• Jehovah’s Witnesses—1995 Yearbook Report
    1995 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses

    • Tragedy in Rwanda

      Especially prominent in the news has been the situation in Rwanda and nearby countries. Days before the gruesome pictures and stories on conditions inside Rwanda began appearing in the press, the branch office in Kenya was already involved in the evacuation of three missionaries and in providing support and direction for the brothers innocently caught up in the turmoil. Spontaneously, brothers in Europe, and from as far away as the United States and Hong Kong, offered help.

      Right from the start of hostilities, brothers and sisters, both Hutu and Tutsi, risked their own lives to protect fellow Witnesses. Some were spared, but not all. Among the possibly half million Rwandans who lost their lives were hundreds of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

      One of the traveling overseers in Rwanda risked his life on repeated trips, more than 120 miles [200 km] each way, to bring funds for the brothers not only to supply physical needs but also to evacuate Witnesses to safer areas.

      Communication, though erratic, was maintained by the brothers with the branch office through the end of May. It then became necessary to evacuate Kigali, and as the brothers headed north, two of the translation staff were killed at a roadblock. Some 200 brothers and interested persons went east to refugee camps in Tanzania; some, north to Uganda; others, south to Burundi. About 2,000 fled to Goma, Zaire, and to other locations. Both physical and emotional suffering had touched every family. As the refugees crossed the border, what a welcome sight were the Zairian brothers and sisters who were holding up Bible literature as a means of identification. Relief committees were quickly set up in Goma, Bukavu, and Uvira.

      Witnesses in Kenya promptly dispatched relief supplies for their Rwandan brothers. During the period from May 23 to July 27, a total of 5,218 pounds [2,367 kg] of clothing were shipped from Kenya to Goma and to the camps in Tanzania. In addition, some 2,437 blankets, 10,994 pounds [4,987 kg] of soap, and 1,515 pounds [687 kg] of medical supplies were shipped from Nairobi. Large canvas tents were also sent to provide shelter for the Witnesses who had become refugees. The brothers in Nairobi worked an extra shift to provide The Watchtower, Our Kingdom Ministry, and other publications in Kinyarwanda and other languages, and these were airlifted to the brothers for their spiritual nourishment.

      On July 22 a faxed SOS was received at the branch office in France telling about the critical situation of the refugees. Six weeks earlier, 65 tons of clothing—most of it new—had already been sent from France for the refugees. Now, within minutes, the decision was made to load a cargo plane with further relief supplies. Upon learning of the urgent need for help, the brothers in France, Belgium, and Switzerland contributed the equivalent of some $1,600,000. Food, medicine, water filters, and other important supplies were boxed and transported to the airport in Ostend, Belgium. On July 27 the first shipment was dispatched to Bujumbura, Burundi, in a large cargo jet that the brothers chartered. The following day more medical supplies were sent, and still more two days later. Witnesses from Belgium and France, including a doctor and two nurses, also left for Goma. Working along with local brothers who had medical experience, they endeavored to help those already sick and to avert further loss of life by instituting strict rules of hygiene. Amid all of this, the brothers did not ignore their spiritual needs. They regularly discussed the daily text and made arrangements for meetings.

      At the time of this writing, some have begun to return to Rwanda. But their possessions had been looted, and many homes had been completely destroyed. Despite the turmoil, there are apparently sheeplike ones in Rwanda who still need help. Before violence engulfed the land, the Witnesses there were, on an average, each conducting three Bible studies with interested people, and upwards of 10,000 had attended the Memorial.