The year is 1994, and Rwanda is burning with ethnic violence. For 100 days, extremist Hutu militia mercilessly slaughter members of the rival Tutsi tribe. When the bloodshed finally ends, more than 800,000 people are dead.
A World Vision camera crew was one of the first to record the horror. They arrived at a church northeast of Kigali to find an unholy scene; the bodies of men, women, and children who had been ruthlessly murdered, and their corpses left to rot in the spring rain.
John Shenck took the earliest pictures.
“When I took those pictures, I remember I put the camera on my shoulder and I put a bandanna over my mouth and my nose because of the stench, and I took a shot. And it lasted 15 seconds or something,” Shenck said. “And this dialog began in my head, and that was, ‘Can I go now?’"
Reporter Gary Lane entered the church and found more grisly evidence of the attackers’ bloodlust in the sanctuary. They had poured fire down through the tin roof, and threw hand grenades down upon their helpless victims.
“This place -- this place isn’t that big,” photographer Shenck said. “This place was packed! Wall to wall with people. So you can imagine. You know, a hand grenade was like an explosive scythe, just cutting through and tearing bodies apart, men, women and children.”
Many families died in the attack, including a brother and sister. Their mother, Mediatrice, was terribly wounded yet tried to encourage those around her.
“I said I am probably going to die, my children are dead, but I should encourage others to be strong,” Mediatrice said. “So, I was reading from the book of James and saying, ‘bravery and courage are demonstrated most in the worst trials.’ and blood immediately splashed on my Bible.”
Only Mediatrice and one of her children survived the attack. While her physical wounds have healed, the emotional scars run deep.
“In our culture, you might have something hurting you very much,” Mediatrice said. “On the outside you are smiling, but the tears are flowing inside your heart. That’s how we are.”
Photographer John Shenck believes it will take a long time for the deep scars to heal in this nation.
“You can’t take the human soul and the human heart and expect that after ten years, no matter what good things have happened, the nation has now healed and it’s time to move on. It’s going to take generations and you can never let up on that constant process of forgiveness and reconciliation,” Shenck said.
Yet Shenck still has hope for Rwanda because of a church building, which was once a killing ground, is now a church again.
