This year, commemoration activities will change shape as most have been adjusted due to the lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic. 

During this time, youngsters tend to have many questions, and experts say this is an opportunity for parents who are now at home fulltime, to talk to their children about the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. 

Tom Ndahiro, a Rwandan scholar who specialises in genocide ideology and denial, says that the discussions should start by asking children questions, hereby unravelling any confusions they may have.

"Do not commence by teaching, no! Just start by asking them questions; those questions will be the ones to highlight the ambiguities that you will start from when you tell them about the Genocide”, he says.

He urges parents and guardians to make interactive discussions because they are the ones that make children understand more clearly.

According to Naphthali Ahishakiye, the executive secretary of IBUKA, an umbrella organisation for Genocide survivors, there are a few steps to base on while talking to children about Genocide.

Perpetrators were created, not born

Ahishakiye says that these killings were not done by people who were born to do so. He encourages all parents to tell their children that it was a matter of the government that manipulated Rwandan men and women, and turned them into killers. 

It was a planned act

"When watching movies, as they observe that the massacres start right after the plane shooting, they think that was the cause of the Genocide”, Ahishakiye says.

He adds that it is better to explain to them that this was an organised and well planned extermination for all Tutsis, and anyone who stood in the way, for example, Hutus were also killed, but not because of who they were, rather because of either their opinions or sympathies for the Tutsi.

He reminds parents to include that Interahamwe militias were recruited, manipulated and trained, and that materials used to exterminate the Tutsis were bought on loan from other countries. 

It was committed by administrative leadership

Upon hearing that the Genocide was perpetrated against the Tutsis, children tend to think that it was perpetrated by the Hutus, which is wrong, says Jean Bosco Sibomana, a university lecturer and a Master’s degree holder in genocide studies.

He asks parents to make things clear to their children, that atrocities were not committed by Hutus, but by people in power that acted in the name of Hutus. He adds that there are many Hutus who had no such ideologies, and should not be labelled that way.

Its denial

To make sure children shun genocide ideology, it is better to tell them that there are still people telling lies about the Genocide or denying it altogether, hence, they should fact check the information before talking to them. That, Sibomana hopes, is the best way to fight genocide denial.

Make it easy to understand

Sibomana also urges parents to use simple language and simple tones that these youngsters are able to understand.

"When talking to children, you have to watch your language, and remember that hard technical terms cannot be understood to children of a certain age. So, better to use simple words that they are familiar with,” he adds.

Ndahiro adds that it is not necessary to give them a big package, but make them curious to read.

"It is not necessary to overload our youngsters with a lot of things, it is better to give them basic information and encourage them to read the rest. Just make sure that you keep reminding and encouraging them to read,” he adds.