April 6,1994, marked the beginning of one of the bloodiest chapters in Rwandan history. After Tutsi rebels assassinated Rwanda's president, the government responded brutally with the genocide of an estimated 800,000 people - most of them civilians.
 

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Aline Umegwaneza shares her story. "My name is Aline. I was 16 when the genocide began in Rwanda. It was very scary. It was very sad. We did not have hope."

Armed with machetes and guns, government soldiers went from house to house, looking for traitors. "Every minute, day by day, they killed people. During that time, that's when our mom told us to pack up what we need - different clothes. We didn't want the people to come during the night to kill us."

Aline and her family fled their village in the early morning hours. Her mom stopped to help a neighbor and said she would catch up with Aline and her younger siblings later. Soon after, Aline witnessed the unthinkable. "That's when I started to hear the noise of guns. They shoot. One person dies here. You see another person die there."

"Then that's when I saw women were running to save their lives. They leave their little kids. You hear kids crying on the street. Babies, one year, two months, three months - because the people run to save their lives."

Hours later, Aline still hadn't seen her mother. "That's when I start to get desperate. I start to see at 6 pm and no mom. I only see bodies. I start to think, 'I think she died.'" Aline found out later that her mom hadbeenmurdered. 

To stay alive, she and her siblings had to keep moving. They hid in different houses until finally they found a refugee camp. But even there, they weren't safe. "During the camp life - the camp life was bad. They were killing each other. So we were waiting to die any time in the camp."

After only 3 months, the conflict was over. Aline returned home with her siblings, and took in a family whose house had been destroyed. But the family wanted Aline's property for themselves.  One day when Aline was away, the family killed her brothers and sisters. "They killed them."

Source: CBN The 700 Club | Christine McWorter