Regine King
Genocide Survivor, PHD Candidate

My Story as a Survivor of the 1994 Genocide

I was born and raised in Rwanda. I went to high school, and later to university. This was a miracle since many other children from my ethnic group were not accepted for high school or university studies because of government policies imposed against the Tutsi people of Rwanda.

In 1994 my village, like many other areas of Rwanda, became a place of killings. My family and I were targeted. During the three months of the genocide we were chased from our home. We slept in the bush. I personally escaped several times from groups of killers who wanted to cut open my head so that they could see the brains of an educated Tutsi. One day I was marched at gunpoint with a group of 14 people. We managed to run and asked for the assistance of French soldiers. They drove away in their vehicle. Only seven of us survived. During that time, I lost my two beloved brothers and many other family members. I saw many people killed, including relatives and others that I knew. During these sufferings, there was also also the intimidation of Hutu neighbors who perhaps did not want to participate in the killings at the beginning of the genocide. When our home was attacked and our possessions taken away, one Hutu neighbor did not agree with these actions. He took one of our milk cows from where it had been taken and returned it to us. As a result, he became an enemy of his own people, and was forced to go into hiding as if he was a Tutsi. He was eventually murdered by the Hutu killers in our area.

After genocide, the country was full of bodies, blood, and bad smells. Many people were hopeless. But I felt that I had survived for a reason. During the genocide I had promised God that if my life were saved, I would help to care for orphans and other survivors. With a background in psychology, I noticed that so many people were suffering from posttraumatic stress disorders. And I felt that I should dedicate my life to help survivors of genocide in that area.

In 1996 I joined World Vision Rwanda (WVR) and worked four years for the Trauma Healing Program. I became the first facilitator of a program developed in Rwanda to help those who had survived the genocide the program was first implemented with WVR staff because we believed that only people who have been healed could participate in the healing of others. That program became big part of my life. It allowed me to deal with my own wounds, empowered me with the skills to help others and to experience how transformation can take place in the most wounded people I have ever seen. I worked with people who have lived atrocities for months and years, who have lost their loved ones, their properties, women who have been raped days after days, children who lost parents and were obliged to take care of their young siblings, peoples who felt that life was meaningless.