Rwandan stories of change
Between April and July 1994, over one million Rwandan people were brutally massacred in the genocide against the Tutsi. Since that time, the UK-based NGO the Aegis Trust has been collecting testimonies from survivors, perpetrators, rescuers and bystanders who lived through the genocide. These oral recordings are stored in the Genocide Archive of Rwanda.
In collaboration with Aegis staff at the Genocide Archive of Rwanda, Nicki Hitchcott’s research team worked on the project Rwandan Stories of Change to transcribe, translate and analyse a selection of the genocide testimonies and look for signs of post-traumatic growth.
Post-traumatic growth is a concept developed in clinical psychology. It describes the process whereby individuals who have experienced traumatic life events transform their lives and themselves in positive ways. It is measured across five domains:
- a greater appreciation of life
- an enhanced sense of personal strength
- closer relationships with loved ones
- an increased understanding of spiritual matters
- the identification of new possibilities and/or directions in life.
In 2019, the project team published an edited book of testimonies from the archive, which we present through the lens of post-traumatic growth. The testimonies have also been used in the Aegis Trust’s Peace and Values Education Programme in Rwanda.
In March and September 2018, the project team organized workshops with Rwandan therapists. The therapists are now using the concept of post-traumatic growth in their work with trauma patients in the following ways:
- before and after therapeutic interventions
- to evaluate patients’ state of mental health
- to assess processes of healing and resilience
- within focus group discussions.
In the UK, project public engagement events have led to improved public awareness and understanding of both the concept of post-traumatic growth and the impact of the genocide on individual Rwandan people.