Genocide Survivors: Complicating the Official Narrative

Abstract

Just as it took time to comprehend and navigate the unique social and political context in which the memorial staff were embedded, fieldwork among survivors required similar care and patience. Initially, I had perceived the memorials as a potential entry point in each community, anticipating that once I finished interviewing memorial staff at each site, they would then be able to help me recruit survivors from nearby areas. However, due to the complicated position occupied by memorial staff, and the fact that the surrounding communities had seen me doing fieldwork at the state-funded genocide memorials, memorial staff recommended that I find another way to gain access. While they were willing to provide names and facilitate introductions, they argued that survivors approached through the state-funded genocide memorials would likely assume that I was working for the government, rendering them suspicious and unwilling to speak freely. A safer option, according to my contacts at the memorials, would be to approach survivors through the various community-based organizations (CBOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that provided them with support, as these institutions were, generally speaking, seen as safe spaces for survivors to voice their needs and concerns.¹ The vetting process that many of these organizations employed in deciding whether a researcher should be permitted access to their members, meanwhile, would help me demonstrate trustworthiness by Rwandan standards.²