The Contribution of Women to Peace and Reconciliation

witness, and that’s the only thing I can do, both for the dead and for the
living. For the dead, because I live more with them than with the living.
I do it for their memory, to make them live again by speaking about
them, by giving them the names that others tried to wipe out. For the
liv ing, because it’s the only way to protect them. To testify to what we
have lived through in Rwanda will prevent others from living through it,
because they will protect themselves. I do it for the human generations,
so that they can build a humanity of peace and without impunity.
Genocide is like a viral disease; you can only vaccinate against it, for a
viral disease cannot be treated once it has broken out. Vaccination is the
only hope, otherwise we just treat the symptoms. And the same is true
of genocide. It is better to prevent it, because once it’s there, even its
effects will be difficult to treat, for they will affect coming generations.
Interview: Birgit Daiber, Brussels, autumn 2009
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