APPLETON, WIS. — Joseph Sebarenzi knows too well the horrors of genocide, having lost both parents, seven brothers and many members of his extended family during the violence that engulfed Rwanda in 1994, when Hutu extremists slaughtered more than 800,000 Tutsis.
The former speaker of the Rwanda parliament, who sought asylum in the United States, shares his dramatic story and discusses the role of forgiveness as a moral response to injustice in the second installment of Lawrence University’s Povolny International Studies Lecture Series “Africa Today: Problems and Solutions.”
Sebarenzi presents “A Message of Peace and Reconciliation” Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. in Lawrence’s Wriston Art Center auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.
Growing up as a Tutsi in Rwanda, Sebarenzi witnessed glimpses of the tribal violence that later would plunge his country into chaos. He and his immediate family were safely out of the country when the Hutus went on their killing spree, which claimed the lives of many members of his extended family.
After returning to Rwanda, Sebarenzi entered politics and rose through the ranks of the parliament. In 1997, he became Speaker of the National Assembly, where he spoke out against government corruption and worked for legislative autonomy.
In December, 1999, Sebarenzi was poised to be elected president of Rwanda’s Liberal Party, but the vote was postponed, preventing him from improving his status as a contender for the Rwanda presidency.
A month later, amid charges brought by the National Assembly majority members of misconduct and other offenses, including organizing the survivors of genocide against the government, Sebarenzi was forced to resign his post as parliament speaker. Fearing assassination, he fled to Uganda before finding exile in the United States.
A frequent guest on BBC and Voice of America broadcasts to Africa, Sebarenzi is one of 12 peacebuilding associates of the Karuna Center for Peacebuilding in Amherst, Mass., where he helps in the develop programs to address ethnic, religious and political conflicts around the world.
Sebarenzi also teaches conflict transformation at the School for International Training (SIT) in Vermont, where he earned master’s degree in international and intercultural management in 2002. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the department of peace studies at the University of Bradford in England.
Remaining speakers in the series include:
- April 3, Michael Fosdal, a specialist on British politics, “Britain’s Role in Aid and Development.”
- April 10, Jacqueline Klopp, assistant professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University, “Violence, Land and Dispossession: The Problems of Internal Displacement in Africa.”
- May 14, John Roome, operations director with the World Bank, “The World Bank’s Role in Development.”
The “Africa Today: Problems and Solutions” lecture series is sponsored by the Mojmir Povolny Lectureship in International Studies. Named in honor of long-time Lawrence government professor Mojmir Povolny, the lectureship promotes interest and discussion on issues of moral significance and ethical dimensions.
