Beata Umubyeyi Mairesse in the UK

The French Institute is delighted to support the upcoming visit of award-winning Franco-Rwandan writer Beata Umubyeyi Mairesse, coinciding with the UK publication of her latest book, The Convoy, by Open Borders Press.

Originally published by Flammarion in 2024 and translated into English by Ruth Diver, this deeply personal and powerful work recounts the author’s harrowing experience as a child fleeing the genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda. Forced to move from one refuge to another with her mother, she found herself at the heart of unimaginable violence, losing all hope—until an unexpected lifeline emerged: a place on a convoy that would save them.

Years later, having rebuilt her life in France, Umubyeyi Mairesse sought to confront and reconstruct these painful memories by reconnecting with fellow survivors and witnesses of the genocide. Drawing from the BBC team that filmed the convoy, accounts from aid workers and journalists who observed the genocide, and photographs from archives capturing the Tutsi crossing the border, the writer externalises her personal story of trauma, resilience, and hope for the first time in her new book.

“A moving and powerful account of the violence of the genocide in Rwanda and the aftermath for the survivors. Its descriptions of the terror of the days in hiding are unforgettable.” —Abdulrazak Gurnah, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature

“This book is a precious thing. A telling of essential truths, an act of generosity and courage. Out of great tragedy, Beata has fashioned a testament of enduring love.” —Fergal Keane

“A superb act of defiance and an unexpected gift to the world. It reclaims the right to individualize the genocide against the Tutsi and offers a powerful alternative to resilience stories.” —Olivette Otele, author of African Europeans: An Untold History

Winner of the Grand Prix de l’Héroïne Madame Figaro (non-fiction category), the Prix Montluc Résistance et Liberté (special jury prize), and the Prix France Télévision 2024 (non-fiction category), The Convoy is an impactful testament to the duty of remembrance.