Hope for Rwanda

André Sibomana was a remarkable man. A Catholic priest, journalist and leading human rights activist, Sibomana worked tirelessly for independent investigations into human rights violations in Rwanda and was one of the very few independent voices in Rwanda unafraid of speaking out against the abuses of past and present Rwandan governments.

Hope for Rwanda is Andre Sibomana’s personal testimony and the first major English-language account by a Rwandan national of the events surrounding the 1994 genocide. First published to great acclaim in France, this edition is updated with a new postscript.

Sibomana confronts many of the preconceptions and stereotypes that have arisen in the West’s portrayal of events. He addresses controversial topics such as the role of the church in the genocide, the failure of the international community to prevent massacres and the human rights

record of the new Rwandan government. Despite the inhumanity of the massacres and the endless suffering of the Rwandan people, Sibomana offers a strong vision of hope for the future of his country and for the future of humanity. The continued climate of censorship and repression in Rwanda and the difficulty for human rights activists to speak freely about the human rights situation in their country increases the urgency of this publication. Andre Sibomana speaks on behalf of those who cannot make their voices heard.

Andre Sibomana died Rwanda in 1998.

About The Authors
Laure Guilbert is a historian and Hervé Deguine is a journalist who worked for Reporters sans frontières. Carina Tertsakian researchers on Central Africa for Amnesty International.