Article May 20, 2013 Issue

Prayer that confronts genocide

Ariana Herlinger

Although most people in the West still associate Rwanda primarily with the genocide that took place in 1994, huge strides have been made to heal and unify the country. I saw this myself when I was in Rwanda last summer. People identify themselves not as Hutu or Tutsi, but simply as Rwandan—signifying a desire to move past differences and conflicts. 

But while Rwanda continues to enjoy peace, its neighbor Congo (DRC) has continued to suffer consequences from the genocide. Many of the Hutu militia members fled into DRC and continue to murder and rape civilians. 

Sometimes it’s easy to write off events like these when you read about them in the news. Being on the ground in Rwanda and traveling to the border of DRC, close to where the fighting was, made me realize the importance of praying about situations like these, even when we’re thousands of miles away.

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