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In the 1990s, conflict between Hutus and Tutsis devastated Rwanda. The Hutus, who occupied most of the positions of power in the government and other institutions, were responsible for the massacre of the better part of an entire generation of Tutsis. Apollon Kabahizi is a Tutsi and he told Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Truths how he was lucky to escape with his life.
 Apollon when he visited the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Truths studio this week |
When war began in Rwanda in 1990, Apollon had just left high school. He was told by his best friend, a Hutu, that he didn't think he would ever be able to kill him. But it was this very same friend, who four years later, killed Apollon's mother. Apollon says, "it's amazing how people can change".
Although Apollon left Rwanda in 1990, he returned when it looked like the conflict was about to be resolved. Ironically, this was just before the genocide began.
The day in 1994 that Apollon remembers very well is 11 April. This was the day that the UN pulled out of Rwanda. The Hutu militia had surrounded the school where Apollon's father had worked. This was also where 2000 Tutsi were slaughtered. Apollon escaped because he was in hiding.
Initially Apollon thought all his family members had been killed. Apollon was living in the UK when the bodies of his brother and sister-in-law were discovered in Rwanda. His sister-in-law was 8 months pregnant at the time she was killed. But to this day, his mother's body has never been found.
 Thousands of Rwandan children were made orphans |
But Apollon has no appetite for revenge. He knows he is one of the lucky ones. He was overjoyed to discover that two of his siblings had in fact survived - a brother and a sister. This has helped him enormously.
After moving round Africa and coming to live in the UK, Apollon has now moved back to Rwanda. He no longer feels threatened, but his trust has been damaged. But things do appear to be changing there. The surviving population is very young and there is hope for the future.
Apollon is involved with the Aegis Trust, a genocide prevention initiative. Apollon believes that to just leave it and forget won't help.
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