It was in the Khamonyi district that Godelieve brought together women survivors in October 1994. First under a tree, they then gathered at the social centre.
Twenty-five years later, they meet on the 5th of every month. There are nearly a hundred of them and they sometimes walk tens of kilometres on foot so as not to miss this moment of sharing and dancing.

Priscilla is one of the leaders of the dance group. Her drive and energy are a model of resilience.
She was 16 in 1994 and had to leave her family to go into hiding. She will never see her again. The only survivor: her sister Agnes. Pregnant, she is beaten by the militia but manages to escape into the forest. A missionary will feed and care for her. Four years later, they meet again and get married. Today they are six years old and when she tells her story, it is with great emotion that she pays homage to her saviour.

Thanks to Sevota, Agnes also found her sister Priscilla.

Today they are inseparable and have recreated a family. Both orphans, Priscilla’s husband is also orphaned.
even if he’s from a different ethnic group. To them, they are the symbol of reconciliation. Together they have three children.
Priscilla has followed the “Watchounamao” peace orphan program and Sevota supports them economically by giving them cattle and by participating in the children’s education, but the most important support is emotional.

Sevota is their family.

It is also the case of Victoire who lost her husband and children during the genocide.

She is a survivor of these extreme barbarities. As early as December 1994, Sevota organized the first discussion groups where women shared the suffering they were struggling to erase from their memory, because rape remains taboo, not only in Rwanda but all over the world. Little by little, they help each other and some of them testify before the traditional people’s courts, the Gacaca. That is how rape, which is considered in law to be the least serious of category 4 crimes, the equivalent of furniture theft, and not punishable, has become a major category 1 crime. It is thanks to her and these “brave women of Sevota” that the former mayor of Taba was convicted in 1998 and that rape was listed as a crime of genocide.

As Godelieve says “we don’t forget but we deal with the trauma together” and this meeting allows them to feel a little comfort and regain their dignity.

Photo © Chris Schwagga

In the next episode: group therapy

Anne Pastor