Peter and His Mother, Annet

Kibuye Rwanda

My mother disclosed to me eight years ago. We were home and I asked her about the genocide, but I had to be careful, as my mother had not completely healed and if one asked questions related to the genocide sometimes she would be traumatized. But I wanted to know more, so I asked her and she took me to the bedroom and she told me that she was raped during the genocide and I was born as a result of those rapes, but she was very sad, I could see in her eyes that she was very very sad. … When I received the news it was difficult for me to accept but then I counseled myself because I was loved by my stepfather very much and my mother loved me, and for me this helped me to recover very fast. So I decided I will forget about what happened to my mother and how I was born, because I have a father and a mother. It was difficult in the beginning, but now I’m able to talk about it freely, so it does not bother me.

My relationship with my mother is very good: she is my mother, she is my friend, she is my sister. Sometimes I feel it is too much because she is my best friend. My future is very good. when I was in senior three, I represented children from my community in a meeting with the president. It was an honor for me to be the representative of the young people of my region and meet with President Kagame.

-Peter, son of Annet, 2018