Michael Brown

Mr. McConnell

English 9

April 23, 2017

Forgiveness Essay

It is extremely difficult to forgive a person who has done wrong. The ability to forgive is

not an easy trait found in human nature. In the book, Left to Tell, Immaculee Ilibigiza learned to

forgive the people who turned against her and murdered her friends and family. Forgiving those

people was one of the main reasons she stayed alive during the genocide. Those who learn to

forgive can be freed to live in the present and let go of bitterness and grudges that can hold them

hostage to the past.

It is important to forgive so a person can be content with themselves. When one forgives

another, they can feel at peace and the pain of the tragedy can leave the person’s mind. This is

shown in the book when Immaculee survives the first wave of Interhamwe, “I realized that my

battle to survive this war would have to be fought inside of me” (Ilibigiza 80). In the

quote, Immaculee is hiding in a bathroom from the bloodthirsty soldiers when she realizes that

the way to stay alive is to trust in God and keep her mind at peace, which meant to forgive all of

those who have harmed her. Furthermore, once someone can forgive, they can move on with

their lives, which in immaculee’s case, saves her life. She is able to think with an open mind

after finally seeing the killers from a different point of view. This is evident in the story on page

94, “I held on to my father’s rosary and asked God to help me, and again I heard his voice:

Forgive them; they know not what they do. I took a crucial step toward forgiving the killers that

day. My anger was draining form me – I’d opened my heart to God, and He’d touched it with
His infinite love. For the first time, I pitied the killers. I asked God to forgive their sins and turn

their souls toward His beautiful light. That night I prayed with a clear conscience and a clean

heart. For the first time since I entered the bathroom, I slept in peace” (Ilibigiza). Immaculee’s

viewpoint changes from seeing the killers as animals to viewing them as children who do not

know the harm they are causing. With this realization, she is finally able to sleep after being

awake for days on end. The ability to forgive the people that have done wrong makes life much

easier.

Instead of forgiving, one can hate, blame, and focus on revenge. Hatred and a lack of

forgiveness is seen by Immaculee in the novel. Immaculee realizes the dangers of hate and how

it can destroy Rwanda when she is internally fighting with the devil, “It was no use – my prayers

felt hollow. A war had started in my soul, and I could no longer pray to a God of love with a

heart full of hatred… I tried to pray for [the killers] myself, but I felt like I was praying forth the

devil” (Ilibigiza 93). She is feeling hatred because she is not willing to forgive the murderers.

This hatred stored inside her makes her no better than the people who are trying to kill her.

Moreover, the lack of forgiveness in any situation can very easily destroy a society. This is

illustrated in the story when Immaculee is offered to kill the ones who have killed her friends and

family, “Bad? Bad! Immaculee, they’re evil. They’re monsters!... if you want revenge, it’s yours

for the asking. Give me the names of the Hutus who were searching for you or the ones who

killed your parents or brothers, and I’ll have them killed for you” (Ilibigiza 158). Immaculee

kindly rejects the offer, but the realization from the proposal is that the killing will go on until

every person of any ethnicity is murdered if people will not forgive each other. Even if a

person’s heart is filled with hate, they can overcome the feeling and forgive the ones who have

harmed them.
 Humans are tremendously capable of forgiving each other in numerous ways. People can

bring peace to the world and forgive others through the powers of God. Immaculee prays to God

at the pastor’s house, “… I prayed for the killers to come into God’s powerful light and be

changed by His love: Touch them with Your Divine love, God, move them to stop their slaughter.

Forgive them” (Ilibigiza) To explain, Immaculee finds the ability to forgive the murderers

through God by prayer. She believes that if God fills them with His love, they will stop killing

and all people would live in harmony. Additionally, forgiveness and peace can be possible if

people find a “common denominator” between themselves. The realization that every person is a

human being can be a way to achieve peace. This is seen in the book when Immaculee stares

directly into the eyes of an Interhamwe member, “I didn’t blink… and we stared into each

other’s eyes for what seemed like a lifetime… [he] dropped his machete, as if the devil had left

his body” (Ilibigiza 172). The militia soldier stares directly into the eyes of a Tutsi and realizes

that they are indeed humans and not cockroaches. He drops his weapon as a symbol of peace. In

today’s world, with any race, nationality, language, etc., people are still able to forgive one

another and live in peace.

Given these points, forgiveness is important and necessary, it can save lives, and it is an

action that can be done by human beings. Immaculee Ilibigiza and her story demonstrates that

forgiveness is a quality needed to stay alive in a terrible time such as a holocaust. Without

forgiving the people who murdered her friends and family, she might not have survived to tell

her story today. The ability to forgive is available through prayer and reflection so that people

live in peace with each other.