Times newspaper reported. He refused to be evacuated to Italy because he wanted to remain near the people he had served for so long.
This is the second time that the Catholic priest will be honoured for this humanitarian act, having received an award in April from Ibuka, an umbrella organization of Genocide survivors.
According to Dorah Urujeni, an official with 'Memos-Learning from the History," other ‘Silent Heroes’ include eight women and 12 men.
Anna Mukarurinda lost her husband Joseph Mugabo sometime last year. The couple saved nine Tutsis during the mayhem. "My husband brought people home when the killings started; we hid them in all possible corners of the house.
Another rescuer, Marcel Barihabwa, saved five people. "My trick was to relocate them every night, until I traced an escape route through to the Democratic Republic of Congo and I made sure they arrived there safely."
Gabriel Habiyambere was among the survivors saved by Barihabwa, and according to him, he was initially prompted to go to his neighbor's house in such of food.
"He was a friend and I decided to go to his house just to get food, but when I got there, he insisted that he wanted to make sure that I survive and decided to hide me," said Habiyambere.
Related Materials:
RWANDA: Catholic Role in Genocide is All Kagame Propaganda
The Cross and the Genocide
posted by Mamadou Kouyate @ 3:08 PM
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