Immaculée's Role In Healing

Role of Belief in Healing

Over the course of the book, Immaculée's is faith is expanded in many ways. She does not yet understand that everybody is made in the image and likeness of God and her judgment is clouded by the hatred she feels towards them. Another instance is when she is in the closet and is able to forgive her fellow man for the crimes that he had committed against his own people and opened her heart. Another major turning point in her development is when she has the option to have a firing squad kill any Hutus that she wanted, but was able to realize that God didn't want more killing. And finally, after the genocide that she forgave her friends and neighbors that had killed her family. Faith helped Immaculée understand that

all men are created in the image and likeness of God and when she turns down the opportunity to kill Hutus in demand, and most importantly after when she is able to live next to her family's killers.
At the beginning of them holocaust, Immaculée is unable to see why people would murder each other based in something as trivial as tribe after all of the blending of them.

Her judgement is clouded by what she is seeing and is cant yet see that everybody is made in the image and likeness of God. She writes:

They’d blindly hurt others without thinking, they’d hurt their Tutsi brothers and sisters, they’d hurt God—and they didn’t understand how badly they were hurting themselves. Their minds had been infected with the evil that had spread across the country, but their souls weren’t evil. Despite their atrocities, they were children of God, and I could forgive a child, although it would not be easy…especially when that child was trying to kill me, (Ilibagiza 94).

This moment of realization turns her entire life upside down and starts the lead her on the path to forgiveness. Although it would take time, she finally understood that God created everybody equal and that they weren't evil despite what they had done. She was able to see that everybody had been misguided and their hearts had been clouded by hatred. Throughout this experience Immaculée is able to fully understand that this is the work of misguided consciences and not the work of God and his

people.
Another development point is when she is hiding in the bathroom with the other women and they she is able to forgive the people that murdered her family and so many other Tutsis. She has finally taken that extra step and is able to forgive all of the people killing and committing atrocities and is able to open her heart to them. She understands that hating and killing them won't help with the problem and instead decides to love one forgive them. She writes, "It is a lesson that, in the midst of mass murder, taught me how to love those who hated and hunted me—and how to forgive those who slaughtered my family" (Ilibagiza Introduction). She somehow learned to love everybody even the people who she had once called her friends and we're now killing her family and neighbors. She full understands the message of God to love your neighbor, but is put into more of an extreme situation in Rwanda. Luckily her connection with God is so strong that she is able to listen to him and out his words to action unlike his many people would have given up in him. In the midst of chaos and murders, Immaculée is able to forgive the radical Hutus because of her understand ping of their misguided and clouded consciences.
Another great example of the love and compassion that Immaculée shows is when she's given the choice to kill on command when she is in the French camp, but is able to understand the drawbacks and hate that it shows. She demonstrates great tolerance and self control by still being able to love her fellow man despite the seemingly great opportunity that she was given. The Captain said, '"I’ll kill any Hutu you want me to!” He was so eager to kill that he didn’t let me finish my sentence. “If there’s a Hutu you know about in this camp, tell me and I’ll shoot them myself. I hate them all."' (Ilibagiza 159). This is the specific instance that she shows great self control and ability to see clearly and not think rashly. She thinks with a clear heart and because of that is able to make decisions based on love not hate.
At the end of the book, she is able to forgive her family's killers and live in peace side by side with them. Although most people would hold a grudge, Immaculée was different and understood what she was needed to do. '"But I keep hearing people talk about how you forgave your family’s killers and moved on with your life…that you’re happy and have a husband, children, and a career! I need to learn how to let go of my hatred, too. I need to live again."' (Ilibagiza Epilogue). She serves as a great example of how to forgive people even if you feel that they and not deserve it. She inspired people to forgive and make themselves have more open and clear hearts. Immaculée is able to forgive people for the terrible things that they did, and allowed her to move on with her lie and have closure.
over the course of the book Immaculée's faith is strengthened throughout the book specifically when she realizes that everybody is made in the image and likeness of God. Another Turing point is the book is when she learns to forgive the killers because their conscience is misguided. Also she is able to see that their hears are clouded and won't kill have them killed, and is able to forgive and live along side them again. However much she hated and wanted to kill the Hutus, she understood that they were misguided and did not actually understand fully what they were doing to each other.