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00:00 These students from the University of Rwanda are all under 30
00:03 and were born after the genocide against the Tutsis in 1994.
00:08 As the commemorations approach,
00:10 they gather to share their family experiences.
00:12 Often my mother tells us that during the genocide
00:16 she told her father that she would survive.
00:18 She's the only one in the family who survived.
00:20 Her father, her mother, her children were killed
00:22 and she remained alone.
00:23 Although there is no trained professional
00:25 to lead these group's therapy sessions,
00:27 this organization does what it can
00:29 to prepare its members for challenging periods.
00:32 Authorities say that a quarter of Rwandans
00:34 grapple with mental health issues,
00:36 with even younger people showing signs
00:38 of intergenerational trauma.
00:40 They didn't face the genocide automatically,
00:44 but they had this transgenerational trauma
00:48 and it is transmitted through DNA, first of all.
00:53 And the second way, it is an emotional attachment
00:56 that they have with their parents.
00:59 Several studies show that many parents
01:01 who witnessed massacres in 1994
01:03 have passed on some of the psychological damage
01:06 they suffered to their children.
01:08 PTSD symptoms often emerge during annual commemorations,
01:12 such as depression or mutism.
01:14 For this 21-year-old student whose family
01:16 refuses to take part in the yearly ceremonies,
01:19 only speaking out provides healing.
01:21 I believe there should be family dialogue,
01:25 where parents take the time to tell the story to their children.
01:28 Gradually, us, the younger generation,
01:30 will come to know our history better,
01:32 until the point where it no longer hurts our hearts
01:35 and disturbs our daily lives.
01:37 But other young Rwandans choose to try
01:43 and move on from this dark period of history.
01:46 I am focusing mostly on the future.
01:52 Of course, I think about the past,
01:54 but only a little bit,
01:56 and it doesn't occupy much of my thoughts.
01:58 I just learn, listen from it.
02:00 30 years and more than one generation after the genocide,
02:04 every young Rwandan remembers the grim national chapter,
02:07 but also knows their fortunes depend
02:09 on possibilities that lie ahead.