Scholastique Mukasonga; Trans. Melanie Mauthner
Our Lady of the Nile by Scholastique Mukasonga, translated from the French by Melanie Mauthner, uses the backdrop of a girls’ school in Rwanda to underscore the seeds of the Rwandan genocide.
Our Lady of the Nile is a high school for daughters of elite, politically prominent Rwandan families. The school is situated on a mountain top, surrounded by a brick wall, an iron gate, and armed guards who patrol the perimeter. The ostensible purpose of the setting is to preserve the girls in a state of physical and moral purity to retain their eligibility for suitable marriages. The girls are admitted to the school according to a quota of Hutus vs. Tutsis—two Tutsis for every twenty Hutus.
The school is a microcosm of Rwandan society. The girls play out on a small scale the larger conflicts plaguing their society. The two sides bicker and feud. The dominant Hutus spread malicious rumors about the Tutsis by engaging in othering and denigrating and dehumanizing their perceived enemies. Gloriosa, the daughter of a prominent Hutu, fuels the simmering hatred and distrust with lies and innuendos. The Tutsis, represented by Veronica and Virginia, become increasingly isolated and fearful until the final crescendo when the atrocities and slaughter occur.
Through these young girls, Mukasonga highlights some fairly common behaviors among a people. The majority don’t go to the extreme of fabricating lies or spreading vicious rumors about their opponents. But they allow themselves to be manipulated by leaders who have the loudest voices and who seem to have the upper hand politically. They suspend disbelief and swallow whatever lies they are told to gain acceptance by the dominant group. Meanwhile, external forces who can educate the girls on the values of inclusivity and non-discrimination squander the opportunity by fidgeting on the sidelines and allowing the tensions to escalate.
When Gloriosa damages a statue of the Virgin Mary and fabricates a lie that Tutsis destroyed the statue and that they plan to attack the school, she sets a series of events in motion. These include the imprisonment and torture of an innocent Tutsi; the involvement of the military to ‘protect’ the school; a purge of the Tutsis; violence to people and property; and the rape and murder of Tutsi girls and their sympathizers. When confronted by her friend that everything she has set in motion is based on lies, Gloriosa replies, “It’s not lies, its politics.” So, there you have it. Once again, truth is being sacrificed to political expediency.
Mukasonga has written a compelling novel illustrating some of the forces that culminate with the Rwandan genocide. She weaves several elements in this short novel: the impact of colonialism; Rwandan folklore and superstitions; indigenous traditions hovering on the outskirts of Christianity; internalized racism; hatred of the other; economic tensions; an abusive priest; a white man living his exotic fantasies in Africa; and political corruption. The picture is not all bleak, however. There is hope. Amid the horror, Mukasonga shows that there are those among the girls who know the truth and who risk their lives to save others.
On the surface, this is a novel about girls in a Catholic high school in Rwanda. But beneath the surface lies a whole world that explores one of the saddest chapters in human history.
Recommended.