The Aftermath
An estimated 250,000 women had been widowed. At least 100,000 children had been separated from their families, orphaned, lost, abducted or abandoned. Most of Rwanda’s children had witnessed extreme forms of brutality and 90 percent of them had at some point thought they would die. Most children felt they had no future. They did not believe that they would live to become adults. More than 300 children, some less than ten years old, were accused of genocide or murder. An estimated 300,000 children were thought to have been killed but we will never know the complete number of victims in the genocide. The figure now generally accepted is 800,000 people.
This is Rwanda's flag.
From a previous population of 300,000 Tutsi's, there were 50,000 of them left and half of these were displaced. Their condition was disastrous, and they lacked adequate food and clean water. Outside of the capital, whole families and communities had been destroyed. Livestock had been killed and crops laid to waste. Everywhere there were ditches filled with rotting bodies. “Rwanda was in a state of extreme shock, crippled to the point of catatonia. The rotting human remains that lay impiously scattered abut the countryside, like debris after a great storm, and the haunted souls of those still breathing were apt symbols of this shattered nation. After four years of war that culminated in mass murder, the RPF had inherited a wasteland.
Here is a little boy who is looking at some Tutsi skulls.
The people had been terrorized and traumatized. The hospitals and schools were destroyed or ransacked. Rwanda’s health centers, one in each community, were ruined. The stocks of basic drugs and health supplies had been looted. Water supply lines were non-operational. Qualified staff had been killed or fled the country, including most of the teachers.
In the video above a young boy talks about how both of his parents were killed. He will tell you how he still believes in God though but doesn't go to church because he is ashamed of his clothes. There is also a man in the video that will talk about his experiences in the Rwandan Genocide.
Personal Stories
Consolee Nishimwe
Nishimwe was 14 during the genocide. Her book, “Tested to the Limit: A Genocide Survivor’s Story of Pain, Resilience, and Hope,” is an account of her survival experience as a Tutsi teenager.
“Growing up, I could feel the tension growing in my country. Going to school I could feel it,” she said. “In elementary school they made us stand up if you were a Hutu or a Tutsi, separating me from my friends. It made me and the other kids that were Tutsis feel humiliated.”
Violette's Story
Carrying her two children in her arms, she fled to a nearby church where she thought she and her family would be safe. Instead of finding sanctuary, Violette and her family walked into a nightmare. "There was shooting going on, and people were falling on others and dying everywhere," Violette said. The church was under attack by a machete-wielding militia. To survive, Violette was forced to lie down in the aisle and smear blood on herself and her children. Pretending to be dead, they hid among the corpses. Afraid to move, to cry, to even breathe, they lay there for an entire week until the Rwandan army came to liberate the area. Violette estimated that there were 700 people in that church - only 20 survived.
In the chaos and violence, Violette’s husband was brutally murdered. She was left to raise their five year old son, Eric, and four year old girl, Angelique. As so many other women in Rwanda did, Violette took in an orphan who lost his family during the war.
Marie Odette Kayitesi
She ran away, but ran into a group of Hutu men. She managed to escape and met a man who comforted her and took her to a hotel to be taken care of. After the genocide was over, she learned that her entire family was dead. She then met a man and they fell in love. He kept asking if she had been raped, but she always denied it. They moved in together and had a child. During her first pregnancy, she got very sick and was told by the doctor to take an HIV test; however, she was never given the results. After her second child was born, she took another test and still did not receive the results. Her boyfriend left her while she was ill, and then finally she learned she was HIV positive (Marie Odette Kayitesi). According to Marie Odette Kayitesi, “No one has ever asked me for my forgiveness, and I do not forgive the Interahamwe who hurt me.". This woman’s experiences were not uncommon among others.
Nishimwe was 14 during the genocide. Her book, “Tested to the Limit: A Genocide Survivor’s Story of Pain, Resilience, and Hope,” is an account of her survival experience as a Tutsi teenager.
“Growing up, I could feel the tension growing in my country. Going to school I could feel it,” she said. “In elementary school they made us stand up if you were a Hutu or a Tutsi, separating me from my friends. It made me and the other kids that were Tutsis feel humiliated.”
Violette's Story
Carrying her two children in her arms, she fled to a nearby church where she thought she and her family would be safe. Instead of finding sanctuary, Violette and her family walked into a nightmare. "There was shooting going on, and people were falling on others and dying everywhere," Violette said. The church was under attack by a machete-wielding militia. To survive, Violette was forced to lie down in the aisle and smear blood on herself and her children. Pretending to be dead, they hid among the corpses. Afraid to move, to cry, to even breathe, they lay there for an entire week until the Rwandan army came to liberate the area. Violette estimated that there were 700 people in that church - only 20 survived.
In the chaos and violence, Violette’s husband was brutally murdered. She was left to raise their five year old son, Eric, and four year old girl, Angelique. As so many other women in Rwanda did, Violette took in an orphan who lost his family during the war.
Marie Odette Kayitesi
She ran away, but ran into a group of Hutu men. She managed to escape and met a man who comforted her and took her to a hotel to be taken care of. After the genocide was over, she learned that her entire family was dead. She then met a man and they fell in love. He kept asking if she had been raped, but she always denied it. They moved in together and had a child. During her first pregnancy, she got very sick and was told by the doctor to take an HIV test; however, she was never given the results. After her second child was born, she took another test and still did not receive the results. Her boyfriend left her while she was ill, and then finally she learned she was HIV positive (Marie Odette Kayitesi). According to Marie Odette Kayitesi, “No one has ever asked me for my forgiveness, and I do not forgive the Interahamwe who hurt me.". This woman’s experiences were not uncommon among others.
In the video above a woman shares her story about the Rwandan Genocide. She talks about her experiences and what she had to do to stay alive during the genocide. The video also talks about how she learned English while in hiding and when she came out the war was over but everyone was dead including her parents.