Stones were the principal weapon for the Bisesero people to repel attacks launched against them by armed perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, who wanted to exterminate them.
But, as attacks lasted for a long time, it happened that stones at their disposal got finished, and they had to descend from a hill with a collective resolve to tackle the killers, targeting those with guns, remembers Eric Nzabihimana, now aged 60.
"We had a system that we called in Kinyarwanda 'kwiroha' which means, descending from a hill in order to attack the killers. They were shooting, of course, there are some Tutsi who died [as a result] of the bullets," said Nzabihimana, who is one of the Tutsi who survived multiple attacks by the perpetrators in Bisesero.
"Realising that they were descending towards them, the attackers started fleeing. Then, we followed them with our sticks, while focusing on those who had guns in order to catch them, which would discourage the attackers. With that tactic, we managed to capture 13 guns," he said, adding "this method allowed us to resist the attacks in the entire month of April [1994], though we suffered losses which were not many."
Attacks were not launched against Bisesero people in the first few days of May, Nzabihimana said, adding that the residents thought killings had probably stopped. They started grazing cows, and some started carrying out agricultural activities as life seemed to return to normal.
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They did not know that the genocidal government was plotting a very strong attack that would exterminate the Tutsi of Bisesero. He revealed how the then government claimed there were Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) military officers in Bisesero which was the reason it was difficult to massacre them.
From May 13 to 14, 1994, Nzabihimana remembers how about 40,000 Tutsi who lived in Bisesero, an area in the former Kibuye Prefecture, current Karongi District, were horrendously killed by the perpetrators of the Genocide that he estimated were coming from almost all parts of the country. They used grenades, guns which overwhelmed the residents.
Overall, Nzabihimana estimates that only about 800 people survived the Genocide against the Tusti out of around about 60,000 people who lived in Bisesero.
It is such resilience and resistance spirit of the Bisesero people that pushed Rwandan scholar Oscar Gasana to author a book called "Les collines se souviennent" loosely translated to "hills remember".
The book revolves around the survivors of Bisesero recounting their resistance during the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
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Nzabihimana was speaking at an event held at Kigali Public Library, on May 15, to reflect on the book.
Future generations will know about the heroics in Bisesero
Speaking to The New Times shortly after the event, Stéphanie Gasana, daughter of Oscar Gasana, said that the book was first launched in 2019 in Kigali and in Canada.
She said that with the book, her father - who died in December 2023 - immortalised the history of Bisesero people's resistance.
"Imortalised means by writing a book, he made it something that will forever stay and all the younger generations will be able to read," she indicated.
"What the Genocide tried to do is to kill [all] the Tutsi, and by doing that they burnt photos, they burnt records, everything, so that you will never know that they [the Tutsi] were there. But with this book,there is something that I am living behind for generations to read, for my family to read, for everyone to get to know the story that is kind of swept under the rug," she said.
On memorable messages in the book, she said, "the most key message is the value of bravery, of integrity, of pride. The book is all about pride.
The Bisesero people were willing to sacrifice their own life for the betterment of this community, for Basesero - the people from Bisesero - to continue living on," She said, commending their courage to fight the perpetrators, despite being short of weapons.
She said that it was timely to reflect on the book during the 30th commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, to remind people of the bravery of Basesero during the Genocide, citing one Aminadabu Birara, among key figures of Bisesero resistance.
