Miracle in Kigali

Tuesday, 8 December 2009

50 Christmas Trees in a Church - Miracle in Kigali

Here is a picture of Illuminee with our Miracle in Kigali tree at Dickleburgh's 50 Christmas Trees in a Church, http://www.50christmastrees.com/. The small Rwandan baskets and other colourful decorations are courtesy of the Rwandan Embassy UK.

Monday, 7 December 2009

Holocaust Memorial Day at The Forum, Norwich

Illuminee and I have been invited to speak at a Holocaust Memorial Day event at The Millennium Library, The Forum, Norwich, 6pm on Wednesday 27 January.

http://www.hmd.org.uk/events/find/east-of-england/9181in-conversation-with-illuminee-nganemariya

Friday, 4 December 2009

Dickleburgh 50 Christmas Trees in a Church

All ready for Dickleburgh's 50 Christmas Trees in a Church, Saturday 5 December to Sunday 13 December http://www.50christmastrees.com. The Miracle in Kigali tree will be decorated with very Rwandan peace baskets and other colourful decorations.

Saturday, 28 November 2009

Rwandan Crafts

We are visiting the Rwandan Embassy on Tuesday to discuss the opportunities to sell Rwandan crafts in the UK and also collect items to display on our tree at 50 Christmas Trees in a Church, Dickleburgh http://www.50christmastrees.com.

Monday, 16 November 2009

50 Christmas Trees in a Church 2009

Working with the Rwandan Embassy UK for a cultural display to go with our tree at this year's 50 Christmas Trees in a Church, Dickleburgh http://www.50christmastrees.com/.

The official opening is by Anna Mudeka, http://www.tambai.org.uk, Norfolk-based Zimbabwean singer, drummer and dancer, with her drumming group Drumskin, on Saturday 5 December at 5.30pm. The event then runs from 6 to 13 December inclusive .

Friday, 30 October 2009

Miracle In Kigali Talk 31 October

Illuminee and I were interviewed by Tara Greaves from Eastern Daily Press in advance of the Black History Month talk. The story is online at
http://www.advertiser24.co.uk/content/advertiser24/news/story.aspx?brand=NOROnline&category=News&tBrand=NOROnline&tCategory=News&itemid=NOED29%20Oct%202009%2009%3A04%3A17%3A503.

Thursday, 15 October 2009

Miracle in Kigali Talk Norfolk Black History Month 31 October

Illuminee and Paul will be talking about Miracle in Kigali, the visit to Rwanda in 2008 to launch the book and will also be doing readings in a special Norfolk Black History Month event at The Cube (next to Pizza Express), The Forum, Norwich on Saturday 31 October from 11am to 12pm.
For more information email Paul @ paul-dickson@btconnect.com.
http://www.norfolkblackhistorymonth.org.uk/
http://www.norfolkblackhistorymonth.org.uk/events/2009/miracle-in-kigali.html

Miracle in Kigali Introduction

Miracle in Kigali

How does it feel to wake up every single morning for over three months facing the prospect that you and your newborn baby will almost certainly be brutally murdered that day?

This was the experience of Illuminée Nganemariya, a young Tutsi bride, now living in Norwich, England. Yet by a seeming miracle Illuminee, and her son Roger miraculously survived the 1994 attempt by Rwanda’s Hutu extremists to wipe their Tutsi neighbours from the face of the earth.

Illuminée existed for 100 days in the living hell of Kigali, Rwanda’s capital, after watching her husband being dragged away to be killed by friends who had celebrated their wedding with them a month earlier.

Then she embarked on a horrific journey through the barbaric holocaust with her newborn son strapped to her back. At any moment a wrong move would have seen them join the 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus who were murdered in three months - at a faster rate than the Nazis achieved in their industrial gas chambers.

One of Africa’s most beautiful and fertile countries, Le Pays de Mille Collines – The Land of a Thousand Hills – Rwanda descended into pre-historic savagery. Fired by a cocktail of drugs and alcohol, the killers went about their work seemingly without remorse or mercy.

Friend murdered friend, slashing and cutting with machetes and bamboo spears. Thousands of women were casually gang-raped. Pregnant women had their unborn babies ripped from their wombs and smashed against the nearest tree or wall. ‘Lucky’ victims paid for a quicker despatch, courtesy of a bullet to the head.

Illuminée Nganemariya is a survivor. She has spent the last decade, living in Norwich, dealing with the trauma of her 100-day nightmare. She is believed to be the first survivor of the Rwandan genocide resident in Britain to tell a personal story of that experience. With the assistance of Paul Dickson, Illuminee has recounted her ordeal in this book to finally put the memory of those tragic events behind her.

It is one woman’s story of enormous personal courage and character -- but most of all it is testament to the indestructibility of the human spirit.

Miracle in Kigali, published October 2007, price £10.99 can be purchased from The Tagman Press http://www.tagmanpress.co.uk/ Tel. o845 6444186

Finalist in The Creative East Awards 2008 Best Factual Publication http://www.creativeeast.co.uk/2008-Awards-Finalists-$4-Winners