Bagumako: They were convinced that she had hidden us.

Pauline: They forced us to kneel down and to put our arms in the air. They said that if we do not show them where the Tutsi are hidden, they would return to kill us. We stayed outside and did not sleep that night. Bagumako stayed up on the tree. At 5AM I went under the tree and told him it was best for him to come down and leave that area.

I took all his important papers and hid them. They included the certificates for his children, the ownership papers for the plot in the Quarter, etc. He went down the tree, took the papers and told me we that if God so wishes we would meet again. He went away.

Bagumako: I thanked them. "What you have done is great. If my children have arrived there in peace, that is wonderful." She stood on the road to see me on my way. I looked for a safe way to go to Cibitoke. I rested there for a while. My children were already safely in Bwiza.

Pauline: After some days, as security was returning, we learnt that Bagumako and his family were living in Bwiza. I went there and I saw them. The children greeted me warmly. They began weeping when they saw me.

That is how I saved old Bagumako and his family. He now works at Bwiza Commune.

Bagumako: To this day I shiver when I think of these times. I cannot say enough about what she did for me. Do you see the tree I went down from? We have been saved in that way. When I see her, I consider her as a parent to me. I am still alive due to her. She is my best friend.

Q: How did you think about saving Tutsi? Wasn't that risking your life?
Pauline: When the killers came with machetes and I learned that they were not looking for me but for my neighbour, I remembered how harmoniously we were living together. I would not get any advantage from letting them kill the Tutsi. I decided that they would have to kill us together.