Date: Thursday November 5th, 2009
Time: 4.00 – 6.00 p.m. (3.45 p.m. start of djembé performance by Djembasa; 16:00 start of the meeting; 17:00 drinks and opportunity to drum with Djembasa)
Location: Zwijsen building, Tilburg University, Warandelaan 2, 5037 AB Tilburg
Featuring:
Etienne Ruvebana, Lecturer international law KIU (Rwanda)/Ph.D. researcher University of Groningen
Henri Geerts, Head Centre for Science and Values
Rianne Letschert, Research director/Associate professor INTERVICT (UvT)
Anne-Marie de Brouwer, Co-editor of “The Men Who Killed Me”/Associate professor Dept. Criminal Law (UvT)
Djembasa, Djembé (drum) group from Breda
On April 7th, 2009, the 15th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide was commemorated in the Zwijsen building of Tilburg University. In the 100 days of genocide that ravaged Rwanda in 1994, about 1 million people were killed and 250,000 to 500,000 women and girls were raped. Despite numerous accounts of the tragedy, the experiences of survivors of sexual violence have been conspicuously absent.
On April 7th, 2009, the book “The Men Who Killed Me: Rwandan Survivors of Sexual Violence” – featuring 17 testimonials and photographs of these survivors – was launched together with a photo-exhibition of the survivors. During this event, testimonials included in the book were read out loud in order to commemorate the victims and survivors of the Rwandan genocide, to stand in solidarity with them, and to remind us to never again let such horrors happen. Information and audio recordings can be found in our archive.
In July 2009, co-editor of the book, Anne-Marie de Brouwer, and a reader of one of the testimonials on the 7th of April, Rianne Letschert, were in Rwanda to meet again the 17 survivors of sexual violence. This meeting took place exactly one year after the testimonials and photos were taken. On November 5th, 2009, Rwandese Etienne Ruvebana, Anne-Marie and Rianne will talk about the lead up to the genocide, the genocide itself and how the survivors are doing today. There will be time for discussion.
The group Djembasa will perform a djembé (drum) session before and after the meeting. After the meeting you will also have the opportunity to drum yourself with the help of Djembasa. Drinks are provided.
Organisation: Centre for Science and Values, INTERVICT, InterAct, Mukomeze, InterAct and Confessio (Magister JFT) .
To learn more about the event, click here.
