Immaculee Ilibagiza Quotes & Sayings

The more I prayed, the more aware I became that, in order to receive God's true blessing, my heart had to be ready to receive His love. But how could He enter my heart when it was holding so much anger and hatred? — Immaculee Ilibagiza

God's message extends beyond borders. Anyone in the world can learn to forgive those who have injured them, however great or small that injury may be. — Immaculee Ilibagiza

I love the American dream. I feel this is the place I was supposed to be in. It's beautiful. I love it. — Immaculee Ilibagiza

When you start to see another human being as less than you, it's a danger. — Immaculee Ilibagiza

Instead of negotiating or begging for mercy, [my brother Damascene] challenged them to kill him. "Go ahead," he said. "What are you waiting for? Today is my day to go to God. I can feel Him all around us. He is watching, waiting to take me home. Go ahead
finish your work and send me to paradise. I pity you for killing people like it's some kind of child's game. Murder is no game: If you offend God, you will pay for your fun. The blood of the innocent people you cut down will follow you to your reckoning. But I am praying for you ... I pray that you see the evil you're doing and ask God's forgiveness before it's too late. — Immaculee Ilibagiza

Never refuse any who ask you for help; if your pockets are empty, give them hope. Your every action must be born of kindness, your every word spoken with love. Live as God would have you live, and others will be inspired to do the same. — Immaculee Ilibagiza

I realized that my battle to survive this war would have to be fought inside of me. — Immaculee Ilibagiza

This is the same power that I feel propelling me forward into the next phase of my life. God saved my soul and spared my life for a reason: He left me to tell my story to others and show as many people as possible the healing power of His love and forgiveness. — Immaculee Ilibagiza

The love of a single heart can make a world of difference. — Immaculee Ilibagiza

Author says her father was so diplomatic that when people came to him for solutions, people not only accepted them, but they believed they thought of them. — Immaculee Ilibagiza

I knew that my heart and mind would always be tempted to feel anger
to find blame and hate. But I resolved that when the negative feelings came upon me, I wouldn't wait for them to grow or fester. I would always turn immediately to the Source of all true power: I would turn to God and let His love and forgiveness protect and save me. — Immaculee Ilibagiza

I believe that we can heal Rwanda - and our world - by healing one heart at a time. — Immaculee Ilibagiza

I came to realize that God never shows us something we aren't ready to understand. Instead, He lets us see what we need to see, when we need to see it. He'll wait until our eyes and hearts are open to Him, and then when we're ready. He will plant our feet on the path that's best for us ... but it's up to us to do the walking. — Immaculee Ilibagiza

I've seen hatred and I have seen love. And love is more powerful. — Immaculee Ilibagiza

I said the Lord's Prayer hundreds of times, hoping to forgive the killers who were murdering all around me. It was no use-every time I got to the part asking God to "forgive those who trespass against us," my mouth went dry. I couldn't say the words because I didn't truly embrace the feeling behind them. My inability to forgive caused me even greater pain than the anguish I felt in being separated from my family, and it was worse than the physical torment of being constantly hunted. — Immaculee Ilibagiza

Rwanda can be a paradise again, but it will take the love of the entire world to heal my homeland. And that's as it should be, for what happened in Rwanda happened to us all - humanity was wounded by the genocide. — Immaculee Ilibagiza

The world had seen the same thing happen many times before. After it happened in Nazi Germany, all the big, powerful countries swore, "Never again!" But here we were, six harmless females huddled in darkness, marked for execution because we were born Tutsi. How had history managed to repeat itself? How had this evil managed to surface once again? Why had the devil been allowed to walk among us unchallenged, poisoning hearts and minds until it was too late? — Immaculee Ilibagiza

Faith moves mountains, if faith were easy there would be no mountains. — Immaculee Ilibagiza

The author recognizes the power of the persecuting tribe referring to members of hers consistently as "snakes" or "roaches". This dehumanizing language, she realizes, seeps into the subconscious and makes it easier to forget that fellow humans were created in God's image. — Immaculee Ilibagiza

The power of forgiveness is huge; it is really big, and it can save this world. — Immaculee Ilibagiza

To me, I think justice is part of forgiving, if it is well done with love. — Immaculee Ilibagiza

Forgiving the men who killed my parents and brother was a process, a journey into deeper and deeper prayer. — Immaculee Ilibagiza

They can only kill us once. — Immaculee Ilibagiza