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Transcript/Script(PLAYBOOK SLUG: RWANDA GENOCIDE ANNIVERSARY (TV/R)
HEADLINE: Rwanda genocide survivors call for increased education
TEASER:
PUBLISHED AT: 04/08/2024
BYLINE: Senanu Tord
CONTRIBUTOR: Moki Edwin Kindzeka
DATELINE: Kigali, Ghana
VIDEOGRAPHER: Senanu Tord
VIDEO EDITOR:
ASSIGNING EDITOR:
SCRIPT EDITORS: sv; caw
VIDEO SOURCE(S): VOA Original
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO X
TRT: 3
VID APPROVED BY:
TYPE: TVPKG/RADIO
EDITOR NOTES:
((INTRO))
[[Thirty years after the Rwandan genocide, survivors continue to grapple with fear and trauma. Their plight, they say, is exacerbated by ongoing battles against misinformation and genocide denial, prompting calls for increased education and awareness to foster a genocide-free world. Senanu Tord reports from Kigali, Rwanda.]]
((NARRATOR))
Patrick Sindikubwabo was only four years old when his father and three siblings were killed during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Thirty years on, he says the memory still haunts him and is a part of his story he can never forget.
((VIDEO-VOA: MUGABE - VARIOUS, MUGABE))
Another survivor, Jean Claude Mugabe, was nine when his father and uncles had to flee their house, leaving women and children behind. He says his relatives sought refuge in the village church but were found and many of them killed.
((Jean Claude Mugabe - Genocide Survivor)) ((English, 21secs))
“I lost many siblings, close relatives such as aunt, uncles, cousins. If I count it very well, they reached 65 people. My uncle, the brother of my mom. He died with his wife and his whole children, so the family finished.”
Mugabe later found his little sister and father had been murdered.
((Jean Claude Mugabe - Genocide Survivor))((English, 9 secs))
“I participated in burying his remains. The only thing that I could remember was his jacket, that was what remained.”
During a 100-day period in 1994, Rwanda’s Hutu majority killed more than 800,000 minority Tutsis and Hutu moderates. The genocide in Rwanda was sparked by hate speech, mostly over radio, by Hutu extremists against Tutsis.
Mugabe says many survivors were traumatized, grieved, and radicalized, and at his age, he did not understand why his dad had to be killed.
((Jean Claude Mugabe - Genocide Survivor))((English, 6 secs))
“Some time back, I say, if I can see the killer of my father, I will revenge as well.”
The Aegis Trust, a non-profit dedicated to genocide prevention, has been running genocide memorial centers across the country with the goal of helping people heal and learn about genocide prevention.
((radio track: Freddy Matanguha from Aegis Trust explains))
((Freddy Mutanguha - Aegis Trust)) ((English, 15 secs))
“We do it through peace education programs by understanding the past but also building up the skills and values that help people to be able to develop critical thinking, empathy, personal responsibility.”
Mugabe has been a part of the program and says it has helped him heal. He has even met with some of his father’s killers and forgiven them.
((Jean Claude Mugabe - Genocide Survivor))((English, 10 secs))
“I understood better, better and more better when I worked with the memorial, and I started also supporting others from my community and my colleagues who have not yet moved forward.”
UNESCO cites a lack of education as one of the causes of the genocide, saying people turned against each other through misinformation. They have moved to recognize four memorial sites in Rwanda as World Heritage sites.
((radio track: Audrey Azoulay is UNESCO’s Director General))
((Audrey Azoulay - Director General of UNESCO))((English 17 secs))
“The sites have to be preserved because what happened here, matters for all humanity. It is a stain on universal conscience, and we have to preserve the sites so first as to fight against distortion or denial of history.”
Rwanda is marking the anniversary of the genocide against Tutsis with 100 hundred days of remembrance. During this period, survivors are calling for more education and awareness to help combat genocide denial and misinformation, part of their healing journey.
((Senanu Tord, VOA news, Kigali, Rwanda))
Moki Edwin Kindzeka contributed to this report.
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
Subtitles / Dubbing AvailableNo
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateApril 8, 2024 08:52 EDT
BylineSenanu Tord
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
