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Bowers: An Anne Frank of Rwanda

Becky Bowers
Breckenridge

In his March 23 letter to the editor, Mr. Williams told us of the passing of Miep Gies, the Dutch women who hid Anne Frank, and wondered about the Anne Franks of our time – specifically mentioning the Rwandan Holocaust.

Well, Mr. Williams, there are Anne Franks of our time. Check out Immaculee Ilibagiza’s story in her two books “Left To Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust” and “Led By Faith: Rising from the Ashes of the Rwandan Holocaust. Wow, true story!”

From the author’s perspective (having spent three months in a cramped bathroom with seven other women), you learn that there are still people out there brave enough to do the right thing. However, you can feel the racial tension gnawing at her protector’s psyche, and I couldn’t help but wonder at what point this local pastor from the opposite tribe would yield to the machete-wielding killers who hunted Immaculee by name.



This story has a happy ending, but it demonstrates the terrible inhumanity that can result from generational prejudice and unchecked propaganda that infiltrates society. As opposed to the movies, where details are often glossed over, these books give you the decades of history preceding the bloody genocide and you end with a great appreciation of how good we really do have it here in America.

Thanks, Mr. Williams, for the opportunity to tell more people about these books (I was running out of friends and relatives). With all the crap on TV these days, we need more stories like this. Any other good books or movies out there I should know about?



Becky Bowers, Breckenridge


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