April 7, 2009, marked the 15th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide.
On this date in 1994, Rwandan Armed Forces and Hutu militia
began one of the most intensive killing campaigns
in human history with the mass slaughter of
more than 800,000 Rwandan Tutsis
and moderate Hutus. First forced to
witness the annihilation of their
families, many women were then
subjected to unconscionable forms
of sexual violence – gang rape, rape
with sharpened objects, sexual mutilation.
In the aftermath of the destruction, many female
survivors learned that they had been impregnated
by their captors, contracted HIV/AIDS, or both.
I first traveled to Rwanda in February 2006
on assignment for Newsweek magazine
with then-health editor, Geoffrey Cowley,
to work on a story about HIV/AIDS on the
25th anniversary of the disease’s identification.
It was then that I met Odette, a woman who had been
brutally raped multiple times during the genocide.
She described how her entire family had been killed
and recounted the abuse she experienced, in detail.
The ordeal resulted in a pregnancy
– a baby boy –
and HIV/AIDS.
It was the most powerful and saddest interview I had ever witnessed.
Odette’s horrific story led me to return to Rwanda
to document her story
and those of others
like her.
Intended Consequences: Rwanda’s Living Legacy of Violence and Healing
Story and Photos by Jonathan Torgovnik
Global Health magazine articalfoundation Rwanda
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