By Augusto, Aurora and Ludovica
On April, 12th 2024 a conference on the 30th anniversary of the genocide of the Tutsi community in Rwanda was held at the CGIL headquarters in Rome. Our teachers thought that it was important for us to participate and learn something that is not dealt within our school programmes.
The conference began with Françoise Kankindi, President of “Bene Rwanda Onlus,” who explained the motives and dynamics of the Tutsi genocide. She talked about how this genocide was a direct consequence of the Belgian colonial influence and how it led to the death of more than a million Tutsi people, with an outstanding number of evacuees.
The first survivor to speak was Gerard; he was 9 years old at the time. He told us about his terrible experience when he was hidden with his mother and siblings in a basement. Unfortunately, they were found and all his family was slaughtered under his eyes. Nowadays, he still carries the scars of his terrible experience on his face and body.
The most impactful testimony was, in our opinion, that of Yolande Mukagasana, a survivor and writer. She lost all her family: her Tutsi sisters were killed by their Hutu husbands and her four children and husband were killed by the Hutu militia. The most touching part of her speech was when she said that her children were tortured, yet they did not tell where their mother was hidden. “La morte non mi ha voluta” and “Le ferite del silenzio” are some of the books she has written on her life.
We really appreciated the conference because all the speakers cast light on a generally unknown moment of our recent past via factual accounts letting their emotions shine through. The aspect that really shocked us was the fact that only 30 years ago the United Nations ignored what was happening, although it was vastly portrayed by the media. It made us reflect on the many wars and conflicts in progress today and on the widespread indifference towards them.
