By Sharon Tibenda

16^th April 2012:

Close to a million Rwandans were killed during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.  Artist Odile Katese was in exile at the time. Despite being far from the killing, she was not immune to the deadly events and their repercussions. Returning three years later, she barely recognized her country.

The massacre of nearly 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutus by Hutu militia and government forces over a period of just 100 days occurred despite the existence of the Genocide Convention of 1948 which makes it a crime to commit genocide. In response to this collective failure and in an effort to learn from the past, the United Nations outlined an action plan for the prevention of genocide in 2004.

In Ms. Katese’s case, it led to the idea of the “The Book of Life.” The project is a collection of letters “from the living to the dead” written by widows, orphans and perpetrators to their lost loved ones and to their victims.

The idea for the project came to Ms. Katese as she witnessed the pain Rwandans were experiencing recounting memories of those who had been killed. It prompted her to find a way to revisit the genocide in, as she says, “…a more peaceful way because we have to make peace with our history”, adding that, “…the one thing that seemed to hurt Rwandans the most was the fact that the victims were dead and nothing else.”

“What if we could create a very symbolic way of keeping in touch and, in this way, somehow bring peace to both the dead and the living,” Katese says, adding that the writing process itself was healing and essential. “I think it is really important to write your pain and nostalgia. You feel lighter and more serene.”

Seeking to “balance the testimonies,” the project aims to create a more serene and peaceful space from which Rwandans can revisit and process the genocide, so that they can move forward, the artist said. It seeks to put a more “human face” on the lengthy list of names traditionally read aloud each year during genocide commemorative ceremonies, and strives to commemorate the victims’ lives, rather than their deaths.

The letters often recount how the lost ones laughed and brought joy to life.  “There have been many efforts to rebuild the country, this project tries to help Rwandans heal and move forward with their lives at a much more personal level,” Ms. Katese said, adding that she hopes that by participating in an interactive project such as hers, Rwandans can reconcile themselves with themselves, and with life and death.

“This is about memories that reconcile you with your self, it’s a memory that appeases your pain, and brings to life the victims of the genocide…because I think that, over time, if we tell the story of how they die, we kill them again and again,” she said.

In the years after the genocide, the UN General Assembly declared 7 April the International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda and called for the establishment of an information and educational outreach programme to “mobilize civil society for Rwanda genocide victim remembrance and education in order to help prevent future acts of genocide.”

Ms Katese’s The Book of Life was featured at this year’s commemoration event at UN Headquarters in New York, the theme of which was “learning from history to shape a brighter future.”  END.  Please login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.