The 100 days of commemoration of the more than one million victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi concludes later this week, leading up to the 28th Liberation Day on Monday, July 3. Since April 7, the country has come together to reflect and pay homage to the victims of the worst atrocities in recorded history, and to renew commitment to the fight against genocide ideology and denial as well as to a united, constructive future. Commemoration events have taken place across the country, with survivors sharing hallowing testimonies from the country’s darkest chapter – tales that reveal new dimensions of the viciousness of the Genocide each passing year. At a commemoration event at Rwezamenyo, Nyakabanda in Kigali’s Nyarugenge District on Sunday, June 26, mourners heard of the savagery that characterised the killings there, consequences of which continue to haunt survivors. In a disturbing account, one survivor spoke of her enduring pain and traumatic experience at the hands the militia, including being raped (rape was used as a weapon during the Genocide against the Tutsi), and giving birth to a child as a result of the abuse. She and her daughter were infected with HIV/AIDS as a result of the sexual assault. Twenty years on, her daughter is yet to come to terms with that sad history, which has seen her even decline to take ARVs. And this is not an isolated incident as many survivors and their offspring continue to suffer under the weight of that historical baggage. Inter-generational trauma is a serious problem in Rwanda as evidenced by a 2019 study by the Rwanda Biomedical Centre, which found that trauma among young Genocide survivors and young adults who were not even born during the Genocide stood at 18.5 per cent. In view of this it is vitally important that mental health support services are urgently scaled up for the most vulnerable groups to help particularly young victims to overcome the psychosocial challenges they’re grappling with.
