knowing

why come all the way to Africa? - why come back to places I have already been? I found the best answer to that question on the wall of the Kigali Genocide Memorial yesterday - "If you knew me, and really knew yourself, you would not have killed me". Absolutely profound in its simplicity. In 1994, 1,000,000 people were killed in 100 days, another million were killed in the subsequent 3 months. I had no idea at the time. I didn't know Rwanda. Subsaharan Africa has the distinction of having the poorest of the poor on the face of the earth. Most live on less than a dollar a day. Before I came here I had no idea.

In the faces of the people, in my interactions with them there is a strong sense of joy and resilience, in the face of crippling conditions. If I was in their position would I smile? Had I been a Hutu in 1994, would I have risked myself, and possibly my family, to not only abstain from killing, but actively work to protect those who were being attacked? I know the answers I want to have, but I hesitate, because I am not completely confident in myself - I still have work to do in knowing myself.

Being here, dancing with kids, visiting with those who are working for justice, hearing the stories of those being chased from country to country for decades and now settling with nothing - I am confronted with the challenge of knowing myself as I get to know these others. That is truly the answer as to why I am back in Africa.

We leave Rwanda tomorrow morning and head to Bukavu in the DR Congo. Congo is hungry and angry - we will be spending the next five days with those who are feeding and seeking justice.