Rwandan refugee Ninteretse Jean-Pierre told students of McQuaid Jesuit in the Father Salmon Chapel about ‘transforming’ from a refugee who had nothing to a successful real estate lawyer.

When most people think about their childhood, it is usually filled with happiness and joy, but that’s not the case for Ninteretse Jean-Pierre.  Growing up in a Tanzanian refugee camp, life was hard. Having to learn in a broken down building that they called school, Jean-Pierre’s education was difficult.  However, he always worked hard and had to compete to win.  In his address to students, Jean-Pierre said, “I had a flame. I had to compete. My dad was very strict, I had to compete, and I had to win.”

Even though life was hard, Jean-Pierre was able to find happiness.  But all that changed when in 1994 the Hutu attacked the Tutsi.  Begun by extreme Hutu nationalists in Rwanda, the killing and war spread throughout the country very fast. Many ordinary citizens were forced by local officials and the Hutu Government to fight and take arms.  Luckily the Tutsi-led Rwandese Patriotic Front were able to gain control, but even so, hundreds of thousands of Rwandans were either dead or without homes. Thousands of widows were beaten and raped, and many of them contracted HIV.  Many know this today as the Rwandan Genocide, a catastrophic war in which nearly one million people died in the end.

Jean-Pierre told the sad story in which he was fleeing from the war and his parents abandoned him.  He was a child in the middle of a war, stranded alone, with no one by his side. “Thank God my parents came back for me. If they hadn’t, I don’t know what would have happened,” he said.

Luckily, the International Organization for Migration, I.O.M, saved Jean-Pierre and his family.  He, while laughing, said America was nothing like he imagined. “When I first came, I was disappointed.  Initially, I thought it was what I saw in the movies, books, music videos. People showed nice cars, clothes. I thought America was better than Heaven. When I came here, I thought I would have a penthouse, money.  Nope.  When I came, there were old houses, drugs, garages.  I was like ‘wait, what? Is this America?’ But later on I began to like America, and it is getting better every day,” he said.

One student asked Jean-Pierre about President Trump’s immigration policy. “I have a hard-working, good friend from Pakistan.  And because of where he is from, he has that stereotype.  Yeah, trust me, I’m grateful to be here. Every immigrant brings something else.  They bring ideas and thoughts. I can’t imagine being here and then told to go back,” Jean-Pierre said.

Jean-Pierre is a very intelligent man.  He passed Monroe Community College and Buffalo State University with a language barrier, and Mr. Tom Greiner had nothing but good things to say about Jean-Pierre.  “This man is one of the fastest learners, hardest working people I have ever seen.  A great young lawyer, and I am grateful to be able to work with him and to be able to call him a friend,” Greiner said.

The teachers all had very high opinions of him and thought he gave a wonderful speech. “I think he is a very good speaker. He was very engaging; I think he was so funny and so positive about life after such a difficult experience,” Spanish teacher Señora Jennifer Martinez said.

Theology teacher Mr. Matthew Whelehan said, “It seems so human. I mean for all the challenges, he was a kid who went to school, who played soccer with his friends. His parents just want what’s best for him.  It’s what everyone would want.  I mean he is from a different country, but we have similar stories.”

Greiner said, “His ability to almost put me in the refugee camp, I could feel like I was there.  To me, he put a face to refugees.  If we can visualize other people, if we can put ourselves in their shoes, we can have more understanding and respect.”

Sophomore Spencer Dovi thought the speech was very eye-opening.  “I think it was moving, definitely puts things into a perspective you don’t see.  It’s a good thing to hear. It is inspirational, because he came from such a difficult life, and turned out very successful where he is,” Dovi said.