Abstract
Following the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, the country has been transformed. Among these transformations was the creation of a series of memorials to document, preserve, and commemorate the genocide. In 2016, the National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide (CNLG) estimated there were 265 official memorials; however, this number is ever changing as memorials are created, centralized, or merged. While memorials are now highly legislated by governmental bureaucracy, they were not always. Memorials continue to be significantly influenced by internal survivor organizations such as IBUKA, external NGOs such as AEGIS Trust, and other individuals and/or foreign governmental authorities who donate time, money, and resources. The resultant memory practices have ranged from contentious to complimentary, with distinct differences between the memorials depending on when they were built and survivor input. Finally, memorials are increasing their digital presence through both governmental and non-governmental practices.
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Notes
- 1.
The number of individuals killed during the genocide remains controversial within the international community. Conservative estimates place the number of dead at 500,000 whereas the Rwandan government has stated that 1,071,000 were killed, with 90% being Tutsi. This chapter utilizes the figure of 800,000, which was given by a United Nations expert on population losses and cited by the late Alison Des Forges. See Des Forges (1999), Verpoorten (2005), Vesperini (2004), and Survivors Fund for further analysis.
- 2.
Multiple individuals interviewed from 2016 to 2018 reported burgomasters, church leaders, business people, and teachers among those who were killed for being influential Tutsi or for being a Hutu who resisted the genocide. These individuals were targeted first, with other Tutsi and Hutu rescuers soon to follow. Those individuals who were killed due to their governmental role were quickly replaced by extremists who would encourage and carry out further killings (see FN 9, Wolfe et al).
- 3.
Following Longman, this text does not differentiate between the Rwandan Patriotic Front and the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA). Technically, the RPF is a political movement, whereas the RPA is the armed wing; however, the two are closely linked with overlapping personnel (Longman 2017, p. 3 footnote 5).
- 4.
Rwanda’s coming to terms with the past has been quite extensive in comparison with other countries that have experienced mass atrocities; both in the timeliness of the measures implemented and the percentage of the population held accountable for their actions. It should be noted that this trend originated in the aftermath of the Holocaust. Subsequently, the emergent normative trend—that states should redress their past—is now prominent within international society. These changing norms have led to the increasing number of memorials, apologies, and reparations offered by all societies (Wolfe 2014a).
- 5.
Throughout this chapter, I will discuss the official narrative that has emerged in post-conflict Rwanda and the influence of the state and the survivors on this narrative. By this, I mean the historical narrative, that is, the spoken or written account of the history of the country. Official narratives tend to reflect the country itself. It can be seen in educational measures such as how history is codified in textbooks and taught in educational settings, required courses at university levels on history and government, legislation, and memorials that transmit a historical account of a conflict.
- 6.
In conversations with locals, it has been referenced that there is a memorial in every district and sector of the country. If that figure was accurate then there would be approximately 446 memorials. Ibreck (2010) references 500 memorials and Viebach (2014) references 300 memorials. In 2016, CNLG, the governmental agency responsible for memorials, provided my research team (see FN 9) with a list of 265 memorials; however, throughout our travels, additional memorials and monuments were discovered via discussions with district offices and private individuals.
- 7.
It is commonly referenced that there are six national memorial sites; however, in 2017 two memorials were elevated in status to the national level thus bringing the total to eight.
- 8.
Since the initial list was received in 2016, several memorials have merged; as such, interviews in subsequent years have included both survivors and officials on the process of merging memorials. Both groups discussed the new memorials that were being planned, one interviewee (district official) provided the architect plans for the planned memorial, while the survivors talked about the process (and their involvement) of negotiating which site the memorial should be located.
- 9.
Trips taken in 2011, 2013, 2014, and 2015 were preliminary research trips while I was still formulating my research questions. As part of these trips, I took students to participate in a Peacebuilding Institute with Never Again Rwanda and toured the country independent of the organization. During these years, I repeatedly visited national memorials to listen to narrative developments, in addition to interviews, discussions, and commemorations attended for other research projects. From 2016 through 2019 formal interviews and site visits were conducted for the manuscript in preparation, Journey through Rwandan Memorials. This research project is being carried out by Stephanie Wolfe, Omar Ndizeye, Anna-Marie De Beer, and Joseph Nkurunziza. These interviews were conducted in English, French, and Kinyarwanda, depending on the comfort level and desires of the interviewee. Kinyarwandan translation was conducted by Omar Ndizeye, a genocide survivor and co-author of the above-mentioned project. The interviews were set primarily at the genocide site, unless survivors desired to meet elsewhere.
- 10.
Mass graves were discovered frequently in the immediate aftermath of the genocide. While the discovery of mass graves is not as common now, both small and large grave sites are still being uncovered. During the 2016 portion of the interviews, one sector official reported that following the release of a genocide prisoner (earlier that year), information had been disclosed resulting in 22 more bodies being discovered. More recently, four additional mass graves were discovered in April of 2018 (Ingber 2018).
- 11.
One interviewee recounted that his sector received a memo indicating burials for genocide victims were a priority. As a survivor, and an elected official, he worked with other survivors to create a small sector memorial where victims could be buried and remembered (Wolfe et al).
- 12.
In 2004, the United Nations also recognized April 7 as the Day of Remembrance. This date was chosen to signify the start of the genocide. President Habyarimana’s plane was shot down shortly after 8 p.m. on April 6 and killings began to commence after. Rwanda now holds a 100-day commemoration period starting on this date. During these dates, different memorial sites hold small community commemorations and other remembrance activities based on the significant dates for the specific location.
- 13.
Dumas and Korman 2011 p. 13. Although this was a governmental initiative, it was supported by a German international cooperation agency and Eric Rousseau, a Belgian national who joined the Rwandan Ministry in the aftermath of the genocide.
- 14.
Interview with survivor who works in the field of genocide prevention (June 2016). Additional information and further discussion can be found in Longman (2001).
- 15.
Schabas (2009) estimates that in November 1994 there were only a small percentage of judges alive who had not been involved in the genocide and approximately 20 lawyers. Furthermore, Clark (2009) details that in the aftermath of the genocide 120,000 individuals were arrested. Various sources have estimated that national trials would have taken between 80 and 100 years. The gacaca courts were thus created in 2001 and were community-based. Gacaca had its roots in traditional village practices of dispute resolution and were more informal than the national court system. The gacaca courts heard 1,958,634 cases between 2002 and the close of the trials in 2012 (with a 14% acquittal rate). Between 1994 and 2006 the national courts heard approximately 10,000 genocide related courses. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda indicted 93 people between 1995 and the close of trials in 2012, with 62 sentenced. For a discussion on the gacaca and other court systems, see: Palmer (2015), Ingelaere (2016), and Clark (2010).
- 16.
Of the 265 memorials listed, at least 174 were established between 1994 and 2003, compared to 74 memorials established between 2004 and June 2016. There were 17 memorials I was unable to confirm origination date at the time of press.
- 17.
While the district memorials sometimes differed from the 2008 law, they did not deviate from the overall narrative itself.
- 18.
Genocide denial and revisionism have been continual threats within Rwanda, surrounding areas, and increasingly in the international community. There are multiple ways that the genocide has been denied; some of the methods have included minimizing the numbers killed, arguing that the events were a “double genocide,” implying that the deaths were part of the civil war, or that the victims caused the conflict. My own research has demonstrated that genocide denial has been increasing within the Western media. Guides, governmental officials, and survivors alike have often commented that memorials serve a purpose of recording the dead. It is physical proof of what happened and serves not only as a place of mourning, but of history. Genocide denial, genocide ideology, and divisionism are illegal under Rwandan law. For further information on genocide denial, see Moerland (2016) and Melvern (2020).
- 19.
The New Times is an English language newspaper started in 1995. The paper states that it is a privately owned newspaper with three shareholders and stated that it is “free independent and professional media with no government affiliation” (Snide 2016); whereas Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called it “state-owned” (HRW 2009). For a discussion on the press laws and censorship issues, see Waldrof (2007). In addition, the 2018 Freedom of the Press Index (https://rsf.org/en) ranks Rwanda as 156th in the world. Acknowledging that media is restricted within Rwanda, the New Times seems to be respected within Rwanda and trustworthy to report perceptions of various Members of Parliament; however, even President Kagame has acknowledged that the paper has been “too servile to him and his party” in the past, see Rwanda’s Election (2010).
- 20.
See similar cases with Auschwitz numbers of dead and attempting revisionism/denial in that case.
- 21.
Coordinated by Canadian scholar and UN Expert Gerald Caplan; see http://www.pambazuka.org/human-security/remembering-rwanda-rwanda-genocide-10th-anniversary-memorial-project accessed March 3, 2016.
- 22.
United Nations: Outreach Programme on the Rwanda Genocide and the United Nations http://www.un.org/en/preventgenocide/rwanda/commemoration/annualcommemoration.shtml, accessed March 3, 2016.
- 23.
Brehm and Fox (2017) agree with Ibreck’s conclusions that genocide survivors are the largest group of active contributors to memorial creation, but continue that the narrative has also been influenced by media depictions, aid activity, and the return of refugees. For further discussion on how memory efforts privilege particular stories and an analysis of how time impacts memory efforts and narrative within Rwanda, see their article.
- 24.
Lischer (2019) argues that Western interaction with memorials impacts dominant government narratives within Rwanda, Cambodia, and Bosnia in two ways. They (1) reinforce “the dehumanising aspects of tourism that prioritise an exclusionary version of the past” and that (2) the funding and consultation with Western organizations encourages “a homogenised atrocity narrative that reflects the values of the global human rights regime and existing standards of memorial design rather than privileging the local particularities of the atrocity experience.” (p. 2) The Western narrative preference she argues is based on an easily digestible and oversimplified narrative of good and bad guys, innocents harmed (especially children), and explicit graphic displays such as human remains and photos. The manuscript in preparation Journey through Rwandan Memorials will grapple with this issue further, but it is important to note that the vast majority of memorials within Rwanda are not “Westernized,” and in discussions with Rwandans, there has been pushback on labeling memorials “Western.”
- 25.
In 2016, Samantha Lakin referenced the changing memorial staffing policies which I have also observed at national memorials and some district memorials; however, the smaller sector-based memorials still often rely heavily on volunteers.
- 26.
Wolfe et al.—Multiple interviews at memorial sites echoed the importance of “dignified” and “proper” burials.
- 27.
Victoire Ingabire is a political opponent who was arrested, sentenced, and recently pardoned. See https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/02/africa/victoire-ingabire-freed-asequals-africa-intl/index.html for further details.
- 28.
For an in-depth analysis of included and excluded memory at memorials, see King (2010).
- 29.
Further analysis of photographs can be found in Möller and Ubaldo (2013) and Cieplak (2017). In addition, the United Nations hosts a variety of online photographic projects such as Visions of Rwanda Photo Project where genocide survivors and perpetrators documented their everyday “life, hopes, dreams, and memories” in 2007. In addition, they host other exhibits such as “800,000” (a fine arts commemoration project) and educational material such as “Tugire Ubumwe – Let’s Unite!” a graphic novel on “teaching lessons from the Rwanda genocide.” See http://www.un.org/en/preventgenocide/rwanda/index.shtml for full exhibits and archives. (Accessed October 18, 2018).
- 30.
- 31.
The newspaper article stated 30 sites were on the interactive map; while a separate webpage on Genocide Archive Rwanda states that there you can take a virtual tour of 22 memorial sites. On October 21, 2018, I could visually count 28 memorial sites on the interactive map; however, some virtual tours were restricted access.
- 32.
The project reports that the research team has visited over 100 sites of memory http://maps.cga.harvard.edu/rwanda/project.html accessed on October 8, 2019.
- 33.
There is a mapping system that I explored in previous years; however, I have not been able to access this function recently.
- 34.
The VHA lists 84 interviews were conducted in the United States and Rwanda and 86 currently online. Of those, 69 were in conjunction with the Kigali Genocide Memorial. See http://sfi.usc.edu/country/rw
- 35.
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Wolfe, S. (2020). Memorialization in Rwanda: The Legal, Social, and Digital Constructions of the Memorial Narrative. In: Zucker, E., Simon, D. (eds) Mass Violence and Memory in the Digital Age. Palgrave Macmillan Memory Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39395-3_2
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