'He killed my sister. Now I see his remorse’: the extraordinary stories of survivors of the Rwandan genocide who forgave their attackers.
Half a million died in 100 days: neighbours attacked neighbours, children saw their families slaughtered. But 30 years on, many of the victims and perpetrators have forged reconciliations – even become friends. How did it happen?
The most extraordinary reconciliations are taking place across Rwanda. Thirty years after the genocide, unthinkable partnerships have formed between unlikely pairs: murderers and survivors; parents and children whose families were torn apart by mass murder. They have been hard won.
“After the genocide, people came to apologise,” says 70-year-old Liberatha from the Karongi district in Rwanda, where nine out of 10 Tutsis were murdered, including her family. “I said, ‘I will never forgive you.’ I never expected to exchange a word with those people again.” Yet now, after going through a process of community-based sociotherapy, she feels “a hint of joy”.
Every genocide eventually comes to an end. The survivors bear their scars and bury their dead. The murderers, looters and rapists either face consequences for their actions or get away with them.
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