![]() Despite the class differences between her and the other students, as well as being thrust in a predominantly white environment, Sandra thrived. She enjoyed some relief when she won a scholarship to Our Lady of Mercy, a private Catholic high school in a Rochester suburb. Sandra struggled to adjust to her new schools, where the kids made fun of her hair and questioned her racial identity. Moving to a new country with a national language that Sandra’s family did not speak, as well as a climate that was snowy and freezing when they arrived, was shocking. Officials accepted their request and soon relocated them to Rochester, New York. After overcoming Rachel’s initial skepticism, the entire family submitted to a series of interviews as part of the application process. Things changed again after Prudence heard about a United Nations relocation program for refugees. While staying with one friend of the family, she was nearly raped. For Sandra, these environments were not always safe. This moment of rage inspired the title of this memoir.Īfter finding her mother and other relatives, including her father, Prudence, and older brothers, Alex and Heritage, the family left the camp and found some degree of safety in nearby countries. She watched the sun rise, enraged that life would dare to go on, though her family was no longer intact. Sandra wandered through the camp and its environs after the massacre in search of her mother. Sandra and Deborah’s mother, Rachel, was also shot during the attack, leading Sandra to think she was dead. Sandra’s life changed forever after her beloved little sister, Deborah, was murdered during a raid of the camp. Life at the refugee camp was dull most of the time and then harrowing in other moments, such as when Sandra had to fight with other refugees just to obtain water. The Banyamulenge people were under attack since the 1880s, when the Belgians colonized the region, and were frequently forced to move as a mode of survival. The army was determined to drive the itinerant tribe of Rwandan origin from the country. ![]() ![]() Sandra’s entire tribe, the Banyamulenge, was under siege by Congolese soldiers. When she was 10 years old, Sandra and her family fled from their idyllic home in Uvira, a small city in the Congo, and went to a refugee camp in Burundi. This guide is based on the Katherine Tegen Books 2018 reprint edition. ![]()
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