After Father Jim Roy and my trip to the refugee camps in
Rulenge Diocese, Northwestern Tanzania in October, 1994 one priest asked us a
rather surprising question: "When you went to the refugee camps did you have any
fun?" After a brief, startled pause, we described some of the happy things we
saw especially the friendly Hutu children in the camps — smiling, laughing,
waving. In Rumasi, Kyabalisa I and Kagenyi II Camps they swarmed around our
truck in delight and friendliness. Ever seen 30 little children on the back
bumper of a pick-up truck? One sister working with Catholic Relief Services
(CRS) said these children are now happy, well fed and even going to temporary
schools in the refugee camps — quite a difference from the sad, stern faces and
thin, malnourished bodies that she saw in June. So the hope of the future is in
the children, the new generation. May they not be soured by war, tribalism,
genocide and the obsession for power. May they become committed adult Christians
who say: "Yes, we Hutus and Tutsis can live together in harmony. We can make a
difference in our country."