Oak Hill Flyer

16 may 06: i took to the austin high school track at 7am for a track workout before heading off to the office. the austin skyline stood underexposed to the east as the morning sun ascended. on my own, i focused on my 400s and 800s.

halfway into the workout, i was joined at the track by two lean africans, one of whom i recognized as gilbert tuhabonye. known across the county on a first-name-only basis for not just his blazing speed, i happened to meet him that past weekend at his autobiography signing. he recognized me as i finished a turn around the loop; we exchanged greetings.

"hey, you read the book yet?" he queried with his decidedly non-texan accent.

"not yet, man," i exhaled, hands on hips.

"what have you been doing then?" he jokingly prodded.

"well, i've been running!" i quipped.

he introduced me to his cousin, bernard, and we chatted for 2-3 minutes. after a while, we all went back to dropping laps.

living in austin for several years, i had a rudimentary understanding of gilbert's story. and for anyone who didn't know the story and happened to meet gilbert in person, they would be hard-pressed to not ask him a question most obvious:

"where'd all those scars come from?"

[...]

born and raised in the small central african country of burundi, gilbert enjoyed life as a young boy living with immediate and extended family on vast and fertile rural farmland. growing up, gilbert found himself steadfast with chores, eager in school, loving of family and mischievous with friends. gilbert recounts in great detail many aspects of this life with wistful retrospection. the book dovetails into school life, where he discovers several passions: education, drumming, christianity. he also discovers a natural talent for distance running, a talent that elevates him to national status while still school-aged.

by blood, tuhabonye is a member of the tutsi tribe, one of two tribes that dominate the central region of africa. political, cultural, economic and racial tensions have existed between the minority, upper-class tutsis and the majority, working-class hutus for the better part of the past fifty years, leading to several collapses of government and urban conflicts. despite conditions, gilbert remained almost entirely isolated from any matters of the sort, either in the comfort of his family's remote farmland or in the sanctuary of boarding school. he befriended tutsi and hutu alike, and felt no animosity towards any race.

in october 1993, the newly elected president of the republic was assassinated by tutsi army members. hutus nationwide retaliated in hatred and rage, which due to strength in numbers, immediately escalated to widespread tutsi genocides only hours after the morning's coup. as a part of the hutu army's plans that day, they organized a surprise attack on gilbert's boarding school, with the full intention off killing all tutsis in attendance.

gilbert recounts in brave detail how friends and faculty went from being trustworthy to bloodthirsty in minutes, and the horrors that gripped all senses and emotions. how he survived over 24 hours of hell on earth, every second spent in fight, flight and/or fear. he was fated to die that evening with hundreds of other classmates trapped in a schoolroom in a mass execution-by-fire. gilbert, in desparate physical agony, survived the fire, the watchful eye of the merciless hutus, and all other horrors of the night.

gilbert, targeted by the hutus as the prize kill for his athletic prowess, popularity and academic status, was to be the sole survivor of the boarding school massacre. the book closes with details of recovery, his return to health and to running, and his eventual relocation to the united states.

certainly, the crux of the read rides on the events of 21 oct 1993 and gilbert's personal retelling. i have certainly been aware of war horrors and holocausts of the past, but never have i experienced such a personal account of such atrocities. many sections of the book are not for the faint of heart; i applaud gilbert for having the courage to put these details to paper, in the name of both historical record and personal closure.

i can only conclude that to read the book is to understand gilbert to some degree. and what i understand is this: gilbert tuhabonye ranks among the most optimistic people i have ever known or learned about. he unfailingly remembers all the elements of burundi that he loved. he feels indebted to all who aided in his recovery: in his native land, among the international track circuits, in the united states. and if ever there was a person with an excuse to hate and resent, gilbert hardly has need for perishing such thoughts. he simply remains grateful to his faith and the opportunities that now lay before him in his new home of austin, texas: his new family, and a chance at representing his native land in the 2008 olympics, among others.

well over a decade later, gilbert cannot return to his native country. he, his family, and citizens hold a realistic fear that there still are circles who hold a bounty to his name. with an understanding of the predicament, the sole consolation to the reader saddened by this is that the author is not, difficult to believe as it is.

which is all the more remarkable when this reader thinks about the last time they saw gilbert on the run just a few tuesdays ago.

Posted by OHF on 08 June 2006 at 23:20 | Permalink