Forgive but Never Forget: Rwanda’s Reconciliation Villages
- Genocide Watch
- 16 minutes ago
- 7 min read
A Special Report by the Genocide Watch Great Lakes Task Force
Reconciliation is a complex, often contentious, yet necessary element of the post-genocide process. During an active genocide, the main priority is to bring an end to mass killings and extermination. Once a fragile peace is established, however, a significant question remains: How can a deeply polarized society begin to rebuild in the wake of immense suffering and violence? The reconciliation process in Rwanda after the 1994 genocide involved the construction of reconciliation villages that housed survivors alongside perpetrators. A review shows that this plan to build community and promote a philosophy of forgiveness has proved highly effective.
Since the colonial period, Rwanda has been a deeply-divided society. Rwanda’s population today is composed of three ethnic groups: Hutu (85%), Tutsi (14%), and Twa (1%). Pre-colonial Rwanda was a Tutsi-dominated monarchy in which the Hutu were primarily agricultural workers, while the Tutsi were pastoralists, resulting in a disproportionate distribution of wealth.
European colonial expansion in the 19th century worsened divisions, in part because the colonial powers appointed the politically dominant group, the Tutsi minority, to govern on their behalf. In 1959, heightened tensions and resentment, combined with rising aspirations for independence, culminated in the Hutu Revolution and the creation of an independent Rwanda.
Tensions continued for decades under Hutu rule, and in 1990, the Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) invaded from exile in Uganda. After more than two years of civil war, the Rwandan government and the RPF negotiated a ceasefire. In April 1993, they signed a peace agreement in Arusha, Tanzania that called for the formation of a transitional government that would include the RPF. Hutu Power extremists opposed this agreement because it would diminish their control of Rwanda. Both Hutus and Tutsis feared ethnic conflict, leaving the population deeply divided.
Just one year after the Arusha Accords, the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda began, after Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana’s plane was shot down over Kigali. The Hutu-Power dominated government immediately attributed the attack to the RPF, and by extension Rwandan Tutsis. Official radio called for the extermination of all Tutsis. The next day, the Republican Guard sent forces to assassinate the Rwandan Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana.
The ensuing genocide lasted more than three months. Hutu extremists in the army and Hutu militias, such as the Interahamwe, systematically targeted the Tutsi population. They incited Hutu civilians to participate in massacres of Tutsis. It is estimated that over 800,000 Tutsi were killed, while more than 2 million Rwandans fled the country. Tutsi women were subjected to mass rape, and they were intentionally infected with HIV.
In the aftermath of the genocide, Rwanda faced the enormous challenge of rebuilding a society devastated by unspeakable violence, collective trauma, and widespread distrust. The UN, the RPF government of Rwanda, and local communities organized three levels of trials, seeking accountability and justice for the countless atrocities committed. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, established in November 1994, prosecuted those bearing greatest responsibility for the instigation and organization of genocide, while Rwanda’s national court system tried tens of thousands of cases of genocide participants. The Gacaca courts, organized at the community level, attempted to bring about grassroots justice and reconciliation by hearing survivors’ testimonies, allowing perpetrators to confess and ask for forgiveness, and providing an opportunity for closure and answers.
These courts imprisoned more than 80.000 perpetrators in the 2000s, but the widespread scope of participation in the genocide from countless radicalized neighbors and community members made true accountability difficult and led to new ideas of how to reimagine justice. The Rwandan government first worked to develop a shared Rwandan identity, implementing a variety of projects such as Ingando camps, educational seminars, and national summits with the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission. These plans served as a baseline for education and solidarity.
Beyond this, the idea of justice through reconciliation and community-building arose within the nonprofit Prison Fellowship Rwanda (PFR). This local faith-based organization had an initial mission of preparing prisoners for reintegration into society. PFR extended its focus to include a restorative justice program based on the framework of the action-based reconciliation model (ABRM). In 2003, the PFR began a reconciliation village program where genocide perpetrators and genocide survivors live side by side. Eight villages were established. This system of community-building in action provides an environment which enables continued practical reconciliation and community reintegration. Meaningful cooperation is facilitated through daily tasks and economic endeavors, such as basket weaving and farming, which earn income for the villagers and create a site for collective healing.
At the heart of the reconciliation village model is the requirement for perpetrators to confess their crimes and seek forgiveness from their victims and their families. Forgiveness and trust-building are central parts of both the community and the larger goal of restorative justice. Village councils make decisions for the community and settle disputes. Within this structure, daily contact develops community ties and rebuilds trust.
This philosophy of forgiveness is vital for stable, lasting reconciliation and is personally impactful for genocide survivors. Freddy Mutuanguha, CEO of Aegis Trust and Director of the Kigali Genocide Memorial, has worked on peace education and is a survivor of the genocide himself. Mutuanguha recently joined Genocide Watch for an interview, sharing his personal thoughts on reconciliation. He sees forgiveness as a deeply personal act, choosing to let go of anger and resentment to embrace a happier, healthier, more peaceful life. Furthermore, he reflected, forgiveness is bravery. It takes time, patience, compassion, and courage to see the inherent humanity of all people, especially those who have caused deep harm. It is a powerful first step towards reconciliation.
Having worked with a number of reconciliation villages in his time at Aegis Trust, Mutuanguha was able to provide insight into the challenges and lessons learned from establishing and sustaining reconciliation work. According to him, the biggest challenge has been convincing participants that reconciliation is valuable and even possible. Although trust is the most important element of this process, he shared that it is difficult to foster trust between those who have experienced deep trauma and those culpable in the creation of traumatic experiences. This requires small and sustained actions, safe spaces for vulnerability, extended support, and a commitment to shaping a shared future. While this work is difficult, it is nonetheless important. As he has seen firsthand, children raised in these villages play side by side as friends and see each other as human beings, not enemies. Thus, reconciliation villages can break the cycles of violence and hatred, providing a living example of moving forward from crisis.
Examining daily life inside one such village provides further insight into the process of reconciliation and forgiveness in action. Nestled in Rwanda’s Bugesera district, the Rweru Reconciliation Village serves as a powerful case study in post-genocide restorative justice and community-based reconciliations. Rweru was established as a part of a broader national effort by the Rwandan government and the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission. Rweru is one of several villages designed to house both survivors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and former perpetrators who have completed their sentences and undergone reconciliation processes. The village model reflects Rwanda’s broader commitment to a reconciliation framework that is participatory, localized, and restorative rather than exclusively punitive.
What sets Rweru apart is its tangible enactment of reconciliation in the daily lives of its residents. Survivors and perpetrators live side by side, jointly farming the land, building homes, attending communal gatherings, and reconstructing the very social fabric that genocide sought to destroy. This cohabitation is not symbolic, rather it is embedded in the routines and moral labor of everyday life. As noted by the United Nations, such reconciliation villages are intended not only to provide material shelter but also to restructure a united Rwandan identity alongside balancing justice, truth, peace, and security.
Among the many deeply affecting stories from Rweru, the relationship between Maria Izagiriza, a genocide survivor, and Philbert Ntezirizaza, a perpetrator who confessed to killing her husband and six of her nine children, stands as an emblematic narrative of moral resilience. After serving his sentence, Philbert returned to the community burdened with remorse and determined to make amends. Maria, deeply traumatized, initially refused any contact. However, through repeated facilitated dialogue, Philbert expressed sincere repentance, offering no excuses and only an acknowledgement of guilt and a plea for forgiveness. Maria’s decision to forgive was not immediate; it was a long process shaped by faith, reflection, and desires to unburdened herself from hate.
Today, Maria and Philbert are neighbors who work side by side in the fields. Their relationship is not based on foregoing their memories, but of living with memory in a way that allows for dignity and shared humanity. Their story reflects the deeper purpose of Rweru which is not to escape the past, but to confront it together in pursuit of a peaceful future. Through such acts of moral courage and daily cooperation, Rweru stands as a testament to the possibility of reconciliation.
The Rweru Reconciliation Village offers a powerful lesson: reconciliation is not the erasure of memory but its transformation into shared responsibility for peace. It provides a compelling model for genocide recovery efforts, emphasizing that sustainable peace requires more than legal accountability. It needs community-based, restorative processes rooted in daily life. Rwanda’s approach, blending state-supported initiatives with grassroots dialogue and coexistence, shows how interpersonal healing and reintegration can foster long-term reconciliation.
Both the experiences of the inhabitants of Rweru and Freddy Mutanguha’s reflections show how reconciliation villages function as more than physical spaces of coexistence. The villages are pedagogical sites where education, empathy, and shared responsibility are cultivated to counter genocide ideologies. Mutanguha stresses that education fostering critical thinking and personal responsibility is essential to reconciliation. Forgiveness and reconciliation, though distinct, intersect in rebuilding trust and enabling social cohesion. The story of Maria and Philbert illustrates this process of moral resilience, where the acknowledgement of harm and the gradual choice to forgive can transform relationships once defined by violence. Crucially, as Mutanguha notes, reconciliation villages also address generational trauma by raising children of survivors and perpetrators together, breaking cycles of inherited resentment. Taken together, these insights underscore that reconciliation is not erasure of memory but its transformation into a collective commitment to peace—offering lessons of durable post-conflict recovery for societies worldwide.
Today, just over thirty years after the end of the 1994 genocide, these values remain more important than ever. As Mutanguha explains, forgiveness is an act of self-love. To forgive is to break the cycle of vengeance and hatred and recognize the inherent humanity of all people. Because of this, it is a key step in the processes of healing, rebuilding, and reconciliation. In a post-genocide society like Rwanda, this is difficult work. Changing mindsets, building trust, and developing empathy between survivors and perpetrators takes a dedicated effort. Nonetheless, it is possible.
This is particularly salient considering the recent genocide emergency unfolding in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The persistence of anti-Tutsi ideology among regional militias and armed groups, alongside lingering tensions from the First and Second Congo Wars and the 1994 genocide, has contributed to instability and distrust. In January 2025, the Rwanda-backed M23 militia began an invasion of the eastern part of the DRC, committing numerous atrocities against civilians. While Rwanda and the DRC signed a peace agreement in June, little has changed on the ground. Amidst violence and devastation, can peacebuilders take inspiration from Rwanda’s reconciliation villages? Trust, empathy, and the recognition of shared humanity are of the utmost importance in this process.
