DIE WALKING

In 1994, Obadiah was the thirteen-year-old son of a Hutu pastor who dreamt of becoming a pilot when he heard something was wrong in Kigali, Rwanda. He didn't understand the politics, but an uncle appeared, a family meeting was held, then they were fleeing genocide. They were under gunfire, soldiers in pursuit. Everywhere were bodies, hunger, that smell.

Stalked by terror, Obadiah kept moving through unrelenting danger and the darkest despair. He was sustained by faith and the philosophy of Ubuntu — finding one's self through others. But not even escape led to safety, as Obadiah had to face the American refugee detention system. Die Walking is one boy's horrific story of shared humanity in a chaotic world.

Die Walking tells the story of what happened after the Rwandan Genocide, which has been recounted in major works like Hotel Rwanda and Shake Hands with the Devil. It provides an addition to what is commonly known of the events of 1994 by showing the reprisal killings and widespread warfare that followed the genocide, and so acts as a sort of counter-narrative.

Obadiah M. is the pseudonym of a Rwandan author living in East Africa. He writes anonymously to protect himself and his family from those who would prevent him from sharing his story.