Rwandan genocide, 30 years on: Youth marked by collective trauma

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00:00 These students from the University of Rwanda are all under 30

00:03 and were born after the genocide against the Tutsis in 1994.

00:08 As the commemorations approach,

00:10 they gather to share their family experiences.

00:12 Often my mother tells us that during the genocide

00:16 she told her father that she would survive.

00:18 She's the only one in the family who survived.

00:20 Her father, her mother, her children were killed

00:22 and she remained alone.

00:23 Although there is no trained professional

00:25 to lead these group's therapy sessions,

00:27 this organization does what it can

00:29 to prepare its members for challenging periods.

00:32 Authorities say that a quarter of Rwandans

00:34 grapple with mental health issues,

00:36 with even younger people showing signs

00:38 of intergenerational trauma.

00:40 They didn't face the genocide automatically,

00:44 but they had this transgenerational trauma

00:48 and it is transmitted through DNA, first of all.

00:53 And the second way, it is an emotional attachment

00:56 that they have with their parents.

00:59 Several studies show that many parents

01:01 who witnessed massacres in 1994

01:03 have passed on some of the psychological damage

01:06 they suffered to their children.

01:08 PTSD symptoms often emerge during annual commemorations,

01:12 such as depression or mutism.

01:14 For this 21-year-old student whose family

01:16 refuses to take part in the yearly ceremonies,

01:19 only speaking out provides healing.

01:21 I believe there should be family dialogue,

01:25 where parents take the time to tell the story to their children.

01:28 Gradually, us, the younger generation,

01:30 will come to know our history better,

01:32 until the point where it no longer hurts our hearts

01:35 and disturbs our daily lives.

01:37 But other young Rwandans choose to try

01:43 and move on from this dark period of history.

01:46 I am focusing mostly on the future.

01:52 Of course, I think about the past,

01:54 but only a little bit,

01:56 and it doesn't occupy much of my thoughts.

01:58 I just learn, listen from it.

02:00 30 years and more than one generation after the genocide,

02:04 every young Rwandan remembers the grim national chapter,

02:07 but also knows their fortunes depend

02:09 on possibilities that lie ahead.

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