Survivors of the Rwandan Genocide

While the Rwandan genocide might seem far removed from us and long ago, the victims, perpetrators, and witnesses still live with the memories and scars of the genocide- these stories are examples of people who have turned their lives around after the horrific experiences of civil war.

Joseph:

He escaped the interhamwe by crawling through swamps and mud to get to Burundi (country nearby Rwanda). He lost 20 family members during the genocide. Every night, he remembers the sounds of screams and pleas of his neighbors and family members begging not be killed. He suffered from constant fears that the interhamwe would return, but he was able to get counseling and now works in micro-finance.

Claudine:

Before the genocide, she lived happily with her 10 siblings and her parents. She watched as her entire family was killed with machetes (pangas). She was kept alive to be raped each day by the interhamwe. Every night, she went to sleep hungry and even after the genocide ended and she was released by her captors, she was still living in poverty. She eventually found work as a builders assistant, and continues in that line of work within her village.

Monica:

Monica was a Hutu who was married to a Tutsi. Her father and brother killed her husband and her 6 children, forcing her to watch. Her father screamed at her, saying it was her fault for marrying a Tutsi, her fault that her children were dead. She escaped to a refugee camp in Tanzania, where she stayed until the war was over. Her brothers and father were put in jail for the crimes. She was betrayed by her family and rejected by her husbands family as she was Hutu- she lived isolated in a falling apart house. Eventually, counseling helped her forgive her brothers and she now considers them their family.