The Hirondelle News Agency reports that Ibuka, the umbrella organization of genocide survivors in Rwanda, documented the murder of twenty-six genocide survivors in 2009 in Rwanda. Among those murdered are nine women and several children.
Michelle Faust of the Associated Press reports on how Congolese survivors of rape shatter local taboos around talking about violence against civilians.
The Gacaca courts (semi-traditional courts) are scheduled to end in June this year. Inspired by Rwandan tradition, the gacaca courts are charged with trying people in Rwanda suspected to have taken part in the 1994 killing spree against Tutsis. In 2008 an amendment of the law broadened the jurisdiction of the gacaca to rape cases.
Out of the 309,368 survivors of the 1994 genocide still alive, more than one third are impoverished and need assistance, according to a report by the Rwandan government.
Anne-Marie and Samer meet with Rwandan survivors whose testimonials will be showcased in our book. Here we meet Jeanette Uwimana, Faustin Kayihura, Marie Claire Uwera, Marie Jeanne Murekatete and Adela Mukamusonera, all beneficiaries of Solace Ministries.
Fifteen years after the Rwandan genocide, The Men Who Killed Me features testimonials from seventeen survivors. Through their narratives and portraits, sixteen women and one man bear witness to the crimes committed against hundreds of thousands of others. Proceeds from this book will go to Mukomeze, a charitable organization established to improve the lives of girls and women who survived sexual violence in the Rwandan genocide.
Faustin, Ernestine and Hyacintha sing with other survivors in a small village in Muyira, Rwanda, where they all live. Not many foreigners come this way and the children of the village had an entertaining time following Samer around. Their singing is infectious.
Jeanette with her family in her tiny home. Despite the fact that her four children share one tiny bed, Jeanette is better off than most of the other genocide survivors we have met.
Marie Louise is one of the women featured in our book and her portrait will be on the cover. She is a woman of amazing strength and courage, having survived a church massacre during the genocide in which 300 people perished.
One of the things that always amazes me when I go to Rwanda is the resilience of the genocide survivors. Despite losing everything, many of them love to sing and dance and have a great time.
