"Isn't your husband the man who works at Roi Khaled Hospital?" one of the soldiers asked. "Why are you still here? It is dangerous to remain in Kinama."

I told them we decided to stay there because we were on good terms with our neighbours. "We lived harmoniously with them," I said. "They did not do anything wrong to them and they did not do anything wrong to us. That is why we remained here." The soldiers told us not to worry and that we were not going to die. We stayed in the house.

Valérie: Early in the morning, I told Jean Marie that it would be safer for them to leave Kinama and go to Cibitoke with the other Tutsi. I stayed in Kinama

Gaudence: The soldiers also advised us to run away. We first went to Kamenge. Later we had to flee Kamenge and we moved to Cibitoke. The situation in Cibitoke worsened and we went to live in Nyakabga. Later on we came back to Cibitoke once again.

Valérie: After Jean Marie and his family left for Cibitoke, the Tutsi army came to attack us and we too had to leave Kinama. We hid in the forest. We went to Kigobe. Then we ran away to Rubirizi, and then to Tenga. It was hard. We had to sleep outdoors. We were attacked again and again. We were constantly running away, afraid for our lives.

Eventually we went by Cibitoke. I happened to meet Gaudence in there. She helped me very much by telling the other Tutsi that it was me who saved them.

When I met Jean Marie, he asked me, “Are you still alive?”
“Yes I am” I answered.
He told the other Tutsi from around, “I’ve been saved thanks to her, she saved my life and these of my children. She hid us behind the beds, and took care of us.”

Gaudence: Things are better now. God has forgiven us. The war is ending and we have decided to come back to our home in Kinama. We thank God and we thank our neighbors who saved us.