SAN ANTONIO – The reaction to “How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child,” which is required summer reading for TMI Episcopal students, and its author was unlike any the school had seen in at least a decade, according to spokeswoman Paula Allen.
Sandra Uwiringiyimana spoke to a chapel full of students who waited in a long line to have her sign their books and to take the requisite selfies with the author.
WEB EXTRA: HEAR WHAT SOME SAY THEY LEARNED FROM THE AUTHOR AND HER BOOK:
Uwiringiyimana and her Congolese parents survived a massacre -- but were nearly killed -- at a refugee camp in Burundi in 2004. Her sister did not survive.
Parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo remain in turmoil, forcing many to flee to the nearby countries and eventually, for many, to the United States.
According to the Pew Research Center, at the end of fiscal year 2017 last September, the U.S. had admitted more refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo — approximately 9,377 — than from any other country. The DRC the largest nationality of refugees in 15 states, including Texas, which admitted 1,046.
Catholic Charities of San Antonio reports that since 2014, it’s been assisting 355 people from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Having been granted asylum in the U.S., they are eligible for citizenship.