Genocide testimonies told through art

60 victims laid to rest SOUTHERN PROVINCE RUHANGO — Art paintings displayed by Eugenie Musayidire to express a painter’s version of the pain and agony the Genocide inflicted upon its victims drove home the intense emotions which characterized the commemoration period. The paintings were displayed on Tuesday (April 7) during the 15th commemoration of the 1994 Tutsi genocide held at Kabgayi Memorial site. The paintings, by German artist Axel Flitsch, were adopted from Musayidire’s book on genocide called- ‘Mein Stein Spricht’ meaning ‘my stone speaks’. In her testimony Musayidire told residents that the genocide happened while she was abroad and that the pain of losing her relatives, in Nyanza district, compelled her to write the book-which became a source of internal healing. ‘The paintings express aspects of genocide like betrayal of relatives, negligence of the church and community leaders, and issues related to the horrors which visited the local people’. Survivors, at the occasion, urged Rwandans to restore the sense of unity and mutual support among the citizens and called on government and civil society to support the survivors to build a new future. Bishop Smargade Mbonyintege, led leaders and residents in a solemn mass to pay tribute to the victims of the genocide. Remains of 60 genocide victims were accorded a decent burial, bringing the number of buried victims to 55,000. At least 64,000 Rwandans who had sought refugee at the Kabgayi Church were brutally killed by residents of Ngororero, Kibuye who were in the company of the Interahamwe militias according to a recent Gacaca report. Eugene Karangwa, an Ibuka official stated that the participation of residents during the commemoration has improved and underscored the fact that survivors still face widespread poverty. The leaders warned against tendencies hinged around mistreating survivors during the commemoration which is prevalent in the province and said that culprits won’t be tolerated. Ends