On the Cover

GENOCIDE AND ITS AFTERMATH IN RWANDA

Assistant Professor Hollie Nyseth Brehm established Ohio State’s Genocide and its Aftermath in Rwanda study abroad program to immerse students in the historical context and repercussions of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The program — now in its second year — introduces students to the causes of genocide, how genocides unfold and how countries rebuild in the aftermath of violence.

Students spend a week with homestay families and attend lectures at the School for International Training (SIT) headquarters in the Rwandan capital, Kigali. They learn about Rwandan culture and spend a day at the national university in an exchange with local university students. They travel to genocide memorials, museums, Rwandan government offices, survivor organizations and women’s cooperatives, among others. Finally, they are witness to the testimonies from people who were rescued during the genocide, those who participated in the violence and those who survived.

Coming to Rwanda and fully entrenching myself into its history and culture has shown me a new dimension to what it means to be open, especially with my education. I hope that I can carry on all the lessons I’ve learned to build a future where we can be just a little bit better than we were yesterday.