Having spent three decades immersed in the region, Peeters shares his personal experiences, emotions, and observations that inspired him to write this deeply moving and thought-provoking book.
Through vivid portraits and heartfelt testimony, he seeks to preserve the memory of the victims and shed light on the untold truths surrounding the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
In an exclusive interview with IGIHE, Peeters discusses the motivations behind his writing, the emotional toll of bearing witness, and his unwavering commitment to honoring the truth.
Excerpts:
IGIHE: Jean-Pierre Peeters, you recently published a booklet titled "30 Years Later: Still the Same Questions." What inspired you to write this book?
Jean-Pierre Peeters: The 30 years later correspond somewhat to the time I spent there, and I wanted, through writing, to be a witness to what I saw, what I felt, and everything I understood. I wanted to provide, in a few portraits, the testimony of someone sincere. I am not a politician. I am not someone who deals with history. I just wanted to be a witness to what I saw.
IGIHE: In your book, you refer to the "scoundrels of history." Could you explain what you mean by that?
Jean-Pierre Peeters: Thank you for the question, because, in fact, the scoundrels of history is indeed a whole chapter of the book; it is the heart of the book. The other chapters are there only to explain events that culminated to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
The core of the story, my true outcry, is precisely to denounce these scoundrels of history who want to impose their narrative in place of those who lived it and who still live it today on the ground, that is to say, in Rwanda.
So, denouncing the crimes is one thing, but we must also point out those who allowed this crime to occur, those who enabled the deaths of over a million people simply because we no longer wanted them on this earth.
IGIHE: Could you elaborate on how writing helped you confront and process those haunting memories?
Jean-Pierre Peeters: At first, I wanted to take refuge in writing, a bit like an outlet for an internal pain that was indescribable for years. What I saw, what I experienced was not only in Rwanda, because, in fact, my story begins in Burundi. I lived through the events in Ntega and Marangara in 1988 and everything that followed.
I experienced that as a true wound. But what really pushed me to write was what happened in Rwanda, because the crime of crimes was pushed to its peak, and what happened in Rwanda is something that is difficult to explain. It is hard for people to understand that the genocidaires went to work. They themselves said it like this: they left in the morning for work; they went to kill, and for three months, during those days, they killed between 10,000 and 12,000 people a day.
Why write? Everything I saw deeply marked me, and it took me no less than fifteen years before I could find sleep at night. I was incapable of having a peaceful day; it was a haunting. And I say this: I did not lose anyone from my family; I only witnessed friends and acquaintances die.
I did not lose anyone from my home, but the inner anger was something I could not overcome. I truly thought that writing the book, which took me nearly three and a half years, would serve as an outlet where I could try to absorb this pain and confine it somewhere in my little head so that I could live normally. When you witness this, you can no longer live normally.
What I wanted to convey is that it is essential to maintain memory. And I say this at the beginning of the book; I dedicate this book not only as an individual but also to the memory of all those who will not be able to read it but who are my profound inspiration.
Karirima Aimable Ngarambe
