As Rwanda commemorates the Genocide against the Tutsi, mental health specialists warn that intergenerational trauma persists, affecting even those born after the Genocide. According to experts, the number of cases is predicted to increase in the coming years.
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In an interview with The New Times, Dr. Darius Gishoma, Mental Health Lecturer at the University of Rwanda and Technical Assistant to the Mental Health Division at Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC), reveals that around 8-10 percent of people received around the commemoration period are second-generation offspring. However, he warns that numbers may increase in years to come. "It is also important to consider manifestations and symptoms that may exist beyond the commemoration period," he adds.
Last year, during the commemoration week, healthcare providers received 1923 individuals presenting trauma-related symptoms from various commemoration sites.
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Among them, 153 people were born after the genocide.
"Adults tend to consider that youth born after the Genocide against Tutsi are not affected or are marginally affected by what happened during the genocide. However, as years pass, there is different types of evidence that the effects of the genocide against Tutsi manifest also in children born after 1994," Gishoma explains.
He stresses that children born after the genocide are not eye-witnesses but are ear-witnesses of atrocities committed to their beloved ones.
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He adds that children born after the Genocide grew up experiencing all consequences of the genocide, including chronic diseases such as HIV that affect their parents.
Research also confirms that there are changes in parental biological systems that are observed in their children.
Studies show a concentration of stress hormone in the blood and epigenetic modifications, which were similarly found in the mothers who survived the genocide against Tutsi and their offspring.
Gishoma emphasises that these changes are not observed in non-exposed or targeted mothers and their children. Data collected from Rwanda empirically support the existence of the intergenerational transmission of trauma from parents to offspring.
To minimize the occurrence of intergenerational transmission trauma, various measures have been implemented and will continue.
"For instance, genocide survivors-focused intervention. The first strategy undertaken has been to take care of parents who survived the genocide against Tutsi and treat their trauma,"Gishoma says.
Over the last 29 years, different genocide survivor’s associations, such as IBUKA, AVEGA, GAERG, AERG, SURF, and the Ministry of Health, through the mental health Division-RBC, have joined efforts to support parents and improve their well-being, consequently minimizing the risk of transmission to future generations.
"A parent healed from trauma and not constantly re-experiencing traumatic memories of violence experienced in 1994 is more likely to be emotionally available and able to respond optimally to developmental needs of their children," Gishoma explains.
Other measures include second-generation offspring-focused intervention, school-based mental health programs, Inter-generational Healing Therapy interventions, supportive home and school environments, and fostering community.
"All the measures increase the probability of mitigating the intergenerational transmission of trauma," Gishoma notes.
As Rwanda continues to heal from the tragedy, the country remains committed to reducing the impact of intergenerational trauma and fostering a brighter future for generations to come.