Kwibuka 30

Kwibuka 30 / April 17, 2024

Kwibuka, which means 鈥渢o remember鈥� in Kinyarwanda, is how Rwandans refer to their annual commemorations of the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda. To mark the 30th remembrance of the genocide, the students of Dr. Jacob Ari Labendz鈥檚 Fall 2023 course, 鈥淧aradigms of Genocide,鈥� prepared this digital exhibition. We did not aim to present a comprehensive overview of the 1994 Genocide of Tutsi in Rwanda. The panels, instead, reflect the individual choices that students made about what to research and present鈥攁fter close study and meaningful meetings with survivors and witnesses. This exhibit reflects the Center鈥檚 commitment to training students and the regional public to uphold their responsibilities to learn and teach about genocide鈥攖o become influential storytellers in the digital age.

Learn more about the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi in Rwanda

A person points at a wall covered with many Polaroid photos, each showing individual portraits with handwritten notes beneath them. The scene suggests searching for or identifying people.

In 1994, during the Rwandan genocide, the British Red Cross deployed 55 members to help, investigation measures for families were provided. British Red Cross, 26 June 2006.

Before the Genocide: Colonialism and Division

A large crowd gathers near a river, many carrying containers. In the foreground, a child balances a large container on their head while looking toward the camera. The landscape is rural and busy with people.

Hutu and Tutsi: A Casualty of Colonialism

A colonial officer in a white uniform sits at a table outdoors, surrounded by local African people, some standing and others seated, with traditional huts and spears visible in the background.

Last Kings of Rwanda and the Genocide

An old Rwandan National ID card with a black-and-white photo of a man on the left and personal details, including ethnicity marked as Tutsi, handwritten in Kinyarwanda and French on the right.

Rwandan Identification Cards

Genocidal Propaganda against the Tutsi

A black-and-white photo shows a busy urban street with cars, motorcycles, and pedestrians near a multi-story building with balconies. The atmosphere appears lively under a cloudy sky.

Radio T茅l茅vision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM)

Three men stand indoors; two wear black legal robes and white collars, suggesting they are lawyers, while the third man wears a white shirt. The setting appears to be a formal or courtroom environment.

Simon Bikindi

A black-and-white cartoon shows a man in a suit lying on a bed speaking to a seated doctor. French text above reads, Kangura vu par les Tutsi de Rwanda-Rushya 鈥� Le Syndrome Kangura.鈥�.

Kangura Magazine

The Genocide

A woman sits on the ground, covering her face in distress, while a child leans over her back. People carrying belongings on their heads walk in the background along a roadside, with trees and hills visible.

Tutsi Women During the Genocide

A large, worn machete with a red handle and stained blade lies on a rough, sunlit concrete surface.

The Hutus鈥� Machete

Failure of the International Community

A purple banner with white Kinyarwanda text about the 1994 genocide hangs on a fence. Above it, the Rwanda flag flies, and purple decorations are visible, with trees and a building in the background.

United Nations Inaction

The French Government

Rom茅o Dallaire

Justice, Recovery, and Commemoration

Gacaca Courts

Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village

Psychological Impacts on Child Soldiers

Education in Rwanda

Kigali Memorial

International Attention and Denial

International Media Attention

U.S. Popular Culture and the 1994 Genocide of Tutsi in Rwanda

Genocide Denial

Our student researchers included: Christopher Alepa, Isabella Apgar, Giavanna Barras, Colin Caliciotti, Lizbeth Coliente, Hope DeWitt, William Egner, Paul Fiorello, Alessia Guerriero, James Jackson, Aime Lara, Patrick Larsen, Tyler McConnell, Trent Montgomery, Lisa Mujica, Christian Navarro, Juan Navarro, Gina Reyes, Alan Rosenberg, Joseph Salerno, Stefanie Viera, Madeline Zech.

Luc Bernard generously built an immersive, virtual-reality version of our exhibition, which may be accessed here. Dr. Hollie Nzitatira provided scholarly and editorial guidance.

We would additionally like to thank Providence Umugwaneza, Erick Nkurunziza, Carl Wilkens, Maddie Zech, and Hope DeWitt.

Texts have been edited for content and form.

麻豆传媒