LIFE AFTER GENOCIDE

SquareOne News Feature

by Kate Smail

Mary Blewitt lost over 50 members of her family in the Rwandan genocide. Her brother John had his leg hacked off and bled to death in front of his wife and children. Only her young niece survived. She clambered her way out of the mass grave she and her family had been dumped in, and ran to her Hutu friends for help. They returned to the grave, slaughtered any remaining survivors and raped her. One year on, Mary sifted through the 200 decaying bodies in that mass grave to look for her relatives, and reburied them one by one.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about Mary's story, is that in the context of Rwanda, it isn't that remarkable.1 million people were murdered over 100 days during the Rwandan genocide of 1994. Men, women and children, mostly Tutsi's, were slaughtered by their Hutu friends and neighbours. Over 25,000 women were raped and deliberately infected with HIV and AIDS.

Horror on such an unimaginable scale is almost impossible to comprehend. It is hard to see how anyone could rebuild their life after such inconceivable tragedy. Mary has managed to not only rebuild hers, but that of countless others through her work as the founder and director of SURF Survivors Fund. SURF has helped those left behind, the orphans and widows, with everything from healthcare and education, right through to giving people an outlet for their grief and allowing their stories to be heard.

However, Mary explained to us why she is stepping back from her role at SURF this October, and why her new project, a Ugandan Spa, is to be her biggest challenge yet.

Speaking exclusively to Square One News, Mary said: "I've lived and breathed genocide for the last 14 years. Whatever I do with SURF is a reminder of losing my family. SURF has been great in dealing with practical day to day things, housing, education and healthcare. However, what the survivors need now is a space where they can escape the genocide, even if only for an afternoon."

"I've bought some land in Uganda and am going to open a spa. It will provide for paying customers, but also as a retreat for survivors of the genocide, who will be able to come and use the facility for free on designated days. I want to offer people a different way of dealing with their pain."

"Nobody is telling these survivors that life can move on, that it's ok to be happy. I want to create somewhere that gives people the space to deal with the trauma they have experienced. The spa will offer survivors the chance to do something that is just for them, a massage or a facial, something that lets them know it's ok to love yourself."

Mary hopes that by training locals in techniques such as massage and alternative therapies, they in turn will be able to teach other survivors, who will then be able to set up businesses and therefore help more people.

When asked what she wants the spa to achieve, Mary replies simply: "I want people to know there is life after genocide."

For more information on SURF visit www.survivors-fund.org.uk