Each survivor of the Rwandan genocide has a story to tell. View this BBC Online slide show to read some survivors' stories: In pictures: Rwanda--the survivors.
In Season of Evil, an article in the Village Voice, a young woman, recalls how she and her grandmother narrowly escaped being killed. She was 9 years old then.
Eyewitness: a survivor's story is a BBC Online story about an 11-year-old young boy who survived the genocide, but lost a leg.
Photo by Donald Miller (Used with permission.) See more photos of Rwanda
in his Photo Gallery.
Thinking about it:
How do you think it would feel to be a survivor? How do you think people might be able to overcome the emotional scarring caused by such horrific experiences?
It is very difficult for them to rebuild their society. Many people are having a very hard time dealing with the genocide that there country faced. They have 100,000 people in prison, and there are many orphans and widows. They lost many of their people. Those people could have been significant parts of their society. Rebuilding their country will be a very slow process for their society.
Posted by: Lim Ju Hee | March 16, 2005 at 03:50 PM
These days, in general the Rwandan people have a very hard life. They still have 100,000 people in prison, and there are a lot of orphan and widow.
Many Rwandans don't exactly understand about genocide. They don't know what happened and why. So they first need to understand about that. Once they know what the problem is, they can look forward to a better future.
Posted by: Seo Inji | March 19, 2005 at 10:38 PM
A survivor will obviously be labeled forever. They will often remember back to what happened to them. Well it's really hard to forget the scars they got from that genocide. Maybe it's even impossible, but avoiding the boredom will probably help because when people are bored they daydream. For that, they can find activities like their job or something fun.
Posted by: Demba | April 20, 2005 at 05:12 PM
Genocide in Rwanda could have been prevented if the president had not been
killed. Hutus began to murder Tutsis after the president died. Also, if the western governments had intervened in Rwanda genocide, they absolutely could have prevented genocide.
Posted by: Yong Jin Lee | April 21, 2005 at 04:49 PM
It is difficult for survivors to forget horrific experiences. The survivors of the genocide didn't know why they suffered, so they were shocked. Therefore, they have to receive mental treatment and understand their situation correctly. It helps them to forget that.
Posted by: Mi Hye Ahn | April 22, 2005 at 07:28 AM
The genocide made them feel horrible and scared. Moreover, many were injured for no reason. These are problems which have to be solved by all of the world.
Posted by: Eunjin Kim | April 24, 2005 at 08:51 PM
If I had survived during the genocide, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything because slaughter is a very horrific experience. I think the Rwandan people need a recovery time for themselves. They might be able to overcome the emotional fear caused by such horrific experiences, but these kinds of dread experiences remain. However, the Rwandans have to know this hard experience makes people stronger. Then they have to work hard for their country’s future.
Posted by: Sung Hwi Chung | April 25, 2005 at 02:13 PM
Imagining the situation is even hard for me. Seeing lots of cruel sights and losing families will never be forgotten. So, I respect Rwandans who are overcoming difficulties and trying to rebuild their life and country.
Posted by: Sujeong Hong | April 26, 2005 at 09:32 AM
The suffering cannot be forgotten. In this case, Rwandan people need world's concern and continuous help to get rid of their horrible experiences. It is not easy for those people to overcome entirely, even though they can get physical help. However, having this help can make Rwanda people think that there is still hope in the cruel world.
Posted by: Eun Hyun Lee | April 29, 2005 at 11:57 AM