Testimonial Encounter

Abstract

For the survivors of the genocide of the Tutsis, testifying to their traumatic past must be envisioned in relation to the political and ideological tensions that define the representations of Rwanda's national history. Bearing witness represents the possibility `of' and the call `for' a dialogic space where survivors seek to redefine the present meaning derived from the experience of the genocide and its haunting resonance. In their attempt to re-envision and re-assert themselves through testimony, survivors move from a position of being subjected to political violence to a position that entails the promise of agency. In this regard, Mujawayo's dialogic and polyphonic art of witnessing is a unique resource. Her testimonies seek to generate a social space within which the survivors can negotiate, and eventually reclaim, the meaning of their survival and to assert the demands of the traumatic aftermath they face.