Fashion is all about inspiration. We
can find inspiration anywhere. The people we love, a magazine, a movie, a
stunning landscape… they can all be sources of inspiration. Although there is
something that can be more inspiring than anything else: people who live to
inspire others, people that fought or fight everyday for peace and freedom. In
this raining afternoon the Red Shoes will take me on a journey throughout the
life of a person that makes sure every single day that Human Rights are not
just words on a paper, Marguerite Barankitse, and I invite you to come along.
The story starts in Burundi, an
African country bordered by Rwanda, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the
Congo. It became independent in 1962 and has been devastated by ethnic violence
ever since. In 1993, the situation turned into a violent civil war that lasted
for almost 12 years. On October 24th
in 1993, Marguerite faced a life-changing moment that would determine her role
in defending human rights in Burundi and that we are about to testify. She
witnessed the slaughter of 72 Hutus that were hidden in the bishop’s residence
where she worked. Among them, there was a Tutsi friend of her that refused to
let her husband die alone. She left her two children and Maggy, as she likes to
be treated, immediately realized that as those two children, there were
thousands of orphans, victims of the atrocities of war. She decided to take
care of many children as she could, both Tutsis and Hutus. 32 children, then
300, then 1000, 10000 and 30000 children. She never had kids of her own but
it’s easy to understand why she is considered “the national mother” of Burundi.
In 1994, Maggy founded a house that
would later be called “Maison Shalom” (“shalom” is the Hebrew word for peace).
In her words “Shalom was born to say no to war, to say yes to the love, yes to
the life!” There everyone is raised as equal, as human beings, based on love
and reconciliation and away from the burdens of war. Children learn to forgive and
to be free from prejudice. “For me a Burundese is a Burundese”, said Lydia, one
of her daughters. Marguerite refuses to build orphanages. She built more than
3000 houses throughout the country, giving away all the land of her
grandfather. Children live in small groups as families so that they can have a
perspective of a bright future. She is creating a new generation of Burundese
that would stand up to the injustices of war and work hard, hoping that when she turns 90 the country
would be completely at peace – “I know in my heart that evil will never have
the last word”.
Burundi is one of the poorest
countries in the world (around 67% of the population lives with less than a
dollar a day and life expectancy is 50 years-old) and one of the main reasons
to its poverty is the lack of education, motivated by years of social
injustice. This fact led Maggy to found schools, a library and the “City of
Angels”, a place where young adults can learn a skill and cooperate to create
small businesses. Despite the importance of education, Maggy also considers
that it is important for children to have fun, so she built a cinema, a
swimming pool and other amusement places where kids with different ethnicities
can socialize. If you pay attention to the scenario we are soaring right now,
you will see that these children are, in fact, happy.
When the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights was created in 1948 a huge step was made to preserve human’s
dignity and justice. However, the rights do not have the force of law in many
countries and atrocities like the civil war in Burundi have been done since. Human
Rights like the right to be fed and to have a proper education are violated
everyday and free-thinking individuals like Maggy Barankitse choose to live
their lives seeking for equal justice and opportunities and to fight war and
poverty, showing us that our lives can truly make a change based on the choices
we make – “A new generation is coming. I’m not a dreamer, no, no. It’s real. We
are one family, one human family!” (Marguerite Barankitse).
Red Shoes
