Survivor Recounts Heartbreak and Resilience 30 Years After Rwanda Genocide
Elvis Nkundanyirazo, a survivor of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, shared a deeply personal and harrowing story during a commemoration ceremony at the Petit Séminaire St Vincent Ndera memorial site on May 16. The event honored the thousands who lost their lives at the seminary, including Elvis’s father, Ephraim Nkundanyirazo, who was among the 8,004 people massacred there.
Elvis, now an agricultural consultant, was just 13 years old when the genocide erupted. Speaking to attendees, he reflected on the decades of persecution his family endured long before the mass killings began. His father, Ephraim, a respected medical assistant at Caraes Ndera neuropsychiatric center, had faced repeated threats and violence due to his Tutsi identity.
In 1963, while Ephraim was in secondary school, a plot to kill him was uncovered thanks to a warning from a Hutu friend. Tragically, the friend was later assaulted for his act of compassion, leaving him with lifelong injuries. Ephraim fled to Uganda and Burundi before returning to Rwanda, where he became known for his medical expertise and generosity.
“Our home was like a pharmacy,” Elvis recalled. “People would come to my father for treatment. He had a deep love for sports and running, but his life was marked by fear and persecution.”
When the genocide began on April 7, 1994, Elvis and his family fled their home, seeking refuge at Musave school alongside other terrified residents. “For the first time, I slept away from home and relatives,” Elvis said. “Children cried all night, fathers were broken, and the radio played frightening songs and messages. Parents were desperate.”
As violence escalated, a neighbor offered to hide Elvis, his siblings, and their mother but refused to shelter Ephraim, fearing he was too well-known and actively hunted. Separated from his family, Ephraim moved from one hiding place to another before reaching Ndera Seminary, where many Tutsi believed they would find safety.
Meanwhile, Elvis and his family were captured by Interahamwe militia and handed over to a government soldier named Mabirisi. Remarkably, Mabirisi spared their lives because Ephraim had once treated him during a severe illness. “He said he would not shed the blood of my father’s family,” Elvis recounted.
Days later, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF Inkotanyi) rescued them. “There were bodies and blood everywhere,” Elvis said. The family later learned that Ephraim had been killed at Ndera Seminary. Few survived the attacks there.
“Since then, we have continued to come here to remember our parents and relatives,” Elvis said. “We consider this place our second home because of its history.”
Elvis urged students at the ceremony to study Rwanda’s history carefully and reject ideologies that divide Rwandans. “When we remember, we are not reviving the past,” he said. “We want young people to ask themselves what role they can play to ensure such history never happens again.”
Minister of Public Service and Labour Christine Nkulikiyinka, who spoke at the event, emphasized the importance of unity and vigilance. “The genocide was enabled by the involvement of various individuals and institutions,” she said. “We must strengthen the unity of Rwandans and think broadly about what benefits the country and every citizen.”
Philbert Gakwenzire, President of Ibuka, a genocide survivors’ organization, warned against attempts to erase or distort the truth of the genocide. “Some write books filled with harmful messages inconsistent with the integrity expected of clergy or scholars,” he said. “It is important to be aware of these attempts to mislead.”
Representing Cardinal Antoine Kambanda, Emmanuel Nsengiyumva called on students to exercise critical thinking in an era of widespread misinformation. “Young people today navigate technology, which has abundant information,” he said. “Intellectual responsibility gives us the duty to select the right information that benefits us.”
As Rwanda continues to rebuild and heal, stories like Elvis’s serve as a stark reminder of the horrors of the past and the enduring resilience of its people.
— Reported by Nexio News
