Out of the Darkness

Rwanda - Out of the Darkness
51-mins

Narrated, written and filmed by: Claude Adams
Produced by: Patricia Chew

Canadian Premiere on “The Passionate Eye” June 21, 1998

Voice (English translation): "You should have come here when the place was full of skulls."

V/O: RWANDA'S GENOCIDE . . . FOUR YEARS LATER, THE GHOSTS OF A MILLION DEAD CONTINUE TO HAUNT AN AFRICAN NATION . . . FOR EVEN TODAY, RWANDA IS AT WAR WITH ITSELF . . .

Voice (English translation): "They set the bus on fire. We found 18 bodies . . . burned to a crisp."

V/O: IT'S BEEN CALLED A BROKEN WORLD, TORN BY LOSS AND BY GUILT AND BY TRIBAL SUSPICION . . . .

Voice (English): "What did you eat today?" "Nothing!"

V/O: . . . WHERE MORE THAN A HUNDRED THOUSAND KILLERS LANGUISH IN PRISON . . . AND WHERE THE INNOCENT AND THE GUILTY ARE SEARCHING FOR THE ROAD TO RECONCILIATION.

(fade)

V/O: BY RWANDAN STANDARDS, THIS IS MAXIMUM SECURITY: WOMEN PRISONERS, THEIR CHILDREN, AND ACROSS THE MAIN YARD, HUNDREDS OF MEN SUSPECTED OF MASS KILLINGS. THE FULL STORY OF THE RWANDAN GENOCIDE IS LOCKED IN THE MEMORIES OF THESE MEN . . . WHAT DROVE THEM TO BUTCHER FRIENDS, RELATIVES, EVEN MEMBERS OF THEIR OWN FAMILIES. ONLY NOW ARE THEY BEGINNING TO COME FORWARD TO TELL THEIR STORIES. ONE OF THEM, IS ERIC KAZARAMANDE, A SOFT-SPOKEN PEASANT WHO MURDERED 12 PEOPLE. HE BEHEADED ONE MAN, AND HACKED TWO CHILDREN TO DEATH WITH A MACHETE.

Voice (English translation): "We didn't want to kill, but people kept coming from other towns, especially soldiers in combat gear, and they asked us "What are you doing? Why aren't you out there killing?" . . . As someone who believes in God, I think we were driven by an invisible enemy who invaded our souls . . .

" V/O: THE ENEMY THAT INVADED ERIC'S SOUL LEFT ITS MARK ON THE VILLAGE OF KABUKUBA, TWO HOURS DRIVE SOUTH OF THE CAPITAL, KIGALI. WE COME HERE TO CHECK ERIC'S STORY, TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE DOZEN KILLINGS HE CONFESSED TO. BUT KABUKUBA WILL NOT GIVE UP ITS SECRETS EASILY. WE ASK ABOUT ERIC KAZAMARANDE. THE ANSWERS ARE EVASIVE. THIS MAN WAS A FRIEND OF ERIC'S. THEY RAN AWAY TO THE CONGO TOGETHER AFTER THE GENOCIDE. COULD HE TELL US ABOUT ERIC'S CRIMES? AND WHAT ABOUT THE 500 TUTSIS WHO WERE SLAUGHTERED HERE? HE WAS TOO YOUNG TO REMEMBER, HE SAYS. IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE, BUT THIS WOMAN CAN TELL US NOTHING ABOUT THE KILLINGS, OR ERIC KAZAMARANDE. SHE SEEMS TO FLINCH AT THE QUESTION. . . . FINALLY, SHE SAYS: "I WAS EXPECTING A BABY AT THE TIME." IT’S SOON OBVIOUS WHY NO ONE WILL TALK-- THIS IS A TOWN OF HUTUS, PEOPLE WHO SYMPATHIZED WITH THE KILLERS 4 YEARS AGO, OR DID NOTHING TO STOP THEM. . . . EXCEPT FOR PELAGIA. . . . SHE'S ONE OF JUST FOUR LOCAL TUTSIS WHO SURVIVED THE KILLING. SHE'S TAKING A CHANCE TALKING TO US. BUT SHE HAS SOMETHING SHE WANTS US TO SEE . . . AWAY FROM THE EYES OF HER HOSTILE NEIGHBORS.

(sound)

V/O: WE COME TO A LARGE DITCH. NOW OVERGROWN, BUT IT WAS ONCE A GRAVE FOR 40 PEOPLE, HER HUSBAND'S ENTIRE FAMILY, ALL OF THEM TUTSIS . . . THE KILLING HAPPENED YEARS AGO, BUT THE EMOTIONS THAT PROVOKED IT ARE STILL VERY MUCH ALIVE TODAY IN KABUKUBA.

Voice (English translation): "For us, we would like to live in peace with our neighbors, because the word of God tells us to live with everybody. So we must bear it. But it's difficult. Even a few days ago, we received a letter saying we must prepare to die . . . that they would come again to kill us."

V/O: WITH PELAGIA AS OUR GUIDE, WE FIND RWANDA'S PAST AND PRESENT MERGING. WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE GENOCIDE IN KABUKUBA, IT'S BEST TO DO SO BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. SHE LEADS US TO A HOUSE WITH THE CURTAINS DRAWN. HERE, WE MEET FOUR WOMEN WHO ARE LUCKY TO BE ALIVE--THREE OF THEM TUTSIS . . . THE OTHER, A HUTU WOMAN, JUSTINE, WHO ALIENATED HER NEIGHBOURS BY TRYING TO HIDE TUTSIS. JUSTINE HAS VIVID MEMORIES OF ERIC KAZAMARANDE.

Voice (English translation): "You know, he did such bad things, terrible things. He went to Mwugo where they killed a man. And there, in Mwugo, he cut off his head and carried the head back in his hands."

V/O: DID ERIC KILL MANY PEOPLE, WE ASK.

Voice (English translation): "Yes, many many people. He would go to Mwugo and they killed a lot of people there. This man, he was the last man left alive, and they found where he was hiding. I don't know where it was, but they killed him and brought back his head."

V/O: BUT THE KILLER IS REPENTANT, WE SAY. HE WANTS TO BE FORGIVEN. WE SHOW THEM A TAPE OF KAZAMARANDE'S PRISON INTERVIEW.

Voice on monitor (English translation): "All I can do is ask for forgiveness. . . I haven't seen them since the events took place, but if I were to get out of here, and meet the families of the people to whom I did those things, I would ask forgiveness and cleanse my heart . . . For me, my heart is at peace, because I have already confessed . . . When I get out of here, is there anywhere else for me to go, but home?"

V/O: THE WOMEN ARE NOT CONVINCED.

Voice (English translation): "That's just his way of trying to get out of prison, so he can come back and wipe out the survivors."

Voice (English translation): "When you take into account what he did, the fact that he took somebody's head and kept it the whole day, I think to ask forgiveness is a kind of provocation. Let him confess to God, it's up to Him to forgive him, not us. We can't do anything."

V/O: THE WOMEN ARE NERVOUS AS WE LEAVE THE HOUSE, . LIKE PELAGIA, ALL OF THEM HAVE RECEIVED DEATH THREATS. THEY BEG US TO CHECK ON THEM FROM TIME TO TIME. THERE IS ONLY ONE SOLDIER IN KABUKUBA TO PROTECT THEM. IF HE SHOULD LEAVE, THEY SAY THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT WOULD HAPPEN. WE TAKE THEIR STORY TO A SENIOR OFFICIAL IN RWANDA'S JUSTICE MINISTRY, GERALD GAHIMA.

Voice (English): "What does this story tell me about our future? About reconciliation? It tells me that it's an uphill task, that reconciliation is not something you achieve overnight. It tells me that to have reconciliation there must be true repentance. People must confess their guilt and ask forgiveness . . . all of which has not happened yet."

V/O: BUT IT IS BEGINNING TO HAPPEN. . . . AT THE GIANT RILIMA PRISON, PRISONERS ARE COMING FORWARD TO CONFESS. THEY HOPE TO BENEFIT FROM A PROVISION IN THE LAW THAT COULD CUT THEIR SENTENCES TO 11 YEARS OR LESS. IN RETURN, THEY HAVE TO SHOW REMORSE, ASK FORGIVENESS, AND NAME THEIR ACCOMPLICES.

(sound)

V/O: THIS MAN IS TELLING ABOUT HIS ROLE IN A MASSACRE. DID YOU TAKE PART IN THE KILLINGS, THE INSPECTOR ASKS. YES, THE PRISONER SAYS, MEN IN UNIFORM ASKED US TO JOIN A GANG OF KILLERS IN A TOWN. AFTER THE KILLING, HE SAYS, WE OCCUPIED THE VICTIMS' HOMES.

V/O: THIS KIND OF OPENNESS, HOWEVER, IS STILL RARE. OF THE 130,000 PRISONERS IN RWANDA, FEWER THAN 5% HAVE CONFESSED. BY AND LARGE, INVESTIGATORS SAY, MOST OF THE INMATES STILL BELIEVE, THEY'VE DONE NOTHING WRONG.

Voice (English translation): "They say we killed people, but we can prove we didn't. Meanwhile, we've been waiting here, inside, without trial, for 2 1/2 years."

Voice (English): "Did you kill anybody?" "No!" "It's all a big mistake?" "Mistake!"

V/O: WILLIAM SCHABAS IS A CANADIAN LAW PROFESSOR WHO HELPED RWANDA DRAFT ITS GENOCIDE LAW. HE SAYS THAT DENIAL OF WRONGDOING IS RWANDA'S GREATEST OBSTACLE TO RECONCILIATION.

Voice (English) "One of the most troubling things in my recent visits there is that despite this generous offer to have their sentences reduced if they confess and show remorse, there are very few people ready to show remorse. And that does not bode well for the rebuilding of Rwandan society. It seems that many of the prisoners seem to be sitting there and saying, we didn't finish the job the first time, but time is on our side, and sooner or later we're gonna get you."

V/O: THUS, MASS MURDERER ERIC KAZAMARANDE'S DISTURBING CONFESSION, WHICH SO ALARMED THE SURVIVORS IN KABUKUBA.

Voice (English translation): "I know killing is wrong and normally I'm a law-abiding person, but the soldiers were so convincing, they were so persuasive that, at the time, I really didn't think there would be any consequences."

V/O: THERE ARE OTHER PROBLEMS WITH THE CONFESSION STRATEGY. MOST PRISONERS DON'T UNDERSTAND THE LAW, MANY ARE HOPING FOR AN AMNESTY. OTHERS ARE AFRAID OF REPISALS IF THEY INFORM ON FELLOW INMATES. STILL, SAYS DEPUTY WARDEN OBED MUGAZI, THERE' S NO OTHER CHOICE..

Voice (English translation): "Here's one. He admits to killing 14 people, no, 18. He admits to killing 18 . . . one, two three, he admits to killing 18 people, here you can see the names . . . yes, they were neighbors. Of course they were his neighbors! . . . The government policy now is one of national reconciliation. So yes, we will reconcile, we are going to forgive them, of course."

V/O: I ASK, CAN YOU PARDON SOMEONE WHO KILLED 18 OF YOUR COUNTRYMEN?

Voice (English translation): "Yes, yes, I can forgive them. After all, what can you do? I can't kill them. I can't kill them so I have to forgive them."

SU: prison singing

V/O: A PRISON SONG OF REDEMPTION. AFTER THE SUFFERING OF THIS WORLD, THEY SING, WE'LL WALK TOGETHER IN JERUSALEM WITH JESUS CHRIST. BUT BEFORE THAT HAPPENS, THERE'S THE PURGATORY OF PRISON HERE ON EARTH.

(sound)

V/O: RILIMA WAS BUILT FOR 1200 INMATES. IT HOLDS MORE THAN FIVE TIMES THAT NUMBER. THE DAILY FOOD RATION IS A CASSAVA PASTE THAT'S BARELY EDIBLE. IT'S ALL THE STATE CAN AFFORD. THE PRISONERS SLEEP WHEREVER THEY CAN FIND A BIT OF SPACE, 15O OR MORE TO A ROOM. THERE ARE CHRONIC SHORTAGES OF FOOD, WATER, MEDICINE AND , OF COURSE, LEGAL HELP. SOME OF THESE MEN HAVE BEEN HERE FOR MORE THAN 2 YEARS. MANY DON'T EVEN HAVE A WRITTEN FILE ON RECORD. THEY WERE ARRESTED ON THE STRENGTH OF NOTHING MORE THAN A VERBAL ACCUSATION. IT COULD BE A DECADE OR MORE-- THEIR CHILDREN FULLY GROWN -- BEFORE THE PRISONERS EVER COME TO TRIAL. THE DEPUTY WARDEN IS FRIENDLY WITH HIS CHARGES, BUT HE HAS A CASUAL ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE DUE PROCESS OF LAW. WE ASK HIM HOW HE FEELS ABOUT THE FACT THAT MANY OF THESE MEN MAY HAVE BEEN UNJUSTLY CHARGED?

Voice (English translation): "Okay, let's say they're innocent. And they wind up spending 12 or 15 years here without trial. And then after trial they're found to be innocent. Well, I say that's a consequence of genocide, a result of genocide. Because during the genocide, there were babies who died for no reason, there were mothers, all kinds of people in every category. I say, what about them? Did the babies deserve this punishment?"

V/O: IT'S EVEN WORSE FOR THE 40,000 PRISONERS CAGED IN VILLAGE 'CACHOTS' OR DUNGEONS, SCATTERED AROUND THE COUNTRY. YOU CAN FIND AS MANY AS 300 JAMMED INTO A SINGLE ROOM, WHERE EVEN SLEEP IS A PROBLEM.

Voice (English): "Some standing up, some sitting, some lying down."

V/O: INSIDE, IT'S UNBEARABLY HOT, A BREEDING GROUND FOR DISEASE. THEIR SURVIVAL DEPENDS ON FOOD FROM THEIR FAMILIES--THREE TIMES A WEEK, WIVES AND CHILDREN ARE PERMITTED TO BRING CORN, BEANS AND OTHER STAPLES. THERE IS LITTLE OR NO PERSONAL CONTACT. SOMETIMES, IT'S THE VERY YOUNG WHO ARE THE PROVIDERS: THE GENOCIDE LEFT NEARLY 100,000 HOUSEHOLDS IN RWANDA HEADED BY CHILDREN. THESE DUNGEONS ARE A NATIONAL EMBARRASSMENT. HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS CALL THEM MEDIEVAL. BUT THE STATE SAYS IT HAS NO MONEY TO BUILD MORE PRISONS...AND THAT OVERCROWDING IS THE LESSER OF TWO EVILS.

Voice (Gerald Gahima--English): "The period that suspects are spending in prison before detention (sic) is okay with me. Terrible crimes were committed in this country. They either have to be in prison or people would have taken the law into their own hands." . . . "

V/O: IN THE FESTERING PRISON SYSTEM, THERE ARE GLARING ABUSES. IN THE ONE DUNGEON WE VISIT, WE FIND A 12-YEAR-OLD BOY, CLAUDE BIZIMANA. WHILE TALKING TO US, HE HAS HIS ARM PINNED BEHIND HIS BACK BY AN ADULT INMATE. THE BOY SAYS HE DOESN'T KNOW WHY HE WAS ARRESTED. BUT THE MEN AROUND HIM SAY HE WAS SUSPECTED OF SPYING ON THE TUTSI REBEL ARMY DURING THE CIVIL WAR. IT'S A BAFFLING STORY, AND WE TAKE IT TO THE DISTRICT POLICE SUPERINTENDENT, SIMEON MURAGIZI.

Voice (English translation): "Well, you know that during the genocide, there were always groups of children who, who ran with their parents. They thought it was, well, they thought it was all like a game."

V/O: WE ASK TO SEE THE BOY'S CRIMINAL RECORD. HE SAYS NO. BUT HE TELLS US THE BOY WILL SOON TO BE TAKEN TO A CHILDREN'S RE-EDUCATION CENTRE.

V/O: CHILDREN PLAYED A BIG ROLE IN THE 1994 GENOCIDE; AS PARTICIPANTS, AS WELL AS VICTIMS. . . . IN THE EARLY 1990s, THE HUTU-DOMINATED POLITICAL PARTIES ARMED THOUSANDS OF YOUNG MEN, AND TRAINED THEM FOR FIGHTING. . . . THE CHILDREN WERE IMPRESSIONABLE, THEY HAD THE RUN OF THE STREETS. IT WAS FUN. AND THEY WERE GOOD POLITICAL SHOCK TROOPS

V/O: MEANWHILE, TOP POLITICIANS LIKE JEAN KAMBANDA, WHO WOULD LATER BECOME PRIME MINISTER, STIRRED UP THE CROWDS WITH HATE PROPAGANDA AGAINST THE TUTSI MINORITY. HE BUILT UP AND ARMED THE INTERAHAMWE MILITIA, SETTING THE STAGE FOR THE COMING HOLOCAUST. THE TRIGGER WAS THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT JUVENAL HABYARIMANA, A MODERATE HUTU. HIS PLANE WAS SHOT DOWN IN MYSTERIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES OVER KIGALI AIRPORT . IT'S NOW WIDELY BELIEVED THAT HABYARIMANA WAS KILLED BY EXTREMIST HUTUS INSIDE HIS OWN GOVERNMENT. THAT'S NEVER BEEN PROVED, BUT THE EXTREMISTS BLAMED THE ASSASSINATION ON THE TUTSIS. IN RADIO BROADCASTS, THEY CALLED THEM "INYENZI", COCKROACHES, WHO MUST BE EXTERMINATED. THE BLOODBATH BEGAN ALMOST IMMEDIATELY, ACCORDING TO A CAREFULLY-DRAFTED PLAN. IT WAS AN UNSTOPPABLE WAVE. WITHIN A HUNDRED DAYS, CLOSE TO A MILLION WERE KILLED. RWANDANS TRADITIONALLY OBEY THEIR LEADERS WITHOUT QUESTION, AND THEY DID SO HERE: THEY KILLED WITH WHATEVER WEAPONS THEY COULD LAY THEIR HANDS ON. EVEN TODAY, THERE'S A SENSE OF DISBELIEF ABOUT HOW MUCH BLODD WAS SHED. SO ACROSS RWANDA, THEY'VE KEPT THE MASACRE SITES OPEN. GUARDIANS LIKE MARC SABIMANA TEND TO THE REMAINS.

Voice (English): "Here, it was mostly women and children. And old people who didn't have the strength to flee."

V/O: SKULLS OF THE YOUNG AND OLD, CRUSHED BY MACHETES AND CLUBS, PENETRATED BY ARROWS AND KNIVES AND SPEARS. . . . THE BONES PILED UP BY A GOVERNMENT THAT WANTS THE WORLD TO REMEMBER, AND TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE WORST GENOCIDE IN MODERN AFRICAN HISTORY.

Voice (English): "There must be justice. The people who did this, they must be found. And once they're found and put in prison, they must be judged."

V/O: AND THE KILLERS ARE BEING JUDGED: MORE THAN THREE HUNDRED SO FAR, MEN LIKE FRANCOIS UWIMANA, ON THE RIGHT, DUSTY, ILL-FED, DELIVERED TO COURT IN THE BACK OF A PICKUP TRUCK. SECURITY IS LIGHT. MOST OF THE PRISONERS WOULDN'T ESCAPE EVEN IF THEY COULD. ON THE OUTSIDE, THEY'D BE KILLED. IN PRISON, AT LEAST THEY'RE SAFE FROM REPRISAL BY SURVIVING TUTSIS. UWIMANA'S LAWYER IS A BELGIAN, VERONIQUE DOUILLEZ. DOUILLEZ WORKS FOR THE GROUP LAWYERS WITHOUT BORDERS. FINDING A RWANDAN LAWYER IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE. ONLY 55 NATIVE LAWYERS SURVIVED THE GENOCIDE . BUT ONLY THREE ARE WILLING TO PLEAD FOR GENOCIDE SUSPECTS. IN A SIMPLE, TABLE-AND-CHAIRS COURTROOM, A CLERK READS THE CHARGES AGAINST UWIMANA.

Voice (English translation): "Between the dates of April 7 and May 15, 1994, individually or in association with others, in putting into action a heinous plan of exterminating a mass of Tutsis or other people opposed to the government, with a group of unidentified Interahamwe militia, having killed 300 people who took refuge at Cyumba's house in Kayonza, because they were Tutsi: this being an act of genocide."

V/O: THE PRISONER RESPONDS.

Voice (English translation): "I have heard all the allegations, and I agree with none of them."

V/O: THE JUDGE ASKS: DO YOU KNOW YOU CAN HAVE YOUR SENTENCE REDUCED IF YOU CONFESS?

Voice (English translation): "Yes, I received the explanations, but because I didn't do anything I do not feel any need to confess. I cannot admit to crimes I did not commit."

V/O: THE WITNESSES ARE CALLED. UNTIL RECENTLY, SURVIVORS OF THE GENOCIDE WERE AFRAID TO TESTIFY. OUTNUMBERED SIX TO ONE BY HUTUS, MANY TUTSIS WERE INTIMIDATED. IN 1996 ALONE, HUNDREDS OF POTENTIAL WITNESSES WERE MURDERED. BUT CONFIDENCE IS GROWING AS THE STATE ASSERTS ITS AUTHORITY.

Voice (English translation): "I will tell what I know. Part of what happened in 1994. This man's actions would take a lot more time to explain . . . "

V/O: AND IN UWIMANA'S CASE, HALF A DOZEN WITNESSES COME FORWARD.

Voice (English translation): " . . . that there were organized meetings at his home, he calls it slander! How can it be slander if many people say the same thing?"

clip woman

V/O: IN THE BACK OF THE ROOM, HANGING ON TO EVERY WORD, IS A WOMAN WHO'S WAITED FOUR LONG YEARS FOR THIS MOMENT. SHE IS A WIDOW NAMED EUGENIA. THE MAN AT THE DOCK IS PART OF HER RECURRING NIGHTMARE. HE KILLED HER HUSBAND AND FOUR CHILDREN , THEN HE TOOK A MACHETE TO EUGENIA.

(sound)

V/O: AFTER JUST 4 HOURS, THE JUDGES HAVE HEARD ENOUGH. THE TRIAL IS OVER. GENOCIDE JUSTICE IS QUICK, SOMETIMES TOO QUICK, SAY GROUPS LIKE AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL BEFORE THE VERDICT, EUGENIA TAKES US TO THE SCENE OF THE CRIME, TO RECONSTRUCT A MASSACRE THAT HAUNTS HER TO THIS DAY..

(SU Is this is house? "Yes, she's scared of getting in.")

V/O: IT WAS IN THIS HOUSE THAT A TRUSTED NEIGHBOR GATHERED EUGENIA, HER FAMILY, AND HUNDREDS OF OTHER TUTSIS DURING THAT FATEFUL APRIL IN 1994. THE NEIGHBOR SAID THEY'D BE SAFE HERE. AND THEY WERE SAFE, FOR A FEW DAYS.

Voice (English translation): "We spent something like a week inside this house. And then, on the 14th of April, at about 9 o'clock in the morning, we heard a group of people running outside. They were breaking down the doors, breaking windows, and climbing inside . . . They said: "Whichever of you are Hutus, stand up." The Hutus stood up, and then the men asked the rest of us if we had any money or valuables that we could give them. When we gave them the money, that's when they started cutting us with machetes. "I was just over there, near that door, and that man Uwimana came and said to me: 'Ah, there you are. I wondered where you were hiding. So now I've found you.' My eldest son stood up and said: 'I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I will not be a Tutsi anymore.' But Uwimana cut his throat, like this, and threw his body over my lap.

"I was holding another child on this side, and another baby here, like this, and he cut my arm so that it dropped, and then he brought down his sword on my baby's head. And then he took my other child and killed him with his sword. And then he went on to kill my mother-in-law who was sitting next to me. Then he started killing old people who were sitting on the bed. Then other killers came in, working furiously, people were being hacked in this room, and then in the next room, the screaming was terrible!

"They took their time. It was a serious thing because there were so many people in these two buildings, about 520 in all. And after they finished here, they went up the hill to kill others.

"So we stayed here in this condition, because he cut me here on the head, you can see the machete mark, and on this side there's another mark which is like a cross, and blood was flowing down on my face, there was so much of it. He must have thought I was dead because I was leaning up against the wall like this . . . "

V/O: UWIMANA LATER RETURNED. SURPRISED TO FIND EUGENIA STILL ALIVE, HE BEAT HER MERCILESSLY WITH A CLUB. BUT STILL SHE WOULD NOT DIE.

Voice (English translation): "Several times, groups came by but they would leave me behind, saying: 'Leave her, she'll die later.' I begged them to kill me, but one of them said to me: 'I can't. I don't want to commit a sin'."

V/O: SOMEHOW, EUGENIA SURVIVED THE FRIGHTFUL INJURIES, AND TODAY, SHE WILL HEAR THE VERDICT AGAINST HER ASSAILANT.

Voice (English translation): "We find all the allegations made against him are justified. We sentence him to life imprisonment."

V/O: 95% OF GENOCIDE TRIALS IN RWANDAN COURTS END THIS WAY-- IN GUILTY VERDICTS, BUT UWIMANA WALKS AWAY IN DISBELIEF. ON EUGENIA'S FACE, A LOOK OF QUIET SATISFACTION. THE KILLER SHEDS SOME TEARS . . . FOR HIMSELF. BUT FOR EUGENIA THE JOY IS BRIEF.

Voice (English translation): "This doesn't release me because it doesn't bring back my children. The only thing that can end my pain is for me to die and be buried."

V/O: RWANDA'S LEGAL SYSTEM IS HURRY-UP MAKESHIFT JUSTICE THAT SEEMS TO BE WORKING, HOWEVER CRUDELY. FEW JUDGES SURVIVED THE GENOCIDE, SO THE STATE WENT LOOKING FOR NEW JUDGES, AND IT FOUND PEOPLE LIKE JOHN KAYIRANGA. . . . KAYIRANGA TOOK A SPECIAL FOUR-MONTH COURSE IN GENOCIDE LAW, THEN HE PUT ON THE ROBE TO HELP SAVE HIS COUNTRY.

Voice (English translation): "Before 1994 I was a teacher, I taught French in a secondary school. Now I've assumed a much heavier responsibility than before, because I'm sensitive to the problems of my country. I must contribute to the rebuilding of our country because if impunity, which brought about the genocide, is not abolished, I am convinced the country cannot go forward."

V/O: EVEN THE FOREIGN DEFENCE ATTORNEYS, WHO LOSE NEARLY EVERY CASE, HAVE GOOD THINGS TO SAY ABOUT WHAT RWANDA HAS ACHIEVED. BELGIAN DANIEL WEBER.

Voice (English translation): "There is great public demand that the people who committed the genocide be brought to justice. Genocide is an exceptional case and perhaps demands an exceptional kind of justice. With 130,000 people in prison, it is said it will take 600 years to try them all. Perhaps standards have to be modified to deal with this--holding trials by districts, or by villages, for example. We have to look for other ways, to be innovative. To apply the standards or criteria used in Europe or North America would mean not everyone would be tried.

"There was nothing left 3 years ago, no judges, no court clerks. Given that, the amount of work they've accomplished is immense. It could be better, but I think there's hope."

V/O: BUT RWANDA WILL NEED MORE THAN A FUNCTIONING JUSTICE SYSTEM TO RECOVER FROM THE GENOCIDE. FEW OTHER NATIONS HAVE SUFFERED SO MUCH, IN SUCH A SHORT TIME. IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS, FULLY HALF OF RWANDA'S POPULATION HAS EITHER BEEN KILLED, WOUNDED, UPROOTED, OR RETURNED FROM EXILE. SO MANY MEN DIED IN THE KILLINGS, THAT WOMEN NOW MAKE UP 70 PER CENT OF THE POPULATION. EVEN YOUNG MOTHERS ARE OBLIGED TO WORK AT HEAVY LABOR. A GENERATION OF CHILDREN WAS BRUTALIZED: THEY WALKED AMONG CORPSES, SAW FAMILY MEMBERS KILLED, WITNESSED RAPE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT.

(MAP)

V/O: IN THE HEART OF AFRICA'S FERTILE GREAT LAKES DISTRICT, RWANDA WAS ONCE KNOWN AS THE SWITZERLAND OF AFRICA . THE GENOCIDE LEFT AN ECONOMIC DISASTER: TODAY RWANDA IS RANKED THE SECOND LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRY ON EARTH. ALMOST ALL OF ITS EDUCATED PROFESSIONALS WERE KILLED, DISPLACED OR HAD THEIR JOBS DISAPPEAR. RWANDA'S OUTPUT FELL BY HALF IN 1994. IN A FARMING COUNTRY OF MOSTLY PEASANTS, RECOVERY IS DIFFICULT.

(BELL)

V/O: THE ONE INSTITUTION THAT SEEMS TO HAVE SURVIVED INTACT, IS THE CHURCH. CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT LEADERS DID LITTLE TO STOP THE GENOCIDE, AND SOMETIMES EVEN SUPPORTED THE KILLERS. BUT MOST RWANDANS HELD ON TO THEIR FAITH. THAT FACT BECOMES EVEN MORE REMARKABLE WHEN YOU VISIT PARISH CHURCHES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. TUTSIS CAME TO PLACES LIKE NTARAMA LOOKING FOR SANCTUARY. INSTEAD, THEY FOUND THEMSELVES UNDER ATTACK, AND TRAPPED.

Voice/ Marc Sabimana (English translation): "Before 1994, when there were no massacres, eh, people would seek refuge in the churches and in the schools. There, they were safe, no one would touch them. But this time, in 94, there was something planned well in advance. The civil and military authorities urged people to come and seek refuge in the churches on the pretense that they would be protected . . . But it was really to have them all together, so that they could get at them, without difficulty."

V/O: IN THE NEARBY KENZENZE PARISH, THOUSANDS CAME TO ASK THEIR PRIEST, A WHITE EUROPEAN, FOR PROTECTION. HE HERDED THE TUTSIS INSIDE THIS CHURCH WHERE THEY STAYED 3 DAYS WITHOUT FOOD. ON THE 4TH DAY THE PRIEST DROVE AWAY IN HIS CAR, TELLING THE TUTSIS THEY WOULD DIE. THEN A HUIU MOB ATTACKED, AND THE TUTSIS WERE SLAUGHTERED . . . BY GRENADES, BY FLAMES, BY GUNFIRE.

(singing)

V/O: THOUGH THEY WERE ABANDONED AND BETRAYED, THE SURVIVING RWANDANS STILL FILL THE CHURCHES ON SUNDAYS. NOW THESE CHRISTIANS ARE BEING TESTED AGAIN: CAN THEY FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRIED TO EXTERMINATE THEM? THE CONCENSUS SEEMS TO BE: NOT YET.

(laughter)

V/O: YOUNG MIDDLE-CLASS RWANDANS, GATHERED FOR A PRAYER MEETING , TALK NOT ABOUT THE GENOCIDE, BUT ABOUT MARRIAGE AND HOMEMAKING. HERE, IT'S STILL MUCH TOO EARLY TO TALK ABOUT TRIBAL RECONCILIATION.

(sound-speaking in tongues

V/O: IT'S AT SMALL EVANGELICAL MEETINGS LIKE THIS, THAT YOU FIND RWANDANS OPENLY WRESTLING WITH THEIR CAPACITY TO FORGIVE.

Voice (English): "Every human has a common image in the eyes of God. White, black or red, we have a common image."

V/O: THIS IS A NEW PHENOMENON; THE NUMBERS ARE SMALL, THEY MEET IN MOVIE THEATRES AND PRIVATE HOMES, BUT THEY'RE MULTIPLYING. AND THE MEN AND WOMEN PREACHING THE MESSAGE OF RECONCILIATION, ARE PEOPLE LIKE PAUL NORMAL DESIRE. DESIRE IS A RWANDAN RAISED IN ENGLISH-SPEAKING UGANDA. UNTAINTED BY THE GENOCIDE, HE'S COME BACK TO ISSUE A CHALLENGE TO THE LARGE CHURCHES.

Voice (English): "It's high time the churches get out of their comfort zone and feel the feelings of the people."

V/O: DESIRE SAYS RWANDANS MAY HAVE LOST FAITH IN THEIR FELLOW MAN, SO THEY NEED TO LOOK SOMEWHERE ELSE.

Voice (English): "To face a person who destroyed most of your group, your closest friend, to say, brother, I forgive you, thank God. So we encourage people not to rely on their strength, but the spiritual power of God."

V/O: THAT KIND OF FORGIVENESS IS HARD FOR MANY RWANDANS, LIKE PRISON OFFICIAL OBED MUGAZI.

Voice (English translation): "There a mother here who, who killed her child! Who threw her child into the lake just below the prison here . . . Her child! Her own child! Because the father was a Tutsi. First her husband was killed, it was her brothers who did it. Then they said to her: 'Are you going to keep this child of a Tutsi? Kill it!' She did it . . .

"It's truly inhuman, it's inhuman, it's inhuman. When we Rwandans look at what the Hutus did. The government's policy now is unity, it's reconciliation. But, how do you reconcile with someone who killed 18 people, someone who killed an entire family? How can you reconcile that? At what level? At what level? Unless you're God! You'd have to be Jesus to be able to pardon them."

(DANCING)

V/O: THE STATE IS COMMITTED TO RECONCILIATION, HOWEVER, AND ITS BOLDEST EXPERIMENT CAN BE FOUND HERE, AT THE NKUMBA SOLIDARITY CAMP, NEAR GISENYI, IN HE NORTH THOSE WHO LOST ON THE BATTLEFIELD, THEY SING, CAN NOW HELP THE COUNTRY

(sound)

V/O: THIS IS RE-EDUCATION ON A GRAND SCALE, SOLDIERS OF THE FORMER RWANDAN ARMY, DEFEATED WHEN CIVIL WAR ENDED IN 1994, NOW BEING TAUGHT THE FINE POINTS OF DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND TRIBAL HARMONY.

(SOUND AT BLACKBOARD)

V/O: EVEN THOUGH MANY OF THESE MEN WERE DEEPLY INVOLVED IN THE GENOCIDE, THEY ARE GETTING A SECOND CHANCE. THEIR TEACHERS ARE HOPEFUL THAT AFTER TWO MONTHS OF THIS KIND OF TRAINING, THEY WILL RE- EMERGE, ARE MODEL CITIZENS. WE ASK CAMP COMMANDER PATRICK SAFARI, HOW A FEW WEEKS OF SCHOOLING COULD POSSIBLY CHANGE A SOLDIER'S IDEOLOGY?

Voice (English translation): "Here's what we're hoping for. These people you're talking about, they never learned any politics in military life, they never had the time. They were trained at military school, and then shipped to the front. Without the least notion of politics. "They were perhaps led to commit genocide, because they never learned about human rights, and they'd learned nothing about politics. But here, they're learning about it. And we are changing them little by little, changing their mentality."

V/O: IT MAY SEEM A BIT CONTRIVED, AND YOU HAVE TO WONDER ABOUT THE HEAVY GUARD, BUT THE MEN THEMSELVES SEEM TO HAVE LEARNED THEIR LESSONS WELL. WE WANTED TO MEET SOME TRAINEES, AND CAMP LEADERS WERE HAPPY TO OBLIGE

Voice (English translation): "We thought the new government had forgotten about the ex-army soldiers. But in fact it was the government that invited us here . . to teach us how to contribute to our country, how to live with our brothers."

Voice (English): "We are all Rwandanese . . . United we stand, divided we fall."

V/O: THIS RE-EDUCATION MAY ALSO HAVE A PRACTICAL SIDE. THE RWANDAN MILITARY COULD USE THESE TRAINED SOLDIERS TO BEEF UP ITS OWN FORCES.

IN 1994, THE SOLDIERS OF WHAT WAS THEN CALLED THE RWANDAN PATRIOTIC FRONT SWEPT INTO KIGALI AND OVERTHREW THE GOVERNMENT WITH APPARENT EASE. BUT TODAY, THAT ARMY IS ONLY BARELY HANGING ON IN LARGE PARTS OF THE COUNTRY. THE ENTIRE NORTHWEST REGION OF RWANDA IS A CONFLICT ZONE: THE ARMY HOLDS THE CITIES AND TOWNS, BUT THE COUNTRYSIDE IS TERRORIZED BY A HUTU UPRISING. THE TROUBLE STARTED IN 1996, TWO YEARS AFTER THE GENOCIDE. MORE THAN A MILLION HUTU REFUGEES WHO'D RUN AWAY TO THE CONGO AGREED TO COME HOME AND TAKE UP THEIR LIVES UNDER THE NEW TUTSI GOVERNMENT. BUT BANDS OF HUTU SOLDIERS AND MILITIAMEN HAD A DIFFERENT IDEA: THEY CAME BACK ARMED, HOPING TO REGAIN THE POWER THEY'D LOST TO THE TUTSIS.

Voice/ Gahima: (English): "In a very real sense, the war never ended. All of these people came back and resumed their campaign of genocide. Unfortunately in that part of the country they have a degree of support from the population."

V/O: IT'S A SPORADIC WAR, BUT VERY EFFECTIVE. THE DAY WE ARRIVED IN THE NORTHERN CITY OF RUHENGERI, A HALF-DOZEN PEOPLE WERE KILLED IN AN AMBUSH ON THE CITY'S MAIN STREET. ONE VICTIM WAS A STUDENT: SCHOOLS WERE LET OUT SO HIS FRIENDS AND CLASSMATES COULD PAY RESPECT TO THE FAMILY.

(SOUND--TRAVEL)

V/O: IT'S RISKY TO TRAVEL THESE MAIN ROADS WITHOUT A MILITARY ESCORT. THE HUTU REBELS ARE POORLY ARMED, SO THEY AVOID CONTACT WITH SOLDIERS. BUT THEY DO ATTACK SO-CALLED "SOFT TARGETS"--VILLAGES, TAXIS, AND BUSES.

ENTIRE VILLAGES ALONG THE MAIN HIGHWAY ARE EMPTY: TO LIVE HERE IS TO RISK VIOLENT DEATH FROM BANDS OF HUTU MILITIA, WHO STRIKE IN THE NIGHT AND KILL EVERYONE. REFUGEE CAMPS ARE ALSO A TARGET OF HIT-AND-RUN RAIDS. AND IN COMMUNITIES ALONG THE HIGHWAY, LIKE GENDA, LIGHTNING ATTACKS ARE NOT UNCOMMON. A VILLAGE COUNCILLOR TELLS WHAT HAPPENED HERE IN FEBRUARY.

Voice (English translation): "At about 10 o'clock they started killing on the other side of the hill. We heard screaming and we tried to protect ourselves, and failed. They killed 43 people, 27 were wounded . .. "

V/O: THIS BUS WAS STOPPED A FEW MONTHS AGO BY A GROUP OF ARMED MEN. THEY ORDERED THE 80 PASSENGERS TO SPLIT UP INTO TWO GROUPS--HUTU AND TUTSI. WHEN THE PASSENGERS REFUSED, THE MEN INCINERATED THE BUS AND EVERYONE INSIDE. THERE WAS ONE SURVIVOR.

Voice (English translation): "When they burned the bus, we were all lying on the floor. Some died in the flames, some other were killed by gunfire. that's how it was . . .those of us who were on the floor, we tried to jump out and run.

"There were others who tried to escape to the banana plantation. They killed them with machetes. You know, they used a lot of different things to kill."

V/O: OFTEN, THE REBELS WILL ATTACK, AND THEN RUSH BACK OVER THE BORDER INTO ZAIRE, TO DISAPPEAR INTO THE FORESTS AT THE FOOT OF THIS VOLCANO. THEY LEAVE BEHIND HATE LITERATURE, CALLING FOR THE DEATH OF RWANDA'S TUTSIS. OCCASIONALLY, THE RWANDAN ARMY WILL STRIKE BACK, KILLING HUTU CIVILIANS, AND FURTHER POISONING RELATIONS BETWEEN THE TWO TRIBES. THE REBELS COULD WAGE THEIR BUSH WAR FOR YEARS, STALLING RWANDA'S RECOVERY, AND MAKING RECONCILIATION IMPOSSIBLE. THE GOVERNMENT SAYS IT WILL NEVER DEAL WITH THE HUTU EXTREMISTS.

Voice/ Gahima (English) "People should see them for who they are, people who are bent on continuing the genocide in this country. So I do not think negotiating with them or even holding elections would be constructive. I think what it will take is their total defeat."

V/O: RWANDA HAS BEEN CALLED A NATION OF CASUALTIES: IT'S PEOPLE EITHER SURVIVORS, PRISONERS, OR RETURNING REFUGEES. FOR 600 YEARS ITS TRIBES LIVED IN RELATIVE PEACE. BUT THE ANIMOSITY THAT BEGAN FOUR DECADES AGO, AND CULMINATED IN THE GENOCIDE OF 1994, HAS TORN A HOLE IN THE COUNTRY'S SOCIAL FABRIC THAT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE TO REPAIR. IN THAT LANDSCAPE, ONE FINDS PEOPLE LIKE ERIC KAZARAMANDE, WHO SAYS HE KILLED HIS NEIGHBORS, BECAUSE SOLDIERS AND DEVILS AND VOICES ON THE RADIO TOLD HIM TO.

(sound)

V/O: AND ONE FINDS VICTIMS LIKE EUGENIA, WHO, ASTONISHINGLY, CAN STILL FIND A GOOD WORD FOR THE MAN WHO LEFT HER A WIDOW WITH HORRENDOUS SCARS.

Voice (English translation): "If he had come to me personally and confessed, and asked me for forgiveness, I would have forgiven him."

V/O: RWANDA IS DOING SOMETHING NO OTHER COUNTRY HAS EVER TRIED: ASKING THE SURVIVORS OF THE GENOCIDE--THE TUTSIS--TO LIVE SIDE BY SIDE WITH THE TRIBE THAT TRIED TO WIPE THEM OUT. WILLIAM SCHABAS.

Voice (English): "This is new territory. No other country has tried to do what Rwanda is doing. It's a brave new world out there . . "

V/O: IN THIS NEW WORLD, RWANDANS MOVE NERVOUSLY INTO AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE, STILL IN THE SHADOW OF THE MACHETE, STILL UNABLE TO SEE WHAT LIES AHEAD . . .

ENDS

For more information & tapes contact:
Scott White
Editor, Current Affairs & Co-productions
Tel: +44-20-7907-0929 Fax: +44-20-7907-0930
E-mail: scottw@phoenix-tv.net
please email us to receive 'The Phoenix Story List' each week

OUT OF THE DARKNESS

June 21, 1998

Is it justice or revenge? Is reconciliation possible? The Canadian-made documentary "Out of the Darkness" investigates the ghosts that continue to haunt Rwanda 4 years after the genocide. The documentary takes a critical look at the conditions in Rwanda's prisons where more than a hundred thousand alleged killers languish. Some are now beginning to tell their stories in the hope of reducing their sentences. Produced and directed by Claude Adams and Patricia Chew. Canadian premiere.