Pieces
Kigali Ruanda, August 2019
In April 1994, local government forces, militias and regular citizens carried out the Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi ethnic minority population. An estimated 800,000 to one million Tutsi were massacred and mass sexual violence and injuring was committed in just 100 days. Decades of violence and incitement of hatred towards the Tutsi by extremists in the leading Hutu majority group, prepared the genocide, with a deliberate process of conceiving Tutsi as a dangerous and less than human community. Before colonization, Tutsis as cattle-herders were perceived in a position of economic dominance by the soil-tilling Hutus: they actually did have greater wealth and social status, but before Belgians invaded Ruanda, communities Twa, Hutu and Tutsi lived peacefully. During Belgian rule, Tutsis were favored for all administrative positions and Hutus were actively discriminated against: colonial administration of Belgium from 1926, transformed what was in fact a simple socio-economic differentiation with exchanges and mix marriages in a “racial” division institutionalized by ethnic group identity cards and based on the observation of supposed and generalized differences in physical appearances of individuals, like nose shape, height and distance between eyes. The increasing tensions between Hutu and Tutsi grew during the struggle for the independence from Belgium as both groups sought power. After Belgians retreated and Hutu leaders assumed control of government, many Tutsi were massacred and more than 400,000 forced to flee to neighbouring countries. By the end of 1960s coordinated violent attacks against Tutsi began to decrease but prejudice and suspicion against them was part of the given majority culture. In the 1970s Ruanda experienced again extreme level of discrimination and acts of violence as Habyarimana’s government reinforced anti‐Tutsi and pro‐Hutu sentiments. After exiled Tutsi in the surrounding countries had started pressing for returning to Rwanda, in 1990 a Tutsi rebel group known as the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) invaded the country. Rwandan military fought back with force and Tutsi minority were portrayed as a threat to the nation. After three years of civil war, Hutu President Habyarimana and the RPF signed a peace agreement while Hutu extremists and continued to incite anti‐Tutsi hatred. On April 6, 1994 the plane President Habyarimana was traveling on was shot down by a missile of unknown origin, Government forces and Tutsi rebels blamed each other for the attack. Extremist Hutus announced right away the beginning of the massacre through radios and TV. Government forces and armed militias went from house to house and organized roadblocks to check identity cards to recognize Tutsi to kill. Moderate Hutus and Twa that refused to participate in the genocide were targeted too. Civilians widely took part to the massacre. Since Rwandan communities had shared a long past of mixed marriages and inter-ethnic unions now everyone was accused to be half-Tutsi, to have Tutsi ancestors and to look like a Tutsi: neighbours turned on neighbours, friends assaulted friends, and family members attacked other family members. The genocide ended in July 1994 when the RPF regained control of the country. The UNAMIR United Nations Assistance Mission for Ruanda, has received much attention for its role in failing to prevent the Rwandan genocide and outbreak of fighting.
Gabriel is Rwandan. He has been raised in an orphanage. When he was 5 he lost his family during the genocide.
“Father was hiding for days in a bush. His neighbor slipped out of his house without being seen by his family to be able to convince him to follow her to give him some water and take him to the shelter. He did not trust her but in the end after 3 days he was exhausted and he went with her, and they killed him with machetes. the woman with her husband”
"you can't say the names of the ethnic groups anymore, much less asking, or saying that you are part of one of the two - it's illegal. And everyone will wonder why this person in front of me is telling me that or, why somebody would ask me that? We only use those words with you, with white people that we trust or close friends but we have to trust, trust is beautiful trust is hard
This is nothing, just a house that they have to demolish, the red cross on the wall means nothing, Places where they kill are everywere you have to look for them everywhere you have to know where they are.
The then president Habyarimana said that Rwanda was like “a glass of water full to the brim – with no more land available” - something had to be done. Right after the plane he was traveling on was shot down by a missile of unknown origin, very popular extremist Hutu radios and televisions announced that there was no more time to waste, screaming the definite beginning of the slaughter.
The massacre had been going on for decades. And after long time broadcasting incitement to genocide, racist propaganda, obscene jokes and music against Tutsi community, people were convinced that we didn't have blood in the veins so they wanted to see how much milk came out of aTutsi.
mpuzamugambi, "those with the same goal”
Interahamwe "those who work together"
In Kinyarwanda these words used to speak of solidarity and justice, they meant being united to do something right for everyone. Now nobody could pronounce them anymore, Hutu used them to name the militias who accomplished the massacre, to convey their unity and the righteousness of their aim.
Throughout the country there are still remains of the massacred people. there are always new cumulative coffins to fill up and clothes to stack.
We still find pieces of people.
and we still are pieces of people.
In Rwanda what is to rebuild are the people
You can take pictures of me. face or whatever. make the pieces you want.
Thousands of corpses piled up in the river, were driven by the current and started to be found across the borders. Only in that moment part of the international community started to ask themselves what to do.
And they didn't do well.
We, us, they, them, the people.. it's difficult to talk because nobody really knows who the people are. You look at the others like everywhere, but sometimes you don't know how to see them. Bars are crowded and if you're not poor you try to enjoy life like everyone else in the world. We don't forget manners, we say hello but you don't know who the person around you is, if he has scars or if he killed. Even kill is not the right word. It's difficult to speak.
There was a school here. All the big black stains that you can see are the children.
they took their heads and crash their heads against the wall, it was fast, some days people killed thousands of children all together.
There are a lot of places. People have been fooled, they thought they would have been rescued but they had been brought there to be killed together. They used to play soccer in one place, in others they pray. There was a church here, the priest said he would have helped everyone, after people joined together the place was attacked and set on fire.
Some people think we are stupid because we didn't want revenge. reconciliation is hard. It is not for everyone. Not everyone would consider that it is the only way sometimes. I think that modest people want to learn but upstairs they wouldn't care.
This is a school chalkboard in Kigali. Here, note the two names "Dallaire", the UNAMIR Force Commander, and "Marchal", UNAMIR Kigali sector commander. The United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda. I thought it was a big shame for white people, but then , you, western people, muzungu, come here and nobody never heard about it.
There is a building in which ten Belgian UNAMIR soldiers were massacred and mutilated. Today the site it is a memorial for the soldiers.We commemorate them. I met a Belgian boy once and he started to cry when I told him the role that his people had.
Here you have the description on the walls to share the hystory of the genocide: the colonial administration of Belgium from 1926, transformed what was in fact a simple socio-economic differentiation with exchanges and mix marriages in a “racial” difference based on the observation of physical appearance of individuals, like the distance between the eyes.
I will never cry when someone dies. Even for my own sons and daugthers. We have become too used to death. People i love will die in peace. But still, todays it's his turn, tomorrow hers, the day after mine. This makes me feel cynical. It is difficult to understand my own feelings because i don't associate myself with the idea i have of inhumanity. But it feels like monsters left us with this. An inability. I have so much love but it is not easy to be able to live it today.
After 25 years I don't know how much we have lost and how much we are still loosing.
I know I will always try to teach something.
I fell in love with a girl and we are a family we have 4 children and we want more of them.
