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Rwanda: 30 years after the genocide, the wounds remain raw
Rwanda: 30 years after the genocide, the wounds remain raw
(franceinfo)
In Rwanda, commemorations surrounding the massacre of the Tutsis will last until July. 800,000 dead, thousands injured and raped. 30 years later, the scars are still deep.
In the heart of Ngoma, a district located in the eastern province of Rwanda, Agatha tries, as best she can, to find peace. Like every year for three decades, as April approaches, this 45-year-old Rwandan fights against her traumas. “Every birthday reminds me of how I experienced the genocide and everything I endured from start to finish”, she explained. She is one of the 250,000 women raped during the genocide which targeted the Tutsi minority in Rwanda 30 years ago. Attacked at the age of 17 by a Hutu, she then became pregnant.
Children of rape not recognized as victims of genocide
A child she tries to love, despite her family’s disapproval. “I felt terrible raising this child knowing that his father belonged to the tribe that killed my brothers but, once again, my human side won out”, she confided. Her daughter is having a hard time finding a place, rejected by both sides of her family. In Rwanda, 30 years after the tragedy, children born from rape are still not recognized as victims of the genocide. According to an NGO, there are around 20,000.
