A Son of Two Countries : An Autobiographical Reflection on the Experience of a Rwandan Refugee in Tanzania

Rwanda has experienced numerous ethnic violences that have forced its people to flee to other countries as refugees. However, even though there has been a proliferation of testimonial autobiographies by former Rwandan refugees, there appears to be little interest in examining the depiction of the relationship of the refugees with Rwanda and their host countries and the everyday experiences of being refugees. This article situates Casmir Rubagumya's autobiography, A Son of Two Countries (Citation2017), in the context of Rwandan refugee testimonial narratives that describe the experiences of Rwandan refugees. Testimony serves as a framework for the study’s interest in examining notions of witnessing, experiencing, and sharing the tragedy of being and surviving as a refugee. Through an analysis of the hardships and triumphs of a narrator who fled Rwanda as a result of the Hutu-Tutsi violence of 1959 and became a refugee in Tanzania, the article sheds light on what it means to be a refugee, the absurdity of national boundaries, and the narrator's firm yet conflicted ties to Rwanda and Tanzania.