Genocide Deniers hold conference in Montreal

This past Thursday a French Canadian writer named Robin Philpot continued his quest to scrape the scabs off Rwanda's wounds and make the bleeding continue by holding a conference in Montreal with a number of other genocide deniers.

The conference, called "The Media and Rwanda: The Difficult Search for the Truth", is in reality a platform for those such as French author-journalist Mr. Pierre Pean, Spanish lawyer Mr. Jordi Palou-Loverdos, Belgian journalist Mr. Peter Verlinden and Canadian author Mr. Robin Philpot who have continually questioned facts surrounding the 1994 genocide, accused the current Rwandan government of mass atrocities, and questioned the integrity of former Canadian General Romeo Dallaire and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

The conference will start as Rwandans prepare to mark the 14th anniversary of the 100-day genocide where Hutu-backed militias led the massacre of Tutsis and Hutu moderates in 1994, killing between 800,000 and one million Rwandans.

If only these opinions were limited to a few crackpots. The sad truth is these ideas have been expressed to me personally on several occasion, and by none other then a leading Christian academic, who served in the Congolese refugee camps following the genocide, and told me that he does not believe what happened in Rwanda constituted a genocide.

This happens while evidence of genocide ideology still existing in Rwandan school classrooms has surfaced. It shows me just how important our work to transform cultural mindsets within Rwandan schools is. It makes me sad that people like Robin Philpot spend so much time and energy digging at Rwanda's wounds instead of working to help the country heal and rebuild. But then again, I guess separatism (Philpot belongs to the PQ) runs in his blood.

The Wounded Healer

In his book, The Wounded Healer, Henri Nouwen describes the great illusion of Christian leadership as the idea “that man can be led out of the desert by someone who has never been there.” “Who can save a child from a burning house,” he asks, “without taking the risk of being hurt by the flames? Who can listen to a story of loneliness and despair without taking the risk of experiencing similar pains in his own heart and even losing his precious peace of mind? In short: Who can take away suffering without entering it?”

I am reminded that in order to bring true healing we must take great risks. Lately I have been "losing my precious piece of mind" about our investment in Rwanda. Seeing headlines in the papers talking about widespread genocide ideology in the classroom doesn't inspire confidence. There are times I worry all our efforts might be in vain. At other times, I wonder if our few "cups of water" will really make a difference, in light of all the devestation in the world. I realize my own limitations, my own inadequacies, my own woundedness.

One powerful message of the Bible is that God uses wounded and broken people to accomplish his purpose. In fact, he often requires our brokeness in order to bring healing. What I see in Rwanda today are hundreds, maybe thousands, of "wounded healers" who are allowing God to use their pain as a healing balm for others who are wounded. They are taking a great risk, a risk they must take if Rwanda will ever leave its brokenness behind.