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Albion College

Publication Date

Spring 2018

Program Name

Rwanda: Post-Genocide Restoration and Peacebuilding

Abstract

While policy and education are subject to change from research oriented projects, my research rather drives to understand and record how caregivers portrayed their own, others, and their country’s past to the next generation. The informal aspects of family structures, while highly influential, are difficult to navigate and track, and this research endeavors to unveil some of the hidden trends that are throughout Rwandan families with children born after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The generation that has matured in the aftermath of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda have faced many challenges that few outside of Rwanda can fully appreciate.

The developing years in a child’s life can be challenging enough, but growing up in a post-genocide society possesses its own complications. This study explores how this past generation of survivors, perpetrators, returnees, and other Rwandan citizens face the essential act of parenting. Understanding how, when, and by whom important conversations about Rwanda’s history are initiated provides insight into the inner workings of Rwandan families. The initial exposure to difficult subject matter, especially genocide, makes an impression on young minds that can last a lifetime. It’s not only the parent’s answers, but the child’s questions that can provide a window to how the post-genocide society is coping through a child’s perspective.

Disciplines

African Languages and Societies | African Studies | Child Psychology | Community-Based Learning | Early Childhood Education | Family, Life Course, and Society | Peace and Conflict Studies | Race and Ethnicity | Social and Cultural Anthropology

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