SURVIVING TO RUN

WAR SURVIVOR SETS HIS SIGHTS ON BEIJING GAMES

Apr. 15 (GIN) - A Burundi survivor of the Hutu/Tutsi civil upheaval of the 1980's and 90's, Gilbert Tuhabonye will be running this Sunday in the London Marathon. If the 33 year old is a winner, he’ll be on his way to Beijing for the Olympic games.

In 1993, Tuhabonye, then 19, and 100 of his fellow Tutsis were captured by rival Hutus, herded into a petrol station and set on fire.

He was the sole survivor of the massacre. Eventually he found safety in a hospital and began the slow recovery process. Miraculously, after having the flesh burnt off his right shin down to the bone, Tuhabonye is running again. He lives in Austin, Texas and coaches a running club. Their website is http://www.gilbertsgazelles.com/.

Tuhabonye could have remained an embittered victim of man's inhumanity, but he rebuilt his life through athletics. "I've moved away from the past and forgiven the people who tried to kill me. For the world to be a better place, we have to leave the past behind and move on."