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By Carissa Villacorta
WHEN Leslie Lewis Sword, daughter
of community leader Loida Lewis, heard Immaculee Ilibagiza speak
about surviving the Rwandan genocide, she was so struck by her
story, she went home to Rwanda with her. On the same trip, the CBS
crew of the famed news magazine shows 60 Minutes shot and chronicled
Immaculee’s terrifying experience in 1994, when she hid in a 3 ft
by 4 ft bathroom with 7 other women for 91 days straight.
After the life-changing journey,
Sword returned to the United States with plans to adopt two Rwandan
orphans and present Immaculee’s story in theater, Leslie’s
passion and profession.
“Meeting Immaculée, and
subsequently visiting Rwanda changed my world,” said Sword. “In
forgiving the ‘unforgivable,’ she lives a true Christian
life,” she added.
Shortly thereafter, Leslie wrote,
produced and acts in a one-woman show based on Immaculée’s life,
she aptly titles Miracle in Rwanda. Immaculee is considered by some
the modern-day Anne Frank. Thankfully, she survived the genocide and
can share her inspiring story with us.
Story setting
In 1994 in a tiny Central African
country, the setting of the play, nearly all of the one million
Tutsi people in Rwanda were killed by the Hutu majority tribe, after
years of ethnic tension. With her strong faith and the rosary her
father gave her, a young woman named Immaculée Ilibagiza survived
the machete holocaust by compressing with seven other women in a
hidden bathroom for 91 days.
In the 70-minute play, Sword
superbly and intensely plays 10 characters, including the Hutu
killers, the Hutu Radio, Pastor Murinzi, the man who hid her,
Immaculée and Immaculée’s brother and father. In the next 100
days, Immaculée’s parents, brothers, cousins and many friends
were all killed in the genocide. Only one other brother who was
studying abroad was saved.
Then last February in Naples,
Florida, Sword celebrated the festive baptism of her two
adopted children from Rwanda: Christian Roy and Savilla Joy. So
close has the two become that Immaculée serves as the godmother of
these children. She also graced the Naples opening with a Q & A
opportunity after Sword’s performance.
”I just invited myself
along,” Sword shared. “I wanted to be there with her. I saw the
3-foot by 4-foot bathroom where Immaculée hid with the seven other
women. I also met the pastor who hid them. It was an amazing
journey.”
Now Sword is inviting you to
experience the journey yourself in the play Miracle in Rwanda. It
opens in New York in April 2007. There are also opportunities to
meet Imma-culee in select performances.
Miracle in Rwanda will be staged
in New York from April 5 to April 29, with special guest appearance
by Immaculee on April 6th (the 13 anniversary of the genocide) and
April 11 (Benefit for Left to Tell Foundation). It will then travel
to Edinburgh in August and Stanford University in November.
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