As the 100 days of commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi continue, Rwanda is still under lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Because of this, this year, commemoration will happen in an unusual way, where people are obliged to stay home, with the aim of preventing further spread of the virus.

According to Jean Pierre Dusingizemungu, the president of IBUKA, the umbrella organisation of Genocide survivors’ associations, says the suffering is so much worse for survivors because many lost most, if not all, their family members during the Genocide, and may have no one to turn to during this tough time.

He adds that having lived through the Genocide, survivors have a great deal to share when faced with trauma, isolation and loss.

It is in this regard that IBUKA and other different  survivors organizations, have launched a 100 Days Campaign to seek support to help Genocide survivors in this time of international turmoil.

Measures to help trauma cases

Dusingizemungu says during commemoration, it’s common to experience mental cases among the survivors, especially trauma.

Because of this, measures have been put in place to help those affected cope with the situation.

Health practitioners including psychologists are trained on giving first aid, and are allied with healthcare workers in case of emergencies.

In the association, there are people in place at all levels. Dusingizemungu says IBUKA has set up a committee at a national level consisting of at least nine people.

Out of these nine, four of them are involved in monitoring people from the district, who are in touch with those at the sector level.

"The team helps the survivors as they mourn their loved ones, and also cope with remembering the traumatic events that left many emotionally and physically wounded,” he says.

IBUKA has been able to do a mapping for those considered to have mental health problems, especially when it comes to the commemoration period. The team is ready to help victims at the community level with how to handle the situation, which is challenging. They work hand-in-hand with the Ministry of Health.

Trauma among survivors

According to Sylvestre Twizerimana, a clinical psychologist based in Rubavu District, many of the survivors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

He says this is a mental health condition that is triggered by a terrifying event, either experiencing it or witnessing it.

The symptoms, he says, may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the experience.

Health experts say the effects of the Genocide range from social aspects to psychological.

According to Omer Mayobera, a peace building and development practitioner with knowledge in psychology, there are evident effects with the survivors; witnessing genocide clearly depicts how damaging it is to society.

He says the survivors tend to be anxious, terrified and scared of what happened or what could happen.

According to him, all these signs are indicators that there is trauma related to the difficulties survivors endured.

To manage the condition, Mayobera says clinical, psychological, emotional therapies are needed for the affected people.

In 2018, Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) conducted a National Survey on Mental Health; where a team of almost 75 data collectors surveyed at least 20,000 survivors among the general population.

They were assessing the number of disorders such as depression, anxiety, and social phobia among others.

Out of the sample population, 27.9 per cent turned out to have post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms occasioned with major depression, which was at 35 per cent.

Support systems

In Rwanda, there is a mental health facility unit that has been created in hospitals, and there are also local initiatives providing help related to mental disorders.

There are also different trained mental health professionals, about 2,000 clinical psychologists are trained and equipped to handle different mental disorders.

In addition to this, there are also nurses trained in mental health and psychiatry.

In every district, there is at least one psychologist; in total, 28 physiologists in all 30 districts.

At every referral hospital, there is also one psychologist and every health centre has at least three psychologists as well.

Commemorating during lockdown

Because of the lockdown, IBUKA suggests ways in which the affected families of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi can commemorate at home.

According to the organisation, families should talk about their relatives who were killed.

They are encouraged to use distinguished internet platforms to remember as a group while in their respective places.

In order to preserve history of the Genocide against the Tutsi and to heal from their scars through reconciliation, IBUKA is encouraging Genocide survivors to write the history of victims as a way to remember them.

"Those writings after being reviewed can be developed into books or documentary films,” Dusingizemungu says.

For instance, he says, they can write letters addressed to the ones remembered, or, sing songs for them, poems and so on.

According to IBUKA, this should be conducted in a constructive manner instead of discouraging them from mourning, which could lead to further trauma.

Other activities include availing photos of the victims they remember for those who can and also, remind each other of the dreams and aspirations they had.