Time and silence are not enough

"Many Hutu families have returned to the hills, even though their men are in prison. Some completely disagreed with what happened, others fully supported it.

These families work their plots amongst themselves; they hardly speak to us, they do not return anything that they looted, they do not ask for pardon. Their silence makes me feel very uncomfortable.

I am sure I have recognised some criminals' faces amongst these families working in the fields. They have kept muscular arms fit for cultivating. My sister and I have only slender arms to feed the orphans. I do not think it's realistic to only entrust time and silence with the difficult mission of reconciliation.

Angelique Mukamanzi, 25 year old farmer

Disillusioned

In Ntarama, survivors are becoming bad or desperate. They say, “I had a strong husband, I had a house with durable walls, I had beautiful children, I had big cows, I worked every day and the day after that, all for nothing.”

Many are the men and women who no longer bother. They drink Primus the minute they have a few pennies and they don't give a damn about anything; they get drunk on alcohol and bad memories. There are those who draw a pleasure in always talking of the same fatal moments they lived through. As if that is what they need now...

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In this section

INHERITING A WASTELAND
A wasteland
Refugees and debt
The children
INSIGHT
Survivor questions
Going home
Time and silence
Time is broken
Impossible to forgive
AFTER THE GENOCIDE I CAME TO RWANDA
The aid worker
The young Rwandan
The young exile
The journalist