The exhibition opening took place in the presence of UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture Ernesto Ottone; H.E. Mr François Nkulikiyimfura, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Delegate of Rwanda to UNESCO; and Marcel Kabanda, President of Ibuka France.

Dafroza Gauthier, Co-founder of the Collective of Civil Plaintiffs to Rwanda, who dedicated her life to seeking justice for genocide survivors, and Nicolas Sadoul, Director of the Camp des Milles Foundation, both behind the conception of the exhibition, shared how it was brought to life ten years ago. They stressed the continued importance of keeping the stories of survivors alive and teaching current and future generations to cherish and protect human dignity.

“I have lost all my family”: stories of genocide survivors
Epiphanie, Gaudance, Cassier, Ernestine and other survivors whose stories are in the spotlight of the exhibition witnessed unimaginable violence, because they were Tutsi. Many of them lost their families during the Genocide and were on the verge of death themselves. Their stories are of pain, suffering, survival, despair, hope, strength and resilience of the human spirit in the face of unimaginable horrors.

“I studied at the private school … because Tutsi were not admitted to public schools,” remembers Ernestine, who never graduated. “I feel sad: the disability caused by my injuries has prevented me from having a family,” says Epiphanie, the sole survivor of the family of 12.

Maurice, who was five during the Genocide, recalls how he and his little brother were saved: “[A] Hutu neighbour explained to my mother that the little Tutsi girls would not be killed but spared for future “breeding” purposes. As there were no little girls in our house, he gave my mother two red dresses.”

100 days of remembrance
The 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda remains a haunting scar on humanity’s conscience. In just 100 days, more than 800,000 members of the Tutsi minority were murdered by the Hutu extremist-led government. This period also saw the killing of moderate Hutu and those who stood against the genocide. Every year, 7 April marks the beginning of a 100-day mourning followed by remembrance events in Rwanda and around the world under the slogan “Kwibuka” (“to remember”).

UNESCO joins yearly commemorations of the International Day of Reflection about the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and works systematically with policy-makers, educators and civil society worldwide to advance education about genocide and promote its importance for conflict transformation and sustainable peace.