Strength In What Remains

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In the book Strength in What Remains, by Tracy Kidder, we follow a man’s journey from Burundi to the United States and back. Deogratias, in his attempt to escape the war and memories of his slaughtered family, travels to New York seeking refuge. With no friends, family, or knowledge of the English language, Deo must start a life in New York, starting at the bottom of New York City’s “hierarchy.” There was no doubt that in his journey, which actually begins before his trip to New York, Deo would experience compelling encounters that would change his life. The encounter I believed was most compelling was with the Hutu woman that saved Deo just when he had given up trying to survive. What made this encounter so compelling was that Deo was a Tutsi, and the Hutus and Tutsis were in the middle of a raging war all over the country. Despite their differing allegiances, the woman identified herself not as a Hutu, but as a woman and a mother. She had ignored the risks of helping an enemy and saw Deo only as a man that needed help. Even after Deo had rejected the help and refused to get up, the woman insisted and pulled him up herself. She disguised him as her son and brought him to a Hutu refugee camp. When they pulled Deo out of line to question him, she continued to try and protect him. No matter how grim the situation became, the woman would persist in helping and protecting him. He had been tagged as a possible Tutsi and sent to a group of others that were to be questioned, when the Hutu woman suddenly managed to sneak out of line and remove the tag. Eventually Deo and the woman parted ways, after a group of militia men began to suspect the woman of helping Deo remove the tag. She told him to run, and he did, without having any chance to say thank you. This part of Deo’s story is extremely moving and relays a powerful message to people. She had risked her life to rescue
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