Benjamin Sehene

Benjamin Sehene(born 1959) is aRwandanauthor whose work primarily focuses on questions of identity and the events surrounding theRwandan genocide.He spent much of his life in Canada and lives in France.

Sehene was born inKigalito aTutsifamily. His family fled Rwanda in 1963 forUganda,and he studied in Paris at theSorbonnein the early 1980s, before emigrating to Canada in 1984. He lives in Paris. He is a member ofPEN International.

In the aftermath of the 1994genocide,Sehene returned to Rwanda, hoping to better understand what had happened. He subsequently wroteLe Piège ethnique(The Ethnic Trap) (1999), a study of ethnic polemics, andLe Feu sous la soutane(Fire under the Cassock) (2005), an historical novel focusing on the true story of aHutuCatholic priest,Father Stanislas, who offered protection to Tutsi refugees in his church before sexually exploiting the women and participating in massacres. Sehene also contributes articles to the online newspaperrue89.

Publications

• Le Piège Ethnique(The Ethnic Trap)]Dagorno,Paris, (1999)ISBN2-910019-54-3
• Rwanda's collective amnesia,inTheUNESCOCourier,(1999).
• Un sentiment d'insécurité,Play, Paris, 2001
• "Dead Girl Walking" (short story)
• Le Feu sous la soutane(Fire under the Cassock),L'Esprit Frappeur,Paris (2005)ISBN2-84405-222-3
• "Ta Race!" (Short story),Éditions Vents d'Ailleurs,[La Roque d'Anthéron], France, 2006ISBN2-911412-40-0
• Die ethnische Falle[1]Wespennest2006

External links

• Official site
• Interview on SABC(South African TV
• "Dead Girl Walking" (short story)
• Benjamin Sehene's short stories
• Rioting in France: Le Mal Français
• Interview on French culture
• Article inJeune Afrique
• African writers' index
• Éditions Vents d'Ailleurs
• Rue89