Kinsagani Diary (alternative title: Loin du Rwanda) is a post-genocide documentary film about the lives of Hutus who fled to Zaire till they were discovered along a railway line by the United Nations. [1] The documentary gives account of their hardship, rescue and how they were eventually massacred. [2]
After the massacre of Tutsis in 1994, tens of thousands of Hutus fled to Zaire. In March 1997, Hubert Sauper traveled along in search of these “forgotten” refugees, who were living in famine and disease and still being haunted by various armed militias. [3]
The documentary follows a 1997 United Nations discovery of thousands of Hutu refugees along the railway line south of Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo. The documentary gives account of the massacre that took place the night before the Hutus were found. Much later, when the humanitarian aid arrives the Hutu refugees leave the forest and gather in two gigantic camps. [4]
The plan was to repatriate the refugees in the camps but the camps were not guarded. Soon, they were attacked by the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire and the refugees were massacred and the few that escaped could not be accounted for. [5]
Human occupation of Rwanda is thought to have begun shortly after the last ice age. By the 11th century, the inhabitants had organized into a number of kingdoms. In the 19th century, Mwami (king) Rwabugiri of the Kingdom of Rwanda conducted a decades-long process of military conquest and administrative consolidation that resulted in the kingdom coming to control most of what is now Rwanda. The colonial powers, Germany and Belgium, allied with the Rwandan court.
South Kivu is one of 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Its capital is Bukavu.
Bukavu is a city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), lying at the extreme south-western edge of Lake Kivu, west of Cyangugu in Rwanda, and separated from it by the outlet of the Ruzizi River. It is the capital of the South Kivu Province and as of 2012 it had an estimated population of 806,940.
The Interahamwe is a Hutu paramilitary organization active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. The Interahamwe was formed around 1990 as the youth wing of the National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development, the then-ruling party of Rwanda, and enjoyed the backing of the Hutu Power government. The Interahamwe, led by Robert Kajuga, were the main perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide, during which an estimated 500,000 to 1,000,000 Tutsi, Twa, and moderate Hutus were killed from April to July 1994, and the term "Interahamwe" was widened to mean any civilian militias or bands killing Tutsi.
The Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, occurred from 7 April to 19 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. Over a span of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were systematically killed by Hutu militias. While the Rwandan Constitution states that over 1 million people were killed, most scholarly estimates suggest between 500,000 and 662,000 Tutsi died. The genocide was marked by extreme violence, with victims often murdered by neighbors, and widespread sexual violence, with between 250,000 and 500,000 women raped.
The Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire, also known by the French acronym AFDL, was a coalition of Rwandan, Ugandan, Burundian, and Congolese dissidents, disgruntled minority groups, and nations that toppled Mobutu Sese Seko and brought Laurent-Désiré Kabila to power in the First Congo War. Although the group was successful in overthrowing Mobutu, the alliance fell apart after Kabila did not agree to be dictated by his foreign backers, Rwanda and Uganda, which marked the beginning of the Second Congo War in 1998.
The First Congo War, also known as Africa's First World War, was a civil and international military conflict that lasted from 24 October 1996 to 16 May 1997, primarily taking place in Zaire. The war resulted in the overthrow of Zairean President Mobutu Sese Seko, who was replaced by rebel leader Laurent-Désiré Kabila. This conflict, which also involved multiple neighboring countries, set the stage for the Second Congo War (1998–2003) due to tensions between Kabila and his former allies.
Hubert Sauper is an Austrian documentary filmmaker, director, writer, producer, and actor best known for Darwin's Nightmare (2004) which was nominated for an Academy Award.
Crystal Globe is the main award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, first given in the Czech Republic city of Karlovy Vary in 1948.
The University of Lubumbashi, also known by the acronym UNILU, is one of the largest universities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located in Lubumbashi in Haut-Katanga Province, previously Katanga Province. The campus is located in the northern part of the city, west of the airport.
The DRC Mapping Exercise Report, or the Democratic Republic of the Congo 1993-2003 UN Mapping Report, was a report by the United Nations within the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the wake of the armed aggressions and war which took place between March 1993 and June 2003. Its aim was to map the most serious violations of human rights, together with violations of international humanitarian law, committed within the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In doing this it was to assess the capacities within the national justice system to deal appropriately with such human rights violations and to formulate a series of options aimed at assisting the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in identifying appropriate transitional justice mechanisms to deal with the legacy of these violations. It contained 550 pages and contained descriptions of 617 alleged violent incidents.
Marie Béatrice Umutesi is a Rwandan writer, NGO worker, peace activist and refugee living in Belgium.
During the First Congo War, Rwandan, Congolese, and Burundian Hutu men, women, and children in villages and refugee camps were hunted down and became victims of mass killings in eastern Zaire.
Eliane Umuhire is a French-Rwandan actress. Her artistic career explores themes of identity, memory and resilience. Her work has been featured in films presented at prestigious international festivals, where she has won awards for her acting and social commitment. Notably acclaimed for her role in the Polish film Birds Are Singing in Kigali by Krzystof Krauze & Joanna Kos, Eliane has been honored with Best Actress awards at festivals such as the Chicago International Film Festival, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the Gdynia Polish Fiction Festival, the Polish Festival in New York, the Let's CEE Festival in Vienna, as well as the Mastercard Rising Star award at the Netia Off Camera independent film festival.
Kinyarwanda is a 2011 film based on the Rwandan genocide.
Rwanda and Juliet is a post-Rwandan genocide documentary by Canadian producer Ben Proudfoot.
Finding Hillywood is a 2013 documentary film which examines the budding film industry in Rwanda.
Kinyandonyi is a village in the Rutshuru Territory of the North Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinyandonyi is situated 10 km east of the city of Kiwanja in Bukoma groupement, in the Bwisha Chiefdom and 85 km north of the capital of the province Goma. The region is inhabited by the Hunde people as well as some remaining autochthonous populations of African Pygmies, including the Twa people and the Mbuti people. In addition to the Hunde, Twa, and Mbuti, there are other ethnic groups, including the Nyanga, Lega, Kumu, Hutu and Tutsi.
The Battle of Kisangani took place in March 1997 during the First Congo War. The rebels of the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL), supported by the Rwandan Patriotic Front, took the city defended by the Zairian Armed Forces (FAZ) which was loyal to President Mobutu Sese Seko.