In 1994, Tutsi Eric Murangwa was a 19-year-old goalkeeper for a Rwandan soccer club. He explains how soccer helped save him during the Rwandan genocide.
The Rwandan genocide began 25 years ago this month. Over just 100 days, about 800,000 people — many of them Tutsis — were killed by Hutu extremists. But just a month before the genocide began, Tutsi Eric Murangwa wasn’t afraid — even though people on the street were calling him names like “cockroach.”
"Most goalkeepers in this country wore long black pants," Eric says."But I came up with a different style by wearing shorts, colorful tops. And I’ve always also put on my hat." Huge because of the win. And huge because at that moment, Rayon fans weren’t celebrating as Tutsi or Hutu — they were celebrating together.
"Within a minute, our home was swamped by a group of soldiers, about five, six of them," Eric remembers."They came in, kicked the compound gate in. And then they came and banged on our door. We opened. As soon as we opened, they slapped us, asked us to lie on the floor." "And I said, ‘They are my teammates,’"Eric recalls."‘What do you mean they are your teammates?’ I said, ‘I play for Rayon Sport.’ And he just turned and say, ‘Why are you trying to lie to me?’ And then he picked the album and looked at the photos. And then he turned to me where I was lying down on the floor. He said, ‘Are you Toto?’ And I said, ‘Yes I am.’"
The guy went on to give Eric tips — to open the curtains wide and leave the gate open to make the house look empty. Even though people were being slaughtered by the hundreds outside, Eric says that inside the house, it felt sort of like old times. The teammates played cards and watched TV to pass time.It was a big risk. It was a big risk. They could easily have been killed. But it didn’t seem to be a big issue to them. Especially one of them, a guy called Longin. He basically did everything."
Eric remembers Zuzu's reasoning for wanting to save him: so that when the genocide was over, Eric would still be around to save goals for Rayon Sports.For the next few days, Zuzu left home early and came home late. "All the sudden, I saw blood dripping down, down my shoulder," Eric says."And, yeah, I thought that was the moment — that was it. I was going to be killed."But, again Eric was saved by football. A group of older men — football fans — recognized the Rayon Sports goalkeeper, and they shouted:"Run."When he got back to his teammates' house, Longin was there and suggested the next move.
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