In conversation with Kizito Mihigo, the gospel singer who died in a Rwandan jail

Isolated from friends and family, struggling to pay bills and blacklisted from the nation’s airwaves — newly released recordings reveal why the popular gospel singer , genocide survivor and peace activist Kizito Mihigo attempted to flee Rwanda in February 2020….“You can’t work or draw inspiration from your Christian faith, to give a universal message. You must only be inspired by those in power, from the president [Paul Kagame] … The only thing they want is for us to sing the praises of President Kagame,” he said.

25 Years Later, A Past That Is Ever-Present

At first, many things did not make sense in my 10-year-old mind. I could not understand why we,  the Tutsi, were hiding,  being murdered in cold blood and our houses being burnt down while our Hutu neighbors were just living a normal life. Going to the market, bars, even celebrating weddings. But I quickly understood one thing: that being a Tutsi, or at least being identified as such, was a terrible crime punishable by horrific death. I also realized that my parents and grandparents were guilty of this crime too – the crime of having been born. A crime against the very who we were-Genocide.

Holocaust Remembrance Day

Today, January 27th, 2019 marks the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. At this occasion, I suggest you watch this incredibly inspiring story of a Holocaust survivor sharing how he survived after 3 years in Auschwitz concentration camp. Click here to watch the video. Credit: BuzzFeed

Children of Tutsi Genocide Survivors In Rwanda inherit Parents Trauma

Researchers at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University – in collaboration with a Rwandan therapist and genocide survivor – have taken a close look at the genocide against the Tutsi people of Rwanda almost a quarter of a century after it occurred. The children of Tutsi survivors who weren’t even born at the time of the slaughter are among those most affected by trauma, according to the new Israeli study, which has just been published in the journal Psychiatry Research…

Ni iki cyihishe inyuma y’amagambo yavuzwe na Musenyeri Rucyahana?

Abarokotse jenoside bakomeje kwamagana ibyatangajwe na Musenyeri John Rucyahana ari nako benshi bibaza ikibyihishe inyuma. Mu nyandiko yasohotse mu kinyamakuru Igihe.com mu mpera z’icyumweru gishize Rucyahana yavuze ko “bitumvikana uburyo uwahigwaga ariwe ugaruka akavuga uko jenoside yakozwe kandi yari mu bwihisho’’. Rucyahana yongeyeho ko ibyo bigomba guhinduka, abakoze […]

Our most-read stories of 2018

2019 is just around the corner. The number of our readers continues to expand and our commitment to challenge injustice and indifference grows even stronger. I believe that each and every aspect of Genocide survivors’ life is a story worth telling—their opinions, their fears, and their hopes. As […]

Igice cya 2: Ibintu Bikwiye Kurangirana no Kwibuka 25

Mu nyandiko y’ubushize nanditse ko kugira abarokotse nk’indorerezi mu mihango yo kwibuka ababo ari umuco ucuramye ukwiye kurangirana no Kwibuka 25. Uyu munsi ndavuga ku bindi bintu 2 bikwiye kujyana no kwibuka 25. Gutegeka abacitse ku icumu ibyo bavuga n’ibyo batavuga mu buhamya Kuvuga ubugome abahutu badukoreye n’agahinda […]

‘The Barefoot Woman’ Keeps a Mother’s Memory Alive

I read many books about the Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi and this is definitely another must-read book. Originally published in French as La femme aux pieds nus, The Barefoot woman is a new English translation of a moving story about a Tutsi woman who did everything to protect her children from the genocide. The author, Scholastique Mukasonga, refuses to let her family’s story be forgotten. Click to read the summary of the book as written by The New York Times’ Parul Sehgal early this week.

Holocaust: Dutch rail firm NS to pay families compensation

According to the article that appeared on BBC today, the Netherlands’ state-run rail company NS has agreed to set up a commission to compensate Holocaust survivors for transporting Jews to a Nazi transit camp. 
Isn’t this another stark reminder that we, the survivors of Genocide against the Tutsi , need to keep calling for reparation against those who made the extermination of over 1 million Tutsi possible? The list is too long: The Government of Rwanda and its donors, IMF, World Bank,  a dozen French and Belgian banks, countries such as France, Egypt, South Africa, UK, China, …that sold weapons to Rwanda during and slightly after genocide, despite the UN arm embargo in 1994…

Ubuhamya: Naguzwe Ibihumbi 20

Sinaherukaga kumva ubuhamya bukora kumutima! Muri iyi video Rasta Rurangirwa Darius (Jah Bone D), aravuga itotezwa yanyuzemo kuva akivuka nk’umututsi, Imfu nyinshi yasimbutse mbere no mugihe cy’irimburabatutsi  rya 94. Nubwo imvi zimaze kuba uruyenzi kumutwe we,  hari aho agera ikiniga kikamufata, amarira agashoka ava mu maso ye yabonye […]

Kizito Mihigo: Aho Kuguhomba Yaguhombya

Aho kuguhomba yaguhombya! Ngiryo izina Kizito Mihigo yahisemo kwita indirimbo ye nshya yasohoye none, nyuma y’imyaka hafi 5 amaze  muri gereza. Naherukaga kwandika kuri Kizito Mihigo ubwo  namaganaga ikinamico Leta yateguye kuva ashimutswe mu kwezi kwa kane 2015, agatambagizwa imbere y’itangazamakuru asa n’uhatwa kwemera ibyaha,  kugeza akatiwe imyaka […]

They Remember. Do you?

Ten years ago, the book “The Men Who Killed Me” was published.  It gave 17 of the survivors a stage upon which they could share their photos, harrowing experiences, and narrative with the world, to bear witness to the crimes committed against hundreds of thousands of others. Four out of the 17 have sadly deceased already due to…

The Plight of my People

Guest post by Mireille Ishimwe:
The song Mbahoze nte by Uwera Florida was playing in my earphones today, since I learned about the tragic passing of Fabienne Isimbi, a genocide survivor of almost my age. Ishimwe reflects on the tragic passing of her fellow young survivor, the cause of her death, and what it means to other survivors…

A Key Pattern that all 20th Century #Genocides have in common

The German government yesterday returned human remains of the Herero and Nama genocide victims from present-day Namibia. The remains had been stored in German’s hospitals, museums, and universities for decades for scientific experiments to prove the racial superiority of white Europeans.
As I read about this moving development, I realized that one key factor is strikingly at the core of all major genocides of the 20th century…

Reflections on Article 8 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the right to effective remedy for survivors of the 1994 Tutsi genocide in Rwanda to mark Human Rights Day

Yesterday marked the 64th anniversary of the adoption and proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which Human Rights Day marks each year on 10th December. The UDHR came into effect in the immediate aftermath of the Holocaust and World War II, on December 10, 1948. […]

Igicumbi Kivuze Ibyo Abacitsekwicumu Bahishwe Ku Mpamvu Z’Ishingwa rya MINUBUMWE (Video)

Umuryango Igicumbi, Ijwi ry’Abarokotse Jenoside yakorewe Abatutsi, uranenga ibyemezo byatangajwe na Ministeri y’Ubumwe, mu ijwi rya Minisitiri wayo, Jean D’amascene Bizimana. Uyu mutegetsi umaze kumenyerwa nk’igikoresho mu kwibasira inyungu z’abarokotse jenoside, avuga ko nta mwihariko ukwiye kuba mu gufasha abarokotse jenoside ahubwo ko bakwiye kwigira, bagafashirizwa hamwe nk’abandi […]

A Genocide Fugitive Living Under Fake Names Deported From Buffalo, NY

“Kalimu’s misrepresentations to the U.S. government paved the way for the defendant to avoid discovery of his past transgressions and to establish a life in the United States, which included benefits afforded to all citizens,” stated U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross of the Western District of New York. “Because of the diligent work of the various government agencies involved with this investigation to uncover the truth and make amends for the lies and omissions of the defendant, he was rightly prosecuted, was removed from our country, and can no longer escape his actual past.” 

Impaka Ku Muryango Igicumbi Zatumye Uwacitsekwicumu Yirukanwa Muri Ibuka-USA

Nyuma y’uko twanditse tunenga itsinda ryatangije umuryango wiswe IBUKA- USA kudakorera mu mucyo, iri tsinda ryirukanye bamwe muri bagenzi babo barokotse Jenoside yakorewe abatutsi nyuma y’impaka ku ishingwa ry’umuryango Igicumbi-Ijwi ry’abarokotse Jenoside. Izi mpaka zabaye muri icyi cyumweru ku rubuga nkoranya mbaga (WhatsApp Group) rwatangijwe n’iri tsinda rya […]