Extract
[...] In his book titled Primer: Rwanda 1994-1996" and published in 2017, the author explores another aspect of History, that of the Rwandan genocide committed by the Hutus against the Tutsis, between April and July 1994. The genocide lasted for 3 months and resulted in 800,000 victims." In 2008, Stéphane Audoin-Rouzeau was invited to a conference on the Rwandan genocide in Kigali. During the conference, he was notably introduced to specialists of the genocide as well as survivors. The content of these meetings came to shake up his way of approaching the historical discipline which, in his opinion, 'cuts short'1 and his way of approaching the history of war facts. [...]
[...] In 1994, he was just about to become a professor of universities. In 2008, during this conference, the stories, the elements provided by the various speakers and the observations he was able to make, constituted, in his opinion, a revelation. This revelation calls into question his way of working on historical science. The Rwandan field, as he calls it. The term is used with reference to social sciences such as sociology or anthropology. Overall, his reflection is an initiation to study war facts differently, particularly when it comes to a genocide of which a part of the population is still alive. [...]
[...] He recalls the facts, the massacre of the Tutsis began on April in Kigali before generalizing in the capital, then it gradually spread to all municipalities in the country and continued until June 1994. He indicates that in 1994, he had internalized this inter-ethnic hatred between Hutus and Tutsis without realizing its extent. Of the 800,000 victims, only 70,000 bodies were identified, less than 10% of those killed. And there were nearly a million direct perpetrators, or a very large part of the population. The author analyzes that this official figure does not include those who denounced, refused to hide, and encouraged the massacres of Tutsis.2. [...]
[...] Here are the different themes that Stéphane Audoin-Rouzeau proposes to take into account: the role of the religious in the massacre of the Tutsis; the violence of the neighbors; the question of the cries during the commemoration ceremonies; intra-community therapies. Firstly, it is necessary to recall that the periods of persecution of the Tutsis date back well before 1994. Rwandan history conceals moments where the persecution of the Tutsis was very present: During these previous persecutions, the Tutsis were able to take refuge within the churches, without being attacked. Yet, during the 1994 genocide, these places were no longer refuges, they were attacked and killed here too. [...]
[...] He proposes in this methodology to take into account several cumulative elements to study the facts of war and genocides: the anthropological observation of the country in question, marked by the traumas of the genocide; to take knowledge of the scattered testimonies of survivors of the genocide; to take into account the archives subsequent to this historical moment, and to integrate into the reflection the investigation reports that attempt to restore in a global manner, the responsibilities of the rulers of the time. If in this work, the historian proposes an historical initiation by proposing a new reading of an event of the past. It is possible to question the real novelty of this approach; it is also possible to question what this work highlights and finally to question the content of the statements of Stéphane Audoin-Rouzeau. [...]
