A good man

"I loved getting together with all our family for a chat. We used to have a huge family - uncles, aunties, cousins. I really miss that."

Olivier, his brother and his mother Josephine lost more than fifty members of their family. "I remember I used to play the organ at the church with my grandfather when I was little. I used to enjoy that, but now I can’t... I miss him."

Here, they talk about how he died...

Hutu and Tutsi

THE ORIGINS OF CONFLICT
Olivier talks about ideas which have played a big part in Rwanda's history. Find out what Hutu and Tutsi has meant to Rwandans... more

My friend the killer

ORIGINS OF CONFLICT
Before the genocide, Josephine became friends with one of the interahamwe militia. "I ran into a group of them armed with machetes and grenades. They started pushing me around... watch

An overloaded justice system

RECOVERY: GACACA
Josephine was part of a team which educated communities about the need for a new restorative justice system. “Traditionally, when someone did something bad, he was brought to the community to explain what he had done - and why he did it - and the community would decide how to deal with that.” ... more

Teaching gacaca

RECOVERY: GACACA
The introduction of gacaca had unexpected results, according to Josephine. Prisoners would point to someone in the audience and say, “Why is he not in prison too? You’re asking us to tell the truth. We were in the killings together..." more

Making amends for murder

RECOVERY: JUSTICE
Josephine lost more than sixty relatives in the genocide. How do you do justice for that, she asks... more

Long term effects of genocide

TODAY
Josephine said, "What is being done in the healing work is like a drop in the ocean. So there are still people who haven’t yet been given the opportunity to talk about their stories and now, after more than 10 years, it is becoming too much..." watch video

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In this section

STARTING A GENOCIDE
Whose idea was it?
How did it start?
The foreigners are leaving
Hate radio
DETAILS
Roadblocks
The little things
INSIGHT
A simple plan
This new job
A strangeness of mind
Personalities
A good man
FOCUS ON THE BUGESERA
The Bugesera
Ntarama church massacre
A day in the marshes
MZUNGUS
The role of the west
Two French missionaries
A journalist's story
THE END OF THE GENOCIDE
The refugee crisis
A country with nobody home