Remembering Rwanda: ‘I lost everybody’
Children play just outside of Kigali, Rwanda. It's been 20 years since the genocide in the central African nation erupted, and two members of the McMaster community paused to reflect.
This week marks the 20th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda, one of the most horrifying chapters in modern history.
As the tragedy unfolded throughout the spring of 1994, Canada played a central role in the United Nations peacekeeping mission on the ground, led by Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire. Before the conflict deescalated in July, roughly 20 per cent of the country’s total population was killed, including hundreds of thousands of ethnic Tutsis.
To mark the somber anniversary, two members of the McMaster community shared their personal stories, expert views and lessons learned.
Béatrice Kansayisa, administrative/graduate secretary in McMaster’s Department of French, told CHCH TV she left Rwanda to study in Cyprus as the conflict erupted, leaving her entire family behind. “I lost everybody,” she says. “I could’ve been killed. I’m lucky.”
Professor Bonny Ibhawoh says that two decades after the genocide, Rwanda has to balance justice and reconciliation. “The Rwandan government has had to tread that fine line between ensuring justice is done to the victims of the genocide but creating a free world that will move the nation forward that allows for reconciliation and healing,” he told CHCH TV.
Read the full story and watch a video clip with Kansayisa and Ibhawoh.
