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A macabre scene brought home to Nadia Richards the horror of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

“What shocked me was that they had all these caskets and I asked what they were. They were bodies recently found. People are still being identified and buried,” said Richards, vice-president of human rights & equity at the University of New Brunswick (UNB), recalling an event she attended in Rwanda marking the 30th anniversary of the genocide of the Tutsi.

During her April 17 to April 28 visit, Richards attended all-day commemorations that drew broad audiences including children, older people, survivors and former refugees.

“It was very difficult to watch,” Richards said. “We read about traumatic things, but it doesn’t sit with us long enough to absorb how painful these experiences are.”

The commemorations opened with a priest’s blessing, followed by speeches from local officials, singing and survivor testimonies. Many took place near burial grounds – hence the caskets, later entombed in a mausoleum after a solemn procession and a call for information about undiscovered burial places.

“You had survivors that would go up and speak about their experience that occurred in that place, right there, on that site,” Richards said.

“This continuous storytelling is crucial to Rwanda’s reconciliation process, ensuring that future generations understand the genocide’s impact.”

Richards also witnessed a heart-wrenching ceremony at a site where many women and children were murdered.

“That one was tough because you had a lot of women who broke down who were survivors who had lost children,” she said.

The genocide took place over approximately 100 days from April to July 1994, although it was not the country’s first mass killing. It was pushed by extremist leaders within the majority Hutu ethnic group against the minority Tutsi as well as against moderate Hutus.

The genocide was triggered by the death of President Juvénal Habyarimana, whose plane crashed on April 6, 1994. This unleashed violence fueled by longstanding ethnic tensions rooted in the country’s colonial past where first Germany and then Belgium favoured Tutsis over Hutus, as well as the earlier killings, ongoing propaganda and the mobilization of Hutu militias.

It has been estimated that over a million Tutsi and moderate Hutus were massacred during the 1994 genocide. This number included a few expatriates who had made Rwanda their home and were not in support of the genocide.

The genocide ended when the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), led by Paul Kagame – who is currently the country’s president – defeated government forces and liberated the country.

Those left in the aftermath want to ensure this does not happen again.

“What has happened is there is no distinction between the ethnicities anymore. Everyone is considered a Rwandan,” Richards said.

Richards remembered a conversation with a government minister.

“He said when you hit rock bottom and there is no one there to help, you must rise to the occasion and unite as a community to move things. The Rwandan people realized they had to reconcile to survive.”

The genocide left a significant demographic gap, particularly among men.

“They were left with a population that was 70 per cent women,” said Richards. “They had to think of how to create a safe space and they did it by creating opportunities for women to thrive and changing legislation to do that.”

Not surprisingly, there is widespread mental trauma, not just among survivors but intergenerationally as well.

“On this trip, I heard a lot more about mental health illnesses that children are experiencing. The children were not born then, but their parents have carried this trauma.”

Both government and non-governmental organizations have systems in place to support Rwandans experiencing mental health challenges, especially those impacted by the genocide. At commemorations, health practitioners were on standby to serve those needing support.

At one ceremony, a man told Richards his mother and all his brothers had been killed, and he started crying. The yearly anniversary is a tough time to get through.

“They don’t end, the stories. But there is also a lot of happiness and gratitude for reconciliation and peace. It feels very peaceful, and you feel safe,” she said.

It was her third trip to Rwanda, having previously visited the country in conjunction with her doctoral work concerning African women in Africa and the diaspora.

Travelling to Rwanda this time on an official invitation, she attended events in Simbi, Rushashya and Rwamagana District. She met with the minister of foreign affairs, female politicians, the Rwanda Cooperation Initiative and genocide expert Dr. Francois Masabo. She also attended the Entrepreneurship Program for Women in the Eastern District.

Richards said she intends to apply the lessons learned to her work at UNB.

“One of the important things that I have learned is conversation and dialogue. It is so important for us to move to the next level because unless you speak, I can’t know what you’re thinking and you can’t know what I’m thinking,” she said.

“People there have incorporated local Indigenous ways of community engagement by sitting together and talking. We need to increase the in-person engagements that we will have with difficult conversations around equity issues.”

Reflecting on Rwanda’s reconciliation and community engagement approach, Richards sees potential for methods to address equity issues at UNB.

“When I think of Rwanda, I think of peace, reconciliation and gender equality. When I think of UNB, I think of us as a community unpacking topics together, related to anti-racism, disabilities, 2SLGBTQ+, identity and belonging in the spirit of hope,” she said.

“We engage in human rights work. It does not have to be reactive. We can create successful preventative measures and improve things for everyone. This is hard work, as it requires intentionality and seeing each other as human beings.

“I think we can learn a lot from Rwanda. I would love for us to have opportunities for university staff, faculty and students to take trips to Rwanda and learn about the country and enhance our understanding of human rights and equity,” she said.

Drawing on her Rwanda experience, she stressed the importance of having difficult conversations in addressing systemic issues and creating respectful environments that foster belonging.

“With frankness comes a need for respect and dignity and seeing the humanity of others,” Richards said.

“We need the right people to facilitate those conversations, but we need to have them.”

Photo: Jackline Kamanzi, executive secretary of the National Women’s Council; Nadia Richards, vice-president of human rights & equity at UNB; and Aude Ntawebasa, the senior office manager for the Rwanda Cooperative Inc.