Confronting the Past
Healing Psychological Wounds Through Stories
"Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it.
Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy — the experiences that make us the most vulnerable.
Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light."
— Brené Brown
In the face of unimaginable violence and loss, personal stories can serve as a path toward healing.
Storytelling, particularly in the aftermath of violence, serves a dual purpose: it helps survivors process their trauma while offering the world a firsthand account of their suffering and resilience.
In We Survived Genocide in Rwanda: 28 Personal Testimonies, survivors of the 1994 Rwandan genocide share their experiences of loss, terror, and ultimately survival. By speaking out, they reclaim their identities from the chaos of violence, turning their trauma into a narrative that fosters understanding and encourages healing.
"When we tell our stories, we engage in a process of making sense of what has happened to us, and that process is often the beginning of healing."
Anne Lamott
In recounting their stories, survivors engage in what psychologists term "narrative therapy"—the process of retelling and reinterpreting one's life story to foster emotional healing. By framing their traumatic experiences in a coherent narrative, survivors can integrate these events into their sense of self, rather than remaining haunted by fragmented and intrusive memories.
Moreover, for those who participated in the genocide—either as perpetrators or those forced into violence—confronting the past through storytelling helps break the silence of shame. Telling the truth can free them from the emotional burden of denial or repression, which is crucial for reconciliation and psychological recovery.
In many societies that have experienced mass violence, silence often follows the atrocities. This silence, born from fear, shame, or political repression, can impede psychological healing and prevent true reconciliation. By encouraging survivors to speak, We Survived Genocide in Rwanda disrupts this silence, ensuring that the collective memory of the genocide includes the voices of those who endured it.
Telling and hearing these stories helps to humanise the experiences of survivors, creating empathy across previously fractured communities. This process is essential for reconciliation, as it forces both survivors and perpetrators to confront the truth of what happened and work towards forgiveness and restoration.
As readers of these testimonies, we too play a vital role in the healing process. By bearing witness to these stories, we become part of the survivors’ journey toward healing.
Empathy, the emotional bond formed between the storyteller and the listener, is critical in this process. The stories within We Survived Genocide in Rwanda are often difficult to read, yet they force us to confront the brutality of genocide while offering glimpses of human dignity and hope. By doing so, the book invites readers to not only reflect on Rwanda’s tragic history but to consider how we, as global citizens, can support efforts to prevent such atrocities in the future.
Moreover, by exposing ourselves to these narratives, we contribute to the larger goal of justice and reconciliation. Acknowledging the suffering of genocide victims, amplifying their voices, and promoting awareness are all steps toward ensuring that future generations learn from the past.
Books like We Survived Genocide in Rwanda: 28 Personal Testimonies offer a profound reminder of the capacity of storytelling to confront trauma, reclaim personal narratives, and seek justice. This theme echoes through a number of other powerful works that recount experiences of genocide, war, and atrocity across different regions and historical contexts.
Immaculée Ilibagiza’s Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust is a powerful example of how survivors can transform their pain into a story of faith and forgiveness. After spending 91 days hiding from killers, Ilibagiza emerged not only alive but determined to forgive those responsible for the genocide, using her story as a tool for emotional healing and spiritual resilience.
"Forgiveness is all I have to offer."
— Immaculée Ilibagiza, Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust
These personal accounts do more than heal individuals; they ensure that the horrors of genocide are not forgotten.
Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda, by Roméo Dallaire, reflects on the failure of the international community during the Rwandan genocide. Dallaire, a Canadian general who led the UN peacekeeping mission during the genocide, uses his testimony to recount the events he witnessed and the emotional toll it took on him. His story underscores the importance of bearing witness and holding accountable those who could have acted to prevent further loss of life.
"I know there is a God because in Rwanda I shook hands with the devil. I have seen him, I have smelled him, and I have touched him. I know the devil exists, and therefore I know there is a God."
— Roméo Dallaire, Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda
Similarly, Paul Rusesabagina’s memoir, An Ordinary Man: The True Story Behind Hotel Rwanda, shares the story of how he sheltered over 1,200 people during the genocide. His testimony serves as a beacon of hope and a reminder that even in the darkest moments, individuals can make a difference. Both Rusesabagina’s and Dallaire’s stories illustrate how personal narratives can inspire future generations to recognise the need for action to prevent such atrocities.
"If people see evil, and they do nothing, they become a part of it. They must decide whether to look evil in the face or look away as if nothing has happened."
— Paul Rusesabagina, An Ordinary Man: The True Story Behind Hotel Rwanda
While the Rwandan genocide is a key focus in many of these narratives, other genocides and atrocities have inspired similarly powerful memoirs and accounts. Loung Ung’s First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers recounts her experiences as a child survivor of the Khmer Rouge’s reign of terror in Cambodia. Like the Rwandan survivors, Ung uses her story to grapple with the personal and collective trauma of genocide, offering readers a vivid portrayal of loss, survival, and healing.
"In my heart I know the truth, but my mind cannot accept the reality of what this all means."
— Loung Ung, First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers
In The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After, Clemantine Wamariya shares her journey from surviving the Rwandan genocide as a young child to navigating refugee camps and eventually rebuilding her life in the United States. Her story focuses not only on the immediate trauma of the genocide but also on the enduring effects of displacement and the search for identity in the aftermath of violence.
"I wanted people to see that war is not a thing that happens in history. War is not a thing that happens to other people. War is not a thing that happens over there. War is made and sustained by people, people like you and me."
— Clemantine Wamariya, The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After
The psychological wounds inflicted by genocide are not unique to any one region or people, and the need for testimony is universal. Elie Wiesel’s Night, a memoir of his experiences during the Holocaust, remains one of the most iconic and poignant examples of how storytelling can help preserve history, honour the memory of those lost, and provide a path toward healing for survivors. Wiesel’s book serves as a reminder that genocide is not confined to any single time or place and that the stories of survivors are essential to ensuring that the lessons of the past are never forgotten.
"Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the small faces of the children whose bodies I saw transformed into smoke under a silent sky."
— Elie Wiesel, Night
Beyond individual healing, personal testimonies play a vital role in building collective memory and advocating for justice. Samantha Power’s A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide explores the global response to various genocides, from Armenia to Bosnia to Rwanda. While not a firsthand account, Power’s work draws on survivor testimonies to critique the international community’s repeated failure to intervene in genocides. By amplifying these voices, she argues for a greater commitment to preventing future atrocities.
"The problem from hell is not just that we have failed to prevent genocide, but that we have systematically and repeatedly failed to intervene in a timely and effective way to stop it once it has begun."
— Samantha Power’s A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide
Similarly, Clea Koff’s The Bone Woman: A Forensic Anthropologist’s Search for Truth in the Mass Graves of Rwanda, Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo tells the story of how forensic anthropology can play a role in identifying victims and seeking justice after mass atrocities. Koff’s work emphasises that storytelling takes many forms, and even scientific investigation can contribute to the larger narrative of truth and reconciliation.
"The process of identifying victims from mass graves is more than just a forensic exercise. It is about giving back names to the dead and dignity to the survivors. It is about seeking justice and helping to heal the wounds of societies torn apart by violence."
— Clea Koff, The Bone Woman: A Forensic Anthropologist’s Search for Truth in the Mass Graves of Rwanda, Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo
In Not On Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond, actor Don Cheadle and activist John Prendergast highlight the importance of global activism in addressing ongoing genocides. Their book underscores the idea that listening to survivor testimonies is not enough; we must also take action to prevent further atrocities and support those who have lived through them.
"The world’s response to genocide should not be to wait for the numbers to reach some predetermined threshold of suffering before acting. The suffering of one person is enough to justify action."
— Don Cheadle and John Prendergast, Not On Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond
From Rwanda to Cambodia, from Bosnia to the Holocaust, the power of storytelling in the wake of genocide is undeniable. Books like We Survived Genocide in Rwanda and the many others listed here are not just records of history—they are vital tools for healing, both for survivors and for society. Through personal narratives, survivors reclaim their voices, confront their trauma, and contribute to the collective memory.
By bearing witness to these stories, readers are invited into a deeper understanding of the emotional and psychological impact of genocide. More importantly, they are encouraged to reflect on how they can honour the resilience of those who survive. Through storytelling, survivors not only confront their past—they also create the possibility of a more just and empathetic future.
