This is a guest post by Kate Walser, a regular TJCC contributor. You can follow Kate on Twitter.
What would you do if I told you our town had been taken over by the enemy?
That the enemy was on its way to find you? If you heard your enemy coming down the hall and you had a split second to make a decision that would seal your fate? I bet many of us would panic, or run, probably in the wrong direction. It’s not something we think about or worry about often, if at all.
Yet that’s what’s happened to refugees who’ve fled their homelands of Afghanistan, Rwanda, Sudan, and Burundi. If you don’t know much about Burundi, you’re in good company. Some friends and family guessed it was a country, others guessed it was in Africa, but others looked stumped. It’s not a country you hear much about.
But if you’ve followed the news at all over the 15 years, you’ve heard about Rwanda, and the 1994 genocide of 500-700,000 Tutsis. So if I tell you that the country Burundi borders Rwanda on the south side, you might see where this story is headed.
What image comes to mind when you hear “refugee?” Think about that, and now hear about Deo Gratias. You’ll soon realize that that stranger with the strange accent that you’ve encountered at work, at the store, while traveling, etc. may just be a refugee like Deo. Strength in What Remains: A Journey of Remembrance and Forgiving by Tracy Kidder is Deo’s story.
Deo Gratias was a third year medical student, a quiet, generous type, when the Hutu-Tutsi conflict spilled over into Burundi. Working at the hospital one day, Deo discovered that the reason so few patients or employees were there was because the Hutu rebels had taken over and were slaughtering – there’s no other word for it – any Tutsis they found. Deo has a split second 
when he hears fellow students – fellow medical school students who happen to be Hutu – chanting and coming for him to make a decision and escape being killed.
While Deo tells about the atrocities he sees, faces, and has nightmares about, it’s hard to ignore – largely because his story is built on it – the compassion and humanity he finds in strangers. A Hutu woman who has Deo pose as her son, a classmate’s father who arranges his travel to New York City, and especially a woman named Sharon and an older couple – Nancy and Charlie – who live in SoHo. Sitting reading his story, I was stunned at the generosity of these individuals, and even more amazed at how it took so little to set this man’s life back on its original peaceful, ambitious journey, albeit in a different place.
I think the best way to sum up Deo’s journey and where he finds himself is to quote Sharon, a former nun who helps him:
I have a theory…I remember thinking long ago, ‘We’re loved infinitely for however little bit of time we have.’ And it’s not ultimately tragic to die at any age. Whether we’re talking about being blown into little pieces or what is ultimate tragedy, I just think there isn’t ultimate tragedy except for evil, and God doesn’t will any evil. And we’re surrounded by – I tell the little kids the Good Shepherd, I think it’s a great image for them, but the vine and the branches is great too – but whether we feel it or not, we are surrounded by this tremendously loving presence, and that covers every second of every day. Of everybody.
That is the Strength in What Remains. It’s a disturbing story as it’s hard to imagine humans doing such horrible things to other humans. And it’s an amazing story of how love still conquers hate.
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Kate Walser works in user experience and interaction design most of the time. She also causes trouble by getting people to collaborate and share knowledge in large corporate and government agencies, using social media and “other ways of making them talk.”
Kate’s a graduate of Catholic University (Biomedical Engineering) and Robert H. Smith School of Business at UMD (MBA).
Kate’s cautious optimism is “shaped” by having been a lifeguard, waitress, Jesuit Volunteer, tutor, resident advisor, sea urchin embryologist, and sister to 5 brothers and 1 sister, before becoming a wife and mom.
You can find Kate on Twitter (@kwalser), her blog (http://katewalser.com), or at her company (http://cxinsights.com).
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Kate – thanks for your take on Strength In What Remains – I have yet to read the book and all of your recommendations and reviews automatically get added to my list! I’m working now with the Afghan Women’s Writing Project and from my experience hearing these stories, I can only imagine what life’s reality is like in war-torn countries. We’re blessed with so many freedoms here and these stories are reminders of what we are blessed with. Thank you!
Chilling story – I really applaud you for having the stomach to read it because history is often not fun but important to know – and I cannot begin to imagine what life must be like in those moments when “enemy takes over” – May we have the strength but never face the day!
@Laura – thanks for the encouragement!
@Farnoosh – chilling’s a good word for it. Haunting also fits – I find myself remembering bits of his story while going about my day and remember just how lucky I am.
I have not read the book, but it must be good.
Peace is the only way, and that can only start with
forgiveness. Forgiveness is so that you can move on.
True forgiveness reward, is an inner peace that can
not be shaken. This kind of peace come from the creator.
Seek Peace for it is the only way
I’ve bookmarked this blog, it’s good!