SCHOOLS

Rwandan genocide survivor visits Mepham

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Johnson Mutibagirana was 9 years old when he watched his mother’s execution alongside 40 other Tutsi neighbors when Hutus began the politically driven slaughter of a fellow Rwandan ethnic group in 1994. His father escaped the initial attack, but was later killed in another province of the African nation during the 100-day genocide campaign that claimed the lives of nearly a million Tutsi Rwandans.

Mutibagirana survived. Now 29 and attending Texas Christian University on a full scholarship, he travels throughout the United States to share his experiences and the story of Rwanda’s return to civility and peace.

Students at Mepham High School in Bellmore heard his terrifying story at a special program last month. Students enrolled in Voices of the Past, a yearlong elective that looks at human rights violations and other historical events through primary-source documents and literature, attended the morning assembly on Dec. 15.

Dr. David Goldberg, a Calhoun High School social studies teacher who has co-taught Voices of the Past with English teacher Julie Rosslee at the Merrick school, asked Mutibagirana to visit Calhoun and Mepham. Stu Stein, a social studies teacher, and Ed Grosskreuz, and English teacher, run the course at Mepham.

Stein and Grosskreuz’s students had the chance to ask Mutibagirana questions. They inquired whether there was still hatred between Hutus and Tutsis, and whether Mutibagirana thought genocide could happen in Rwanda again.

Mutibagirana explained that he has let go of his anger over his parents’ murder. He is studying law at TCU and said he hopes to become a judge.