The human spirit is a metaphor for some and a reality for others. The human spirit is a combination of hope, will, perseverance and strength. The human mind can be one of the most powerful things in the world if used correctly and by the right people. A human spirit can be subjected to trial after obstacle and, even if it is injured, it will persevere. The human spirit is very resilient, I can be broken but not easily. Here is an example of such a story. Ildefonce Mungemanganga had been attacked, beaten to death and left for dead. His attackers had tried to decapitate him, and they had almost succeeded. Instead of a neck, there was a gaping chasm, his lungs visible through the opening and his trachea severed. He was still able to breathe because his windpipe was exposed through the hole between his head and chest, allowing oxygen to flow into his lungs. However, even that would not have been enough to keep him alive if the machete had penetrated a millimeter deeper: in fact, it had missed both of his vital carotid arteries. His face was also mutilated: the whole face was broken. (White 1). This is one of the experiences in this vignette about the resilience of the human spirit. This whole vignette is about the Rwandan genocide of April 1994 in which 800,000 people died because they were not of the same tribe as the population. The Tutsi (massacred peoples) and the Hutus have always had ethnic rivalries and conflicts for control and the Hutu took power during the rebellions of the 1960s. Once the Hutu took power, as is often the case In these cases, the Tutsi had become a minority and were victims of discrimination. A group of Tutsi refugees attacked northern Rwanda in an attempt to regain control of the territory...... middle of paper...... plane crash ended up stranded at sea. "A life of glory is worth a moment of pain. Louie thought: Let go” (Hillenbrand 29). This quote pretty much sums up, in a different way, what has been said several times throughout this article. The fact that we can walk away from things because they are temporary. The human spirit is stronger than anything I have ever seen or felt. He can feel such a varied amount of pain, kindness, love, betrayal, suffering and disappointment that it is difficult to imagine. This can spur change and reform in many different situations, as we have seen through the different examples. Throughout this report, numerous trials have been reported, such as that of a young rebel turned hero stranded in the middle of an ocean, to unnecessary rapes and murders. All of these things can be overcome with perseverance and hope. Hope is sometimes all we need.