“They didn’t take anything, they only wanted to destroy, to wipe out all sign of us, annihilate us.”
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“I wasn’t only a Tutsi: I was an Inyenzi, one of those cockroaches they’d expelled from the livable part of Rwanda, and perhaps from the human race.”
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It’s not about those cockroaches, nor is it about the kind of insults people might hurl when they are upset.
Cockroaches is a deeply personal account of Scholastique Mukasonga, a survivor of the horrific past in Rwanda that could leave you speechless.
In this autobiographical work, Mukasonga recounts her experiences of living with her family before and after being forcibly expelled to desolation and terrorized — simply because they were Tutsi. The Tutsi people were once referred to as Inyenzi or “cockroaches” by extremist Hutus, including those in power.
Through this book, Mukasonga invites readers to step into the shoes of the Tutsi people, who lived under the constant threat of violence at the hands of Hutu extremists and the government. She vividly portrays how the process of dehumanizing the Tutsi community was systematically ingrained over time. The book sheds light on the discrimination, violence, and looming threat of death that the Tutsi had to endure daily.
Honestly, I’m at a loss for words when it comes to reviewing this book — it’s just that powerful. Cockroaches is truly an eye-opener, offering insight into the hardships faced by the Tutsi people, even long before the 1994 genocide.
It also serves as a stark reminder: while reconciliation efforts followed the genocide, many of those complicit in the atrocities chose to turn a blind eye.
They have denied the existence of the countless Tutsi who were annihilated, leaving their graves, bodies, and bones unknown to anyone.
“The murderers tried to erase everything they were, even any memory of their existence…”
