To challenge genocide denial narratives through authentic stories of first-hand experiences during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, a genocide survivor published a new book titled "100 Days, 100 Stories: Rwandan Voices on the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi.”

ALSO READ: Linda Melvern’s new book exposes patterns of Genocide denial

Jo Ingabire Moys, a genocide survivor, writer, and film director, led the project as co-writer and editor. The project put together 100 stories from people of diverse ages and backgrounds, each recounting their experiences related to the 1994 Genocide.

ALSO READ: Genocide survivor on writing her story to help Rwandans heal

The book, conceived as a response to genocide denialism, seeks to preserve memory and inspire hope through shared testimonies. For Ingabire, the volume is more than a compilation of stories but a profound reflection of Rwanda’s collective history.

ALSO READ: Grace Uwamahoro honoured for saving Tutsi child

"This project is important to me because it captures a defining moment in my people’s history,” Ingabire said.

"The genocide against the Tutsi happened when I was five years old, and I needed to understand it as an adult. There are many interesting and reliable resources available on the topic but none beats sitting down with a person, looking them in the eye as they share their personal experience.”

Ingabire said that the narrative in the book not only reflects the tragedy of the genocide but also the resilience and hope of Rwandans. According to her, rather than following a linear or chronological approach, contributors were encouraged to focus on moments from their past, present, or future. This creative freedom allowed contributors to choose the form their story took, she said.

ALSO READ: A closer look at post-Genocide Rwanda’s Chief Justices

She underscored the inclusive storytelling in the book as it incorporates voices from all walks of life.

"The book contains stories from Rwandans from all walks of life: survivors, their children, perpetrators and their children, rescuers, bystanders, returnees, and those in the diaspora. It also includes contributions from individuals previously referred to as the Twa,” she explained.

ALSO READ: A form of genocide denial that is an insult to "Hutu"

"This inclusivity ensures that the book covers Rwanda’s journey over the past 30 years in a meaningful way. I hope that the readers will appreciate the complexity of life as a Rwandan in light of such a tragedy but also learn of the hopes of the people as they rebuild an identity beyond war and conflict.”

Bernard Makuza

Ingabire worked closely with institutions like Ibuka, an umbrella organisation for genocide survivors’ associations, to gather survivors' testimonies.

ALSO READ: How Ex-Habyarimana soldier risked his life to rescue Tutsi during Genocide

"We also tapped into our networks in Rwanda and abroad to find interesting and authentic voices that would give historical context to the collection,” she added.

"For instance, we have a story from former Prime Minister [March 2000 to October 2011] Honourable Bernard Makuza and justice campaigner Dafroza [Mukarumongi] Gauthier. We have stories from the city and the countryside, from people who would remember the 1959 revolution to those born after 1994.”

ALSO READ: How clergy celebrated Tutsi massacres from All Saints’ Day 1959 to Genocide 1994

1959 is the year the first anti-Tutsi pogroms erupted. November 1, 1959, marked the genesis of an unstable Rwanda, when hundreds of thousands of the Tutsi were killed and millions displaced and forced to flee to neighbouring countries.

An excerpt of Makuza’s story, in the book, reads: "On the night of April 6th 1994, I got a call fromPrime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana. She had just heard the news that President Habyarimana’s plane had crashed. She wanted me, her senior adviser, and her other adviser, Ignacius Magorane, to prepare a speech that she would deliver the next day.

"She was her usual calm, confident self. She convinced me that although losing the head of state was shocking, we would be safe because the UN were deployed strategically across Kigali. I believed her.”

ALSO READ: Agathe Uwiringiyimana, a hero whose entire political career had seen constant threats

According to Makuza’s account, Uwilingiyimana knew better than most the dangers "people like us faced.”

"As members of the moderate section of the opposition Republican Democratic Movement (MDR), we were seen as traitors by the government and therefore to the Hutu cause. For two years, moderate members of the MDR and other opposition parties had been ‘disappearing’. Many were accused of being ‘inyenzi’.”

By that point, Makuza recounted, Habyarimana had been in power for 20 years, and he could no longer hide the long-term effects of the corruption, nepotism and ineptitude of his government.

"His regime was driven by divisions and extremism based not just on ethnicity but also on faith and regionalism. Thus, anyone who had a role in government didn’t believe the propaganda being fed to the masses that the country was failing because of Tutsi.”

ALSO READ: Habyarimana's role in planning, implementing 1994 Genocide

"We knew that we risked our very lives by publicly opposing the governing party, the National Revolutionary Movement for Development (MRND), as well as the Hutu Power section of the MDR party and others with similar extremist ideologies such as the CDR. But we also knew that it was the right thing to do. I had not been raised with these ideologies of hating other people because of their perceived differences.”

ALSO READ: My quest is to speak for the voiceless, says Gauthier

Besides Makuza and Dafroza, the 242-page volume also has accounts from people like traditional music icon Maria Yohana Mukankuranga, Celine Uwineza, another survivor and author, and Domitilla Mukantaganzwa, the new Chief Justice of Rwanda.

By presenting diverse narratives including those from genocide perpetrators, the book confronts genocide deniers’ narratives and exposes how denialism often contradicts historical facts.

Tackling denialism head-on

"One of the reasons we wanted this book to carry stories from different experiences was to tackle denialism head-on. This is why I chose to include perpetrators’ stories. It was not only to have them acknowledge their role; what I discovered during the story collection is that most of them, even those who were repentant and served their sentences, had revised the truth to find a narrative that they could live with,” she said.

"For instance, one woman, infamous for her role in the massacres presented herself as a victim although she was also on record admitting her crimes. But when the story collector, who happened to be a friend she knew before the genocide, challenged her account, she would quickly go back to telling the truth.”

ALSO READ: Killing many in a short period; how civilians were prepared for the Genocide

Genocide denial, Ingabire added, is prevalent in the diaspora, not necessarily as a political stance but sometimes as a coping mechanism.

Her book aims to illuminate such complexities while reaffirming the historical truth.

According to Ingabire, the collection, which also includes stories from prominent figures such as Makuza and justice campaigner Dafroza Gauthier, is envisioned as a vital educational tool. Through collaboration with Ishami Foundation which focuses on genocide and Holocaust education, she hopes the book will contribute to genocide education.

‘It can strengthen unity’

Catholic Nun Sr. Marie Josepha Mukabayire, a survivor of the 1994 genocide has also written a book on her life story before, during and after the genocide.

Mukabayire who launched her book in Ghana about three months ago told The New Times that sharing personal stories, be it from survivors or perpetrators plays a crucial role in strengthening unity and challenging genocide denialism.

She said, "Getting together to tell the story, whether from the perspective of genocide perpetrators, or the survivors, offers an opportunity for people to learn from them. It can strengthen unity.”

"Reading the story of a survivor or a perpetrator could challenge those who deny the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. Maybe it could help change their perspective.”

Mukabayire said that people have to live together and embrace the culture of sharing testimonies as it would result in forgiveness.

"We have to live together. And somehow, it's good to hear from people who killed others, telling us how they killed people, what they feel now, and how they see the future. Maybe they are traumatized and in need of forgiveness,” she said.