Major-General (BEM) Déogratias Nsabimana, nicknamed "Castar," was the Rwandan Army Chief of Staff. He died when the Rwandan presidential plane was shot down on April 6, 1994. The presidents of Rwanda and Burundi as well as Rwandan and Burundian officials and the French crew perished. Rwanda became renowned because of one of the worst mass killings of the twentieth century combined with an unprecedented crisis in the African Great Lakes region.
Thanks to his military training, Déogratias Nsabimana was a fine military strategist, respected by his peers. He played a vital role during the war that started when the Rwandan Patriotic Army invaded on October 1, 1990. Patriotic and honest, he was among the key negotiators of the 1993 Arusha Peace Accords. He firmly believed in that process, convinced that only peace could allow Rwandans to live in harmony.
The highlights and life lessons that Alice Nsabimana and her brothers and sisters have chosen to share cast new light on the terrible tragedy that struck Rwanda and neighboring countries. Resilience is an outstretched hand bearing a message of love, peace forgiveness, and resilience for victims of war or other disasters in the world.