Rwanda
The Rwanda Research Cluster will create two graphic novels that centre survivors’ memories of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi: a three-month period of extreme violence during which Hutu Power extremists attempted to annihilate the nation’s Tutsi minority. The graphic novels will teach readers about the genocide and also post-genocide efforts to promote national unity and reconciliation, as well as legal accountability for genocide-related crimes. This project cluster is particularly sensitive to the fact that Rwandan storytelling forms can sometimes look very different from what Euro-American audiences might expect.
Research Trip March 2024
In March 2024 the Rwandan Research Cluster team, including co-leads Drs Erin Jessee and Fransiska Louwagie and artists Duta Ebene and Michel Kichka, undertook a first trip to Rwanda, funded through an ODA project grant from the University of Aberdeen’s International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF). Taking place just before the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the genocide, the trip offered the opportunity for a workshop at the Kigali memorial, involving the cluster team alongside representatives from MINUBUMWE and Ibuka, as the umbrella organisation for genocide survivors. The trip also included visits of several genocide memorials, and a meeting with survivors in the area of Bisesero, to build regional networks and understanding, and lay the groundwork for future partnerships.
The images in this carousal were taken by Marc Ellison. They present the stark contrast between the beautiful Rwandan landscape and the continuing aftermath of the 1994 violence.