Mourning and Recovery from Trauma: In Rwanda, Tears Flow Within

Abstract

This article is a personal testimony of the great suffering experienced by thousands of Rwandan parents on learning of the killing of their children in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. In the face of the unprecedented social cataclysm that led my eldest son to his death, my intent is to demonstrate the necessity of resituating ideas about grief and trauma in a framework that is coherent with Rwandan culture. This is essential if one wishes to help Rwandans find words for their fears, hopes and questions about the loss of loved ones in the context of extreme violence. By discussing the intervention offered by my mother, I address the approach used in Rwandan tradition as a response to and therapeutic tool for extreme grief and trauma.