On April 7, 1994, long-standing tensions between Rwanda’s majority Hutu population and Tutsi minority erupted into mass slaughter, following the killing of Rwanda’s President Juvénal Habyarimana. Over the next 100 days, more than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed by members of the Hutu majority, in massacres carried out across the country by members of the army, militias, and civilians. Yesterday, a quarter of a century later, Rwandans held memorials in the capital of Kigali and began a 100-day-long period of mourning. As the country continues to find ways to deal with the consequences of the mass violence, one path has led to the creation of six “reconciliation villages” in Rwanda, populated by genocide survivors who live side by side with—and offer forgiveness to—perpetrators who have recently been released from prison, who seek to apologize and atone.
Rwandans Commemorate 25 Years Since Genocide
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Read moreA person holds a candle during a night vigil and prayer at Amahoro Stadium in Kigali, Rwanda, as part of the 25th commemoration of the 1994 genocide, on April 7, 2019. #
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Read moreFrom left to right, Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat, Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, Rwanda's first lady, Jeannette Kagame, and President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker light the flame of remembrance at the Kigali Genocide Memorial in Rwanda on April 7, 2019. #
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Read moreRwanda's President Paul Kagame, center, gestures as he and the first lady, Jeannette Kagame, center-left, lead a "walk to remember" accompanied by Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, far left, Belgium's Prime Minister Charles Michel, second left, The French National Assembly member Herve Berville, third left, and Governor General of Canada Julie Payette, fourth left, from the parliament building to Amahoro Stadium in downtown Kigali on April 7, 2019. #
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Read moreA wreath is seen at the Genocide Memorial in Kigali, on April 6, 2019. #
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Read moreFamily photographs of some of those who died are displayed in an exhibition at the Kigali Genocide Memorial center on April 5, 2019. #
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Read moreA visitor looks at an exhibition displaying pictures of some of the Rwandan-genocide victims, donated by survivors, at the Genocide Memorial in Kigali, on April 6, 2019. #
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Read moreIn this photo taken on April 4, 2019, the genocide survivor Jannette Mukabyagaju, 42, recounts her experience in her home in the reconciliation village of Mbyo, near Nyamata, in Rwanda. Twenty-five years after the genocide, the country has six "reconciliation villages" where convicted perpetrators who have been released from prison after publicly apologizing for their crimes live side by side with genocide survivors who have professed forgiveness. #
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Read moreGenocide survivors and perpetrators walk together to farm fields in the reconciliation village of Mbyo, Rwanda, on April 4, 2019. #
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Read moreThe children of genocide survivors and perpetrators play together in the reconciliation village of Mbyo on April 4, 2019. #
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Read moreRwandan youth participate in the 25th commemoration of the 1994 genocide at Amahoro Stadium in Kigali, on April 7, 2019. #
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Read moreRwandans arrive at dusk for a memorial service held at Amahoro Stadium on April 7, 2019. #
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Read morePeople try to light a candle during a night vigil and prayer at Amahoro Stadium on April 7, 2019. #
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Read morePeople hold candles as they attend a night vigil and prayer at Amahoro Stadium on April 7, 2019. #
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Read moreA Rwandan couple hold candles as they sit in the stands as part of a candlelit vigil during a memorial service held at Amahoro Stadium in Kigali, Rwanda, on April 7, 2019. #
Ben Curtis / AP
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