April 7, 1994 marked the start of slaughter that lasted 100 days. The 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi left over a million people dead. 26 years later, the government continues to embark on several development plans to rebuild the country. 

One of its top priorities has been to ensure that survivors of the Genocide are supported in every way possible. 

There has been need to create awareness about the consequences of the Genocide and assist in rebuilding the lives of survivors. 

This is why the Association of Student Survivors of the Genocide (AERG) and former students (GAERG) who survived the brutal killings, was launched in 2003, says Emmanuel Muneza, the association’s director.

GAERG-AERG, an organisation that currently covers about 4,000 survivors who once had no place to call home or family to lean on, embarked on a journey to create a world where the memory of Genocide is preserved and a self-sustaining genocide survivors’ community exists.

Activities that contribute to the social welfare of other survivors include constructing residential houses. Courtesy photo.

According to Muneza, this platform has enabled students to feel appreciated; they have come to understand that despite what they went through, there are people who care about them.

He adds that many students have learnt how to overcome the bad memories, and are helping other survivors cope.

"The most surprising thing is that students have learnt how to overcome their own past, and are now giving back to the elderly through support and comfort,” Muneza says, adding, "Something we didn’t expect at the beginning.” 

"Initially,” Ibuka Executive Secretary, Naphtali Ahishakiye, narrates, "Students were the most vulnerable among the rest of the population.”

Ibuka is an umbrella organisation for survivors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.  It was formed after the Genocide to better coordinate survivors associations that had come together to help each other overcome the trauma of Genocide and rebuild communities.

"Knowing that these young students had no family, no one to talk to, many felt sorry for them,” Ahishakiye says.

Today, he adds, even looking at them, healthy, well educated, among others, restores hope for the elderly survivors. "Thanks to the country’s leadership which allowed them to establish such associations.”

Ahishakiye points out, "We have seen many activities from this organisation that contribute to the social welfare of other survivors, such as, constructing residential houses for them, supporting them with clothing, meals, counselling, campaigns, among other voluntary activities.”

Muneza highlights, "There was also tension among survivor students. So the organisation formed a link among the families that were affected by the Genocide.”

Muneza is of the view that gathering as students helped them learn from their older counterparts how to cope with the past and aim for a better future.

"This is done through sharing experiences of the past and how they have been able to move on.”

Egide Gatari, the co-ordinator of GAERG, says more initiatives have been put in place to ensure that all students, even the very young ones, deeply comprehend the country’s history and fight genocide ideology.

"The first role is to understand well and make sure that it doesn’t happen again. For example, every holiday we take students in primary and secondary for camps. We talk to them, initiate essay competitions about history, we encourage them to do research, and based on their reports, it is amazing how young students understand the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi,” he says.

Gatari also adds that, as a group, they meet twice a month to create ‘families’ for themselves. The members are grouped into more than 150 families with close to 30 members each, where each family is required to at least pay school fees for one needy student from those affected by the Genocide.

The main reason why they do this is to create families of their own. They assist each other financially in case of any events, such as weddings, funerals, as well as anything that requires money.

"This is mainly to support each member so that they don’t feel isolated, most importantly because they were either left without parents or other members of the family,” he says.

Commemoration during  COVID-19 lockdown

According to Muneza, there is no doubt that the commemoration week will be effective even when remembering loved ones during lockdown.

The lockdown is part of the government’s measures to curb the risks of spreading the pandemic. 

"We are communicating, we have families. There is a close follow-up. We also do online counselling for our weak members, and so far we have not heard of any problem,” Muneza says, adding, "The real commemoration is meditating.”

Gatari echoes similar sentiments, saying that in these difficult times, they know every family member’s time — when Interahamwe killed their loved ones.

"For instance, we know all the dates when each of our family member’s families were wiped out. So we tend to get closer to them on that specific date and ensure that they don’t feel alone,” Gatari says. 

The members are also involved in a wide range of other activities that are related to the Genocide. These activities include writing books where each member shares their story.

According to Gatari, the organisation has helped in bringing young survivors together to work as one family.

"Many young people have learnt how to stay focused and work together to help those who are still struggling. They have also learnt that despite the horrible past, they are still valued,” he says.

Gatari says, "We are hopeful that after the lockdown, we shall still lay a wreath for our loved ones and other activities we do during the commemoration week.”