Mirrors | Teen Ink

Mirrors

March 23, 2018
By Anonymous

The “Rwandan Genocide” was a period that many or all people in a group are killed because of their ethnicity, colour, religion, or political opinions in Rwanda in 1994 and lasted 100 days. The genocide erupted because Belgium found it easier to impose Tutsi superiority because they were the main populous. When Belgium allowed Rwanda their self-rule in 1962, the Hutus came into power. However, President Habyarimana's plane is shot down after he signed a peace treaty with the Rwandan Patriotic Front, which caused the “Rwandan genocide”.

Nov. 23, 1999
Presiding Judge
Judiciary of Belgium
Sablon, Belgium

     I remember when I was a young lad in Rwanda, it makes me terrified and laugh at the same time. Now if the “almighty judge” wants to know if I had anything to do with the assassination of President Habyarimana, than I’d pull up a chair…oh right you arrogant idiots can’t pull up a chair because all of you are already in chairs. In fact you…yeah you reader, you believe that I didn’t kill anyone right? Well this testimony is gonna be the most “formal” testimony ever because I didn’t help to kill anyone.

Anyways, there was some guy named Louis and of course he’s Belgian, so he had some family issues because he was lazy, but caring. Louis was born in 1979 Mechelen, Belgium. He was a quiet person, but always wanting to be better than everyone. His family was very caring, almost like an asian family, but still had the classic rules “Once you turn eighteen, you’re out of the house.”. He’s quite envious of others and usually does arrogant stuff to other people, while not trying to draw attention to himself.
    
     During Louis’s early years, he didn’t really say anything, while being jealous very easily eventually this wore down his pride and determination and caused to mind to slowly chip away and began in risky activities. The risky activities are obvious drugs, alcohol and somewhat suicidal thoughts. After some time, Louis joined the military and served under the Belgian Land Component, which he was sent over to Rwanda to interfere with the previous crisis of The Rwandan genocide.

While Louis was over there, my sister was a surrogate daughter for Louis’s family for an unknown reason. I was also sent to his family because of my father’s ethical reasons and I was soon an adopted son of Louis’s family. Most of the time it great since I learned what people had to go through when they're in poverty. It also gave me some great life training because of how grueling it was to put food on the table.

     Whenever I stayed over there, I found out that his family was actually really nice, but strict. Over time I felt like I was an outsider from the rest of the world because everyone would just feel pity for us or laugh. School was hard because of the environment kids obviously doing dumb stuff and some very bad teachers. It’s also the place where I lost two teeth because of one idiot going to soccer practice. My sister was almost like Louis, except smarter, but she still worked hard.
 

 Louis was doing some dumb stuff over in Rwanda. For example, almost going AWOL from messing around with women and causing way to much trouble. Whenever that time came around, the genocide it hurt to read his letters from Rwanda because of how he described it just to hide it from his sister that he never knew about. I don’t know what happened over there, but something just snapped in Louis’s head. One of the first indicators was he started to send gradually more and more disturbing letter about his experience with the genocide. Also, another was the somewhat hastily written letters and what seemed like blood. Finally, he broke down over the more and more haunting experiences, he thought he had to do something about the President’s corrupt vision of Rwanda, he thought he himself was someone else and he did it, he planted a bomb in the president’s plane along with some guy named Lee something or some pronunciation like that and I’m not going say the details because the wording and imagery would be to disturbing.

  I finally finished school and got a job twelve years later as a dentist because of that one dumb kid. Whenever I settled down, I got wind of Louis’s going missing, while on duty. My family was scared to death, but I already knew what happened. He sent a letter to his mother because he didn’t know where i live. It said “ Brother, I have never seen you and I never will. By the time you read this, I’ve already been missing for 7 years because of the cruel torture I had to do to those people and my post was taken over by my friend. He’s the one who planted the bomb and killed the president. I don’t know where I am today, but I know you’ll get this soon or like five years later, but I know that the government have no right to hold you a suspect just because of a suspicion.

Farewell,
Liam

     I don’t know what the letter is going to do for me in court, but it probably won’t work. I’m not sure if he’s gone crazy or telling the truth so the court can decide if this letter is valid or not. After the testimony I returned to my home and found Louis at my house and he gave some info for me to know it was really him. I asked him what he was doing here with a perturbed and a gleeful manner to know he was safe. Louis was definitely shooken up about the things that happened overseas and I could see physical scars on his arms and face. I just hope I can nurse him back to health from the traumatic incidents overseas.



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