My Hope, 25 Years On

Genocide: Forgiveness is a Betrayal

25 Years Later, A Past That Is Ever-Present

Reflection

25 Years Later, A Past That Is Ever-Present

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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

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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

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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?

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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?

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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

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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

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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…

#KofiAnnan ’s Unaccountable Legacy #genocide #Rwanda

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The news stories about the passing of Kofi Annan continue to float around in the media. Philip Gourevitch, one of the best writers on Rwanda genocide against the Tutsi makes his voice count as well. He eloquently discusses how Kofi Annan failed to express any shred of remorse towards his actions or inactions during the genocide of Tutsi in Rwanda and other mass atrocities crimes of the 90s. Gourevitch’s piece in the New Yorker today is definitely a must-read. Click to read more.
Albert

The Dark legacy of #KofiAnnan

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When I woke up late this morning, the news stories about the death of former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, greeted me. I had to bite my tongue, however, to honestly mourn this man, who, once assumed an office with the power to make decisions of life and […]

Imfuruka z’agahinda

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Guest post by Olivier U. Bahizi:
Imyaka 25 igiye gushira! Bamwe muri twe twari abana, ubu bashobora kwibuka ibyabaye, abandi tubyumva mu nkuru. Cyakora twese tubona ingaruka zabyo, kuko bamwe twibona turi twenyine, tutagira abo duhamagara ‘papa cyangwa mama’, ni uko tukemera ko ibyo batubwira byabayeho koko: baratwishe! Umuvandimwe wanjye aherutse kugira ikibazo ndibugarukeho muri iyi nyandiko, cyatumye ntekereza byinshi ku rusobe rw’ingaruka za jenoside abarokotse banyuramo. Soma inkuru irambuye…

Archives Reveal: PR Motive Guided Israel in Aiding Rwanda Genocide Victims

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Newly published letters show that the desire to ‘score a PR victory’ – not empathy – was key in decision to offer help to victims of Genocide in 1994. Read more to discover the revealed shameful discussions that were going on in Israel while survivors were still bleeding. The story of Israel arming the ‘‘Genocidaires’’ in 1994 is another disturbing issue that I will discuss in the upcoming posts.
Albert

Imicungire mibi mu mafaranga yagenewe gutera inkunga abarokotse jenoside

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  Photo: Uwacitse ku icumu n’umwana we mu nzu yabo iva imbere y’ikidendezi cy’amazi yaretse mu ruganiriro. Kibirizi, Gisagara. Raporo y’umugenzuzi mukuru w’imari ya Leta y’umwaka w’imari turangije wa 2013-2014 nkuko bimaze kumenyerwa yongeye kugaragaza imicungire idahwitse y’ amafaranga na gahunda zagenewe gutera inkunga abacitse ku icumu rya […]

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

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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. […]

My Hope, 25 Years On

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Guest blog post by Mireille Ishimwe. A few weeks ago as I was visiting my family during spring break, I learned that according to a census done by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda in 2007, there were around 300,000 Tutsis survivors of the 1994 genocide against […]

Genocide: Forgiveness is a Betrayal

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I spoke to France 24/Spanish Channel,  yesterday.  They asked me my views on forgiveness and reconciliation.  I have to admit that the duo is certainly  NOT my favorite topics to discuss. Next, my favorite topic came up: Justice for the victims. They asked me why i feel strongly […]

Reflection

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For those in Washington DC area, please join us at George Washington University for a discussion reflecting on the legacy of genocide in the lives of its survivors, 25 years later. I will address the legacy of the 1994 Rwanda genocide against the Tutsi after twenty-five years, the […]

New York Times: Rwanda’s Children of Rape Have Come of Age

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Twenty-five years after the genocide, its effects are shaping a new generation. 
What are the effects of being born of rape in the name of genocide? How are mothers who survived this brutal violence in Rwanda dealing with the trauma and complexities of their lives and the long-lasting, multigenerational impact of what was done to them?
Click here to read the entire story and absolutely fascinating pictures by Jonathan Torgovnik as appeared in the New York Times today

A Baby Step In The Right Direction:  US Senate’s Resolution Observing the 25th Anniversary of the Genocide in Rwanda

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The Democratic Senator of New Jersey, Bob Menendez, today introduced a Resolution marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda, which cost the lives of over one million people. “This April we join with the people of Rwanda and the global community to solemnly commemorate the 25th Anniversary […]