Carl Wilkens - Rwanda, Post Genocide and Reconciliation
The Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum recently presented a virtual lecture by Carl Wilkens. Wilkens was a humanitarian aid worker living with his family in Kigali, Rwanda in 1994 when the genocide began. As people were fleeing the country, Carl made the incredibly selfless decision to remain in-country…serving those in need by providing food and medicine to groups of orphaned children trapped in Kigali.
During the lecture, Carl shares personal stories of his experience and his first-hand knowledge on the unique way Rwanda worked toward reconciliation between genocide victims and perpetrators.
It’s a powerful story of devastation…but also, healing and forgiveness.
If you would like to learn more about the Genocide against the Tutsi, we highly recommend:
To Read
I’m Not Leaving by Carl Wilkens - an in-depth look into Carl’s own experience as the last remaining American caught in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza - the unbelievable story of a Rwandan native forced to hide in her Hutu pastor’s tiny bathroom…with seven other starving women…for an impossible 91 days. Hers is a tale of indescribable courage and forgiveness.
Untamed: Beyond Freedom by Celine Uwineza - in her book, Uwineza recounts her own heart-wrenching experience of surviving the genocide as a ten-year-old child. Celine discusses, in frank detail the trauma she experienced and her 20-year journey to healing.
To Watch
Sometimes in April - a powerful war-time drama depicting how family members often turned on one another once the genocide broke out in 1994. This movie follows two brothers who find themselves on opposite sides of what became one of the darkest moments in African history.
Ghosts of Rwanda - this compelling PBS documentary is often hard to watch, but it provides insight into how the genocide began and why the rest of world stood by as nearly 1 million Tutsi and Tutsi sympathizers were murdered.
Left to Tell Interview with Immaculee Ilibagiza - Immaculee takes 60 Minutes back to her village to recount her experience of survival during the Genocide against the Tutsi.