Transmitting Memories in Rwanda : From a Survivor Parent to the Next Generation

Known for its breathtaking scenery, the central-east African country of Rwanda lived through one of the worst episodes of violence of the late 20th century, the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, in which over a million people were brutally murdered in 100 days.This book recounts the personal story of Claver Irakoze who survived the genocide as an eleven-year-old child and, like other Rwandans of his generation, is now grappling with the heavy responsibility of raising children in the post-genocide context.Tracing the various stages of Irakoze’s life experiences, each chapter teases out issues surrounding childhood, parenting and the transmission of memories between generations. The final chapter draws on Irakoze’s personal and professional experience to provide some reflections on managing memories of genocide within the family.

Claver Irakoze is the author of the children’s book That Child Is Me (Imagine We, 2019), and producer of the song and music video “Umurage w’amateka” (The Legacy of History). Irakoze worked for the Aegis Trust, developing the Genocide Archive of Rwanda (www.genocidearchiverwanda.org.rw) and Peace and Values Education Digital Learning Platform (www.ubumuntu.rw).

Caroline Williamson Sinalo is Lecturer in World Languages at University College Cork and the author of Rwanda after Genocide: Gender, Identity and Posttraumatic Growth (2018). She has published widely on the lives and experiences of survivors of violence.